Commission approves 10-foot conditional use permit for side-yard fence at 4084 N. 900 W.

Pleasant Grove Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit April 24 to allow a side-yard fence up to 10 feet at 4084 North 900 West, after the city learned the property owner had already installed a taller fence.

Jacob Hawkins, a planner with the Community Development Department, told commissioners the applicant, Joel Bernasic, built a chain-link fence with vinyl coating and privacy fabric along the north property line to screen a newly built accessory dwelling unit on the neighboring lot. Hawkins said the fence as built is about 12 feet tall, runs roughly 100 feet, has footings about 3 feet deep, and sits near a retaining wall that ranges from about 2 to 3 feet in height. Hawkins said staff recommended approval of a conditional use permit with these conditions: that a building permit be obtained, that the fence have a maximum height of 10 feet measured from the ground to the top of the fence, and that final planning, engineering and fire department requirements be met.

The applicant, Joel Bernasic of 4084 North 900 West, told the commission he has lived at the property since 2010s and erected the fence for privacy after the neighboring property added a guest house and a gym with windows overlooking Bernasic's living areas. Bernasic said he had discussed the fence with the neighbors before construction and that the fence installation was expensive. “We put the retaining wall in years ago… I didn't realize that I needed to get a permit,” Bernasic said.

Commissioners questioned how fence height is measured when a retaining wall or grade difference exists. Planning staff cited Pleasant Grove Municipal Code section 10.15.38 on fences, saying the code permits fences up to 10 feet in height in side yards where a grade difference or additional screening is needed, and that fence height is measured from the ground at the fence location to the top. Commissioners noted the existing fence was built to about 12 feet and that, under the code and staff recommendation, the owner will need to modify the fence to meet a 10-foot limit. Commissioners discussed possible longer-term changes to measurement rules through a code text amendment but agreed that action could not be decided at the hearing.

Commissioner Phillips moved to approve the conditional use permit as recommended by staff; Commissioner Butler seconded. The motion carried.

The action requires the applicant to submit a building permit application and to alter the existing fence so that its height does not exceed 10 feet as measured from the existing ground at the fence location. Staff will review the building permit and confirm compliance with planning, engineering and fire requirements.