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Allen commission backs amendment to allow low ornamental fencing at Gateway Forest apartments
Summary
The City of Allen Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended that City Council approve an amendment to Plan Development (PD) 141 to allow up to 4-foot ornamental metal private-yard fencing extending up to 10 feet from the front facade for units facing Southside Boulevard at the Gateway Forest apartment complex.
The City of Allen Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday recommended that City Council approve an amendment to Plan Development (PD) 141 to permit small ornamental metal fences in front yards of certain apartment units at the Gateway Forest complex.
Staff presented the request during the commission’s March 4 meeting. City planner Miss Yockey said the amendment would allow private-yard fencing for the units that face Southside Boulevard; fences would be limited to a 10-foot extension from the front façade, would not exceed 4 feet in height, must be metal (for example, ornamental aluminum), and must include a concrete sidewalk leading from a gate to the private yard. “Staff does recommend approval,” Yockey told the commission, adding staff’s review found similar regulations already in PD 142 along the State Highway 121 corridor.
The change would be an exception to an existing development regulation that does not allow fences or walls in front of the elevation of any structure. Yockey said staff does not believe the amendment will alter the character of the neighborhood and showed photos indicating the fences are not highly visible from the sidewalk.
A commissioner who said they had driven by the site confirmed there are seven units with the fencing already in place; staff confirmed the existing fences would remain and that the request is, in effect, an after-the-fact amendment to regularize those installations. Commissioner Stoker said the fencing “helps to delineate the property” and gives residents “a little bit of…demarcation,” and then moved to recommend approval. Commissioner Walker seconded the motion. The commission voted unanimously to recommend approval; Yockey told the commission the next step for the request is consideration by City Council in March.
Votes at a glance - Consent agenda: motion to approve consent agenda carried unanimously (motion by Commissioner Galletti; second by Commissioner Stoker). This vote was procedural and not discussed further at the meeting. - PD 141 amendment (private-yard fencing at Gateway Forest apartments): motion to recommend approval carried unanimously (motion by Commissioner Stoker; second by Commissioner Walker). The commission instructed staff to forward the recommendation to City Council for final action.
The meeting record shows the item’s next formal review will be by the Allen City Council in March. With no public speakers for or against the fencing amendment and no further items on the agenda, the commission adjourned.
