Board denies request for 8-foot residential fence after neighbor objections

The Planning and Zoning Board on May 12 denied a variance that would have allowed an 8-foot privacy fence at 142 Eastern Point Way, finding the petitioner did not meet the statutory practical-difficulty standard.

The vote matters because it maintains the current height limit for privacy fences in the residential zoning district under the Unified Development Ordinance and preserves the board’s stated consistency in similar cases.

Markie Ward, petitioner for 142 Eastern Point Way, said she sought the taller fence because neighbors’ yards sit at higher grades and she does not feel she has privacy from nearby patios and walkways. Rodney Williams, an adjacent neighbor, opposed the request and described sightlines from his yard and bay window, arguing an 8-foot fence would be excessive and inconsistent with neighborhood fencing. A planning staff member told the board, “Staff was not in favor of an 8 foot fence,” noting the board had denied similar requests previously and expressing a need for a consistent endpoint for fence height in residential areas.

Board members questioned whether the petitioner demonstrated practical difficulty, with several members noting that neighbors’ heights cannot be controlled and that a 6-foot fence is the typical standard. Mr. King moved to deny the variance, seconded by Mr. Moll; the motion to deny carried 5-0. The board directed corporation counsel to draft findings of fact reflecting the decision.

The denial applies to BCA 20 25-016 only; no changes were made to the Unified Development Ordinance at this meeting. Planning staff and several board members encouraged the petitioner to consider landscaping alternatives but concluded the practical-difficulty threshold was not met in this case.