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ZBA allows 6‑foot fence at 31 Boxwood Place with required exterior screening
Summary
The Rye Brook Zoning Board of Appeals on May 6 granted Maxwell and Whitney Buckley a variance to install a 6‑foot white PVC fence along Fairlawn Parkway and Boxwood Place, conditioned on exterior planting (minimum 24‑inch stock and plantings expected to reach at least 48 inches) and requiring as‑built verification; vote 5‑0.
The Rye Brook Zoning Board of Appeals on May 6 provisionally approved a 2‑foot fence‑height variance for Maxwell and Whitney Buckley to install a six‑foot white PVC fence on the Fairlawn Parkway frontage of their corner lot at 31 Boxwood Place, attaching conditions to reduce visual impact and requiring an as‑built survey.
Maxwell Buckley told the board the household has two dogs and a baby on the way and seeks uniform fencing around the property for safety and symmetry. Buckley said portions of the backyard already qualify for a six‑foot fence, but the Fairlawn Parkway frontage is treated as a front yard on the corner lot and is limited to four feet without a variance.
Board members discussed precedent from past corner‑lot cases, line‑of‑sight concerns and neighborhood context. Building staff said the proposed fence is set well back from the intersection and would not create sight‑line problems. An architect who said he had worked on similar corner‑lot applications described prior approvals that used a combination of shorter street‑facing fences and landscaping to soften appearances. A nearby resident, Ken Pinsker, asked that the board confirm the exact fence location and noted a flowering tree near the shared boundary had been removed; applicants said the mature trees that remain will be outside the proposed fenced area.
The board concluded the request could be granted with conditions designed to minimize visual impact and protect sight lines. The resolution grants the two‑foot variance and requires the applicants to install screening on the exterior (planting stock at least 24 inches at installation and species capable of reaching at least 48 inches) planted on their property (not on village property), and it requires the usual as‑built survey prior to final approval. The board also recorded that if the fence is shown to be on someone else’s property in the as‑built, it must be moved. The board voted yes: Steve, Glenn, Jamie, Joe and Don. No members voted no.
Applicants must pay all application and consultant fees before a permit or certificate of occupancy will be issued.
