Macedonia council adopts ordinance to allow solid privacy fences, changes yard definitions

Macedonia City Council on Feb. 13 approved Ordinance 80-20-24 to amend portions of Chapters 11.33 and 11.71 of the city’s codified ordinances to revise yard definitions and allow solid privacy fences.

Councilmember Hunter, who presented the ordinance and prepared a synopsis of changes, told the council he had spent roughly six months gathering input and said, "This is what the residents want. I think they should be able to have a choice." He said the revision restores what some residents considered a lost use of their property caused by earlier zoning definitions for corner lots.

The ordinance changes include redefining front, side and rear yards to remove ambiguities on corner lots; an explicit allowance for solid privacy fences where lawful; and removal of the current 25% light-and-air surface-visibility requirement for certain fence types. Councilmember Hunter and others also noted a 10-foot setback from the right-of-way for corner lots to address sightline and…