September 14, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Fence debate brews over “stockade” at top of hill home
by JENNIFER KATZ

The mysterious appearance of a new fence enclosing property situated at the corner of Germantown Avenue and Hillcrest Street has ignited a debate within the Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee about the Chestnut Hill Community Association’s role in policing fencing on the hill.

At Thursday’s LUPZ meeting, the committee discussed creating a policy that would move the CHCA from information clearinghouse to fence police. According to John Haak, committee co-chair, and committee member Ned Mitinger, the newly erected fence at 9265 Germantown Avenue is clearly in violation of the city code.

Section 14-231 of the city residential code requires that a fence be no more than four feet in height in the front of a property and no more than six feet in height at the rear amid side of a property. The code also states that a fence may not be more than 50 percent opaque.

“It’s a stockade wall,” Mitinger said.

The nearly six-foot-high fence appears to enclose the front and side lawn of the house and is equal in height throughout the circumference.

“Aesthetically we discourage fences anyway,” Mitinger said. “There are lovely landscaped lawns that look beautiful when you drive through Chestnut Hill. Who wants to see just fences.”

At the meeting, Mitinger said he would draft a proposal for the CHCA to adopt a policy regarding fences. Haak agreed the matter should be looked into.

“There is a need to explore and figure out an appropriate policy regarding fences that don’t appear to be in compliance with the code,” Haak said.

Mitinger noted that under the current policy “neighbors call the CHCA office to complain and they are directed to L&I.” He said his proposal might call for CHCA to alert the Department of Licenses and Inspections in the event that a fence is found to be in violation of the current code.

“The benefit would be that there would be more persuasive power coming from the CHCA,” Mitinger said. “It would get L&I out there faster and also we would be making sure that everyone in Chestnut Hill is in compliance with the law.”

Current CHCA protocol is to initially provide the relevant code for homeowners questioning a particular fence and then to subsequently provide the phone number for registering a complaint with L&I.

“People want to keep their animals in or have their children play without the worry of them getting into the street,” Mitinger said, speculating on some of the reasons people build fences. “But there is a real safety issue.”

According to Mitinger, the city’s opacity requirement seeks to prevent homeowners from creating unsafe environments.

“You can’t see over a fence that high [6 feet], nor can someone who is walking into the yard see if someone is lurking behind the fence waiting for them,” Mitinger explained.

Haak cautioned that any policy LUPZ presents to the board would be carefully thought out.

“It’s important to balance people’s rights in regards to their property with the community’s quality of life goals,” Haak said.

Mitinger said he intends to present his proposal at the next LUPZ meeting in October. If the policy is adopted it will be presented to the CHCA board at a subsequent meeting.

Contact staff writer Jennifer Katz at 215-248-8804 or jenn@chestnuthilllocal.com.