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Shakopee council adopts rewritten fence code, cuts appeal period to 15 days
Summary
The City Council on July 15 repealed and replaced city code section 111.02 to clarify fence application, permitted materials and placement, shorten appeals and allow certain temporary snow fencing.
The Shakopee City Council on July 15 adopted an ordinance repealing and replacing city code section 111.02 to clarify application requirements, materials and placement rules for fences across the city.
The ordinance, introduced by city staff and moved and seconded on the council floor, replaces the existing fence section with a consolidated set of rules that staff said “clarifies application requirements including written notarized permission from an adjacent property owner,” removes the requirement for a permit to repair a fence and creates a definition for opaque fences. The ordinance also requires chain‑link fences to have a top rail and specifies a temporary plastic snow fence up to 4 feet in height may be placed from Oct. 1 to April 1.
City staff told the council the replacement text also explains a maximum height of 4 feet for fences in structure setbacks and in the shoreline overlay district, and states fences are allowed below the 100‑year high‑water level of a lake, stream, river, wetland buffer or stormwater basin “without permission from the city engineer or his designee.” The ordinance reduces the appeal period from 30 to 15 days and, if approved, becomes effective upon publication by summary in the newspaper and posting to the city website.
Council discussion focused on practical questions about property lines and publication. Councilor Whiting raised an example from his own experience about how close a fence can be to a property marker and said he wanted staff to be mindful about how the rule would be applied in old town lots. The clerk and staff confirmed finalized ordinances are posted to the city website and then published in the New Prague Times.
The council voted to adopt the ordinance by voice vote; the motion passed. The ordinance will be published by summary and the city will accept challenges to the ordinance within the shorter 15‑day appeal window.
The adoption resolves wording issues the city attorney reviewed after the council first took the item up in May. Councilors had no further amendments at the July 15 meeting.
For residents: the city clerk will publish the adopted ordinance in the New Prague Times and post it to the city website; questions about property‑line specifics or enforcement should be directed to city staff.
