Hilliard zoning board approves two variances allowing 6-foot privacy fences on adjacent corner lots

The Hilliard Board of Zoning Appeals approved two variances on Sept. 18 allowing six-foot privacy fences to be installed past the city's build-to line on adjacent corner lots fronting Bradford Drive and Revere Drive.

Board members voted 4-1 on each request to permit the fences, which city staff had recommended denying because the privacy fences would extend into areas the zoning code intends to keep visually open. The board attached three conditions to both approvals: the applicants must obtain a fence permit before installation, the fence cannot exceed six feet in height above grade, and the fence must be installed outside the public right of way.

City staff summarized the two requests during the meeting and recommended denial. Staff noted the lots are through/corner lots with multiple street frontages and that the relevant provision in local law (Hilliard Code section 11.21.021(L)) generally prohibits privacy fences past the build-to line in a front yard.…