At the Idaho Falls City Council's public comment period on Tuesday, Joshua Pixton, a resident near Edgemont Elementary School, asked the council and staff to help address what he described as a newly installed privacy fence along the school's south boundary that includes large advertisement panels.

Pixton said the opaque black mesh and blocks of advertisements block neighbors' sightlines to the school property. He said local residents relied on natural surveillance when school staff are not present and that the new fence could "invite criminal activity," citing a local school resource officer's report of one drug sale on campus in the past year.

Why it matters: Pixton said neighbors who look out onto the school now see a wall of advertising and that the fence harms neighborhood aesthetics and passive safety. He told the council he had raised the issue with the school principal without success and hoped the city could help coordinate a response with the school district.

Council response: Mayor and staff offered to connect Pixton with a city employee who previously worked in the school district to share contact ideas; staff noted that the city's direct authority is limited because school property and district decisions are separate from the city's permitting for public school grounds, but the city can assist in facilitating conversations.

Next steps: The mayor asked Pixton to speak with a city staff member in the hallway after the meeting to explore possible approaches and referrals to the school district.