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ZBA allows 6-foot fence on Boxwood Place corner with required exterior screening and as-built survey
Summary
The Zoning Board of Appeals approved Maxwell and Whitney Buckley's request to install a 6-foot PVC fence on a corner lot at 31 Boxwood Place, conditioned on exterior planting to soften the appearance, a minimum planting size, no planting on village property and final as-built verification.
The Rye Brook Zoning Board of Appeals on May 6 granted a variance to Maxwell and Whitney Buckley to install a six‑foot white PVC fence along the Fairlawn Parkway frontage of their corner lot at 31 Boxwood Place, but conditioned the approval on landscaping and an as-built survey to confirm the fence sits within the applicants' property line.
Max Buckley told the board the family seeks a uniform six-foot fence around the yard for privacy and safety for their two dogs and because they are expecting a child. "We were just asking for the extra 2 feet," Buckley said, describing the Fairlawn-facing side as technically a front yard because the lot is a corner and the front-yard maximum is four feet under the code.
Board discussion centered on two considerations: public-safety and sightline effects at the intersection, and the visual impact of a tall solid fence facing a public parkway. The building inspector and other members reported the proposed fence would sit well back from the corner (roughly 35 to 40 feet), reducing line-of-sight concerns. Several board members referenced nearby precedent — two existing six-foot fences in the same intersection — while others said each application must be decided on its own facts.
Neighbor Ken Pinsker spoke to the record to seek clarity about the precise fence location and whether a row of trees between the properties would remain; the applicants confirmed the existing trees would be outside the fenced area and that the village's usual as-built survey and final inspection would be required. The board also heard from an architect who described a prior corner-lot arrangement where the fence height stepped down and landscaping was used to soften the appearance.
After deliberation the board provisionally granted the variance and attached conditions: applicants must pay all application and consultant fees before any permit or certificate of occupancy issues; the fence must be screened on the exterior side with plantings at time of installation with a minimum 24-inch planting height and a minimum expected growth to 48 inches (the board clarified it could exceed this growth standard); plantings may not be placed on village property; and an as-built survey must confirm the fence is within the applicants' property line. The board also said the village engineer's determination that a tree is diseased will be accepted where applicable.
The vote was unanimous, 5-0 (Steve, Glenn, Jamie, Joe and Don). The resolution cites Village of Rye Brook zoning code section 250-6(b)(3)(a) (front-yard fence height limit of four feet) and labels the action a Type II under SEQRA. Parcel ID listed in the record is 129.59-1-27.
