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Board sets conditions and staff review for fences at 831 and 835 West High Street after unpermitted work
Summary
The Board of Architectural Review required changes July 23 to recently built fencing at 831 and 835 West High Street after staff found front-yard and privacy fences had been installed without the required COA and in ways inconsistent with the district's guidelines.
The Board of Architectural Review acted July 23 on two adjacent properties on West High Street where fence work was built without a valid certificate of appropriateness. The board approved conditioned outcomes that require the applicant to alter recently built fencing and coordinate final details with staff.
At 831 West High Street the board required that the front-yard fence be reconstructed as a more open, transparent picket-style fence consistent with district guidelines and that staff and the applicant conduct an on-site review to set the exact point where a 4-foot (front) fence transitions to a 6-foot privacy fence. The board said the transition point must not be closer to the street than the front corner of the adjacent apartment building and required the applicant to obtain any right-of-way permits that may be necessary.
At 835 West High Street the board approved the proposed rear and side fencing provided the eight-foot sections are reduced to six feet, and it added a condition that any six-foot side-yard fencing not rise above the bottom sill of adjacent house windows and must stop at the midpoint of the side elevation of the referenced house. The board authorized staff to work with the applicant on placement and final details and included the standard conditions that any changes be submitted to staff for review and that other city-division approvals be secured before work starts.
Councilwoman Jennifer Reynolds, representing the 11th District, spoke in opposition to the dense, tall front-yard fence and cited safety concerns at the nearby curve in the road. Staff and several board members said the neighborhood's historic guidelines favor transparency for front-yard fences and more solid privacy fences only in rear yards.
The board's approvals are conditioned on the applicant's resubmission of details, removal and reconstruction of the noncompliant front-yard fence in a picket/open style, staff verification on site of the transition point, and obtaining any required right-of-way permits. The board added a 60-day extension window so the parties can reach an administrative resolution or return to the board if needed.
