Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Glendale council adopts rewritten fences and hedges rule after multi-year review
Summary
The Common Council voted 4-2 to repeal and replace section 13.10.142 of the city code, standardizing front-yard, side-yard and rear-yard fence rules across Glendale and adding an ingress/egress requirement for fully enclosed front-yard fences.
The Glendale Common Council on a 4-2 vote adopted a rewritten ordinance (section 13.10.142) that reorganizes fence rules by property type, establishes a maximum five-foot front-yard setback for newly built front fences, and requires an ingress/egress method when a front-yard fence encloses the majority of the front yard.
Council members said the rewrite creates citywide uniformity where decades of individual subdivision covenants previously imposed inconsistent standards. Council staff told the council the amendment eliminates references to obsolete subdivision covenants and makes plain that six-foot fences remain allowed in side and rear yards across the city.
City planner Meredith (staff) told the council the rewrite moves the five-foot setback language into the front-yard residential fence requirements and places the ingress/egress criterion in the construction and design standards so emergency personnel retain access. “That’s the criteria… basically saying that the primary entrance of the structure can’t be prevented access,” she said.
During public discussion and council questions, members clarified the ordinance applies only to new fences and will not force removal of existing fences. Council members and staff said private covenants remain enforceable as private contracts between property owners even if a neighborhood covenant remains recorded; the city’s code governs only municipal rules.
Supporters said the new code will simplify enforcement and eliminate dozens of variance rules tied to old covenants. Opponents raised narrow concerns about corner lots where one owner’s side or rear yard functions as another’s front yard; staff said those situations affect a very small number of properties and the draft does not change existing front/side/rear classifications.
The ordinance also prohibits partial, small fenced enclosures in a front yard unless the entire front yard is fenced; small raised planter enclosures and gardens are not prohibited if they are not fenced in a way that violates the new opacity/height standards. The council approved the ordinance by roll call: Alderman Vukovich Yes; Alderman Doherty Yes; Alderman Gellhart Yes; Alderman Bailey Yes; Alderman Schmalzling No; Alderman Shaw No.
The council closed the related public hearing earlier in the meeting after hearing no members of the public speak at the chamber or online on the item.
Looking ahead, staff will incorporate the ordinance language into the published municipal code and apply the new front-yard, setback and ingress/egress rules when processing future fence permits and complaints.
