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Board allows front-yard columns and fence at Fern Drive home after neighbor raised safety and permitting complaints
Summary
The board granted a front-yard setback variance for columns, gates and a fence at 824 Fern Drive. Neighbors objected, alleging unpermitted work and encroachment that may reduce emergency access; staff and the applicant said permits were obtained and traffic staff found no safety problems.
The Seminole County Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a variance July 28 permitting front-yard columns, gates and a fence at 824 Fern Drive in the Dells Pioneer Acres subdivision after hearing disputes between the property owner and an adjacent neighbor.
Attorney Justin Clark, representing homeowner Debbie Grice, told the board the fence and gates were installed in 2020 for personal safety after the client suffered break-ins. "She's a single lady, and she had 2 robberies. So it was really all about safety for her," Clark said, adding the fence matches the character of other properties on Fern Drive.
Neighbor Ryan Fritz, 768 Fern Drive, opposed the request and said multiple fences had been constructed without permits and that one fence encroached onto his property, narrowing access at his driveway to 16 feet. Fritz told the board he had raised the matter with county staff and that limited driveway width could affect emergency access: "The fire marshal says I need 20 feet to access my property in case of an emergency, and the fence only has 16 feet of access for me to get in into my property."
Staff said earlier code changes mean fences that predated the update were not required to meet the current setback rules; that is why similar fences exist along Fern Drive. Traffic and building staff inspected the site after the unpermitted-fence citations and reported no site-triangle or safety issues related to oncoming traffic. Development Services also told the board that permits for the property were in the county's records after an earlier display issue.
Homeowner Debbie Grice rebutted the neighbor's claims about permits and boundary lines, saying she had paid for multiple surveys and that inspectors had previously approved certain fence locations. "I have 4 surveys... They all are in alignment," Grice told the board, adding she had followed up with the county and had receipts and inspection sign-offs.
The board voted to approve the variance for the front-yard elements. The vote does not resolve any private boundary disputes; those remain civil matters for the parties. The board noted that traffic engineering raised no objections to sight-distance or emergency access during inspection.
