Livonia council sends cloth fence-covering complaints to law committee after resident appeal

A Livonia resident told the City Council she received a code violation for a cloth fence covering used to reduce sensory stimuli for her autistic child and asked the council to revise the ordinance.

"I'm here to respectfully request a revision to a current city ordinance regarding cloth fence coverings after receiving a violation from the city inspector," resident Christina Sheldon told the council during audience communication. She said the coverings create "a safe, calming, and semi private outdoor environment for our autistic child" and help manage a reactive dog.

The request prompted a council discussion about available options and next steps. Vice President Martha Tashnick said families could apply for a zoning-board-of-appeals waiver to demonstrate hardship but also moved to send the issue to the Law & Education Committee for a deeper review. "I would like to make a motion to send this to the law and education committee," Tashnick said.

Council voted unanimously, 6-0, to refer the question to committee. Tashnick said the referral would allow staff and the ordinance director to review the current rule, consider hardship standards, and recommend whether a local ordinance change or another administrative path is appropriate. She also said staff could consider holding enforcement of the specific violation until the committee meets.

City staff and the resident were invited to attend the committee meeting; Tashnick said the meeting would be posted publicly and interested residents could participate. The referral does not change the ordinance immediately and does not grant a waiver; any legal change would require follow-up committee and council action.

The issue arose during the council's audience communications period and was moved into the council workflow for formal study. The Law & Education Committee will report back to the council before any ordinance revision is adopted.