Colleyville staff present three requests to allow fences inside front or street-side setbacks

Colleyville staff presented three requests for special-use permits on May 27 to allow fences inside front- or street-side-yard setbacks at 5820 Bransford Road, 600 Hunter Tree and 6701 Carriage Lane. The transcript records staff descriptions of each property and questions from members; no formal vote appears in the provided transcript excerpts.

The first request, for 5820 Bransford Road, involves a property zoned R-20 where a new house is under construction. Staff said the lot is 32,652 square feet and that the owners propose a wrought-iron fence with masonry columns placed on the front property line. Staff noted a neighboring property to the north already has a fence on the property line and that the proposed design would “create a consistent look on that portion of Bransford,” according to staff.

The second request, for 600 Hunter Tree, is for a six-foot wooden fence on a corner lot. Staff said the proposed fence would align with an existing neighbor’s fence and sit about 18 feet from the curb and roughly eight feet from the property line, with about 10 feet of right-of-way between the curb and the property line. Staff characterized the lot layout as unusual because the house faces a different direction than its yard orientation, which makes the fence appear to encroach into what looks like a front yard. Staff also told the meeting that a 2019 amendment to the land development code changed where fences can be placed relative to the build line and that, under the current standards, fences generally cannot be placed forward of the house.

The third case, at 6701 Carriage Lane in the Rossdown PUDR area, concerns a fence already replaced by the property owner. Staff said the replacement is the same height and material and in the same location as the prior wood fence; the owner told staff he believed his contractor had pulled the permit. Staff measured the existing fence as about 16 feet from the property line and about 26 feet from the curb and said that the fence sits inside the street-side yard setback (the expected setback was reported as 30 feet), meaning a special-use permit would be required to keep it where it is. Staff also noted that the pool on the property functions as a safety barrier and discussed how many enforcement cases in the city are brought by neighbor complaints.

Staff and members discussed contractor registration and permitting practices during the Carriage Lane discussion. Staff said contractors registering with the city pay a $100 registration fee and that fines for work without a permit are typically about double the permit fee. One staff comment during the discussion was, “We tried to save a hundred dollars is my guess. He didn't wanna pay the registration,” referring to the contractor choice not to register or pull a permit.

Across the three items, meeting participants asked about sight-line issues, how house orientation affects setback determinations and whether replacement fences that replicate prior fences should be grandfathered. Staff repeatedly clarified that the land development code standards and the 2019 amendment guide where fences may be placed, and that some existing fences were permitted under earlier rules.

The transcript excerpts provided do not record any motions, votes or formal outcomes for these three permit requests. Further action, including whether the special-use permits will be granted, scheduled for a vote, or returned with recommended conditions, is not specified in the provided transcript.