Board approves 8-foot fence at 1100 East Craighead Forest Road to address slope privacy

The planning committee granted a variance to allow an 8-foot fence along a sloped portion of the rear yard at 1100 East Craighead Forest Road after the homeowner said the slope made an existing 6-foot fence ineffective for privacy.

The homeowner, who identified himself as Naga and gave the property address as 1100 East Craighead Forest Road, told the committee the slope is about 20 feet long and that neighbors on higher ground can see into his yard even with a 6-foot fence. He said an 8-foot fence already exists on the left side of the property and that he sought to match that height on the rear portion to gain privacy.

Committee members asked about which portions of the property would change. Naga said he would only raise a portion of the rear fence (he referenced a 72-foot line on the drawing and described working on a portion of that run), and that he was not replacing the adjacent neighbor’s fence. After discussion, a board member made a motion to approve the variance and another member seconded. The roll call recorded the following votes: Millard — yes; Bailey — yes; Maples — yes. The motion carried and the variance was approved.

The applicant described the existing left-side fence as 8 feet tall and the right-side neighbor’s fence as 6 feet; he said he intended only to add fence where the slope reduced privacy. The committee did not identify additional conditions tied to the approval in the transcript.

Approval of the variance permits the homeowner to raise the described portion of the rear fence to 8 feet where the slope reduces privacy. The committee noted that replacement of an existing nonconforming fence may trigger code requirements if changes are made that bring the structure into current code standards.

The committee moved on to its next agenda item after the vote.