Riverside BZA approves six-foot fence at 3505 Valley Pike with cemetery-access conditions

The Riverside Board of Zoning Appeals on Oct. 28 approved a waiver and a variance permitting a six-foot chain-link fence at 3505 Valley Pike to secure an existing truck parking area, with staff-recommended conditions to protect an access easement to a nearby cemetery.

City planner Naya Holt told the board the industrial site is roughly 7.9 acres and that about one acre is used as a truck terminal. Holt said the proposed extension of a chain-link fence along North Prairie Cove triggered a waiver because chain link is not permitted in the front yard there and a variance because the fence would be six feet tall. Holt recommended approval provided the applicant verify that the fence would not impede legal access to the cemetery and suggested a survey or other documentation to confirm the easement.

Holt said the applicant proposes to expand paved parking and enclose truck parking; she described the proposed paved truck area as approximately 75 by 200 feet. Holt also noted that property maintenance issues such as debris would be handled under the city's Property Maintenance Code and, if appealed, by the Property Maintenance Appeals Board.

An applicant or representative who spoke during public comment said they were in favor of the waiver and asked for the six-foot fence to reduce theft and secure trucks. The board asked questions about where cemetery access occurred and whether the access route was on the subject parcel; Holt responded that staff had not seen a survey confirming the easement and recommended the condition requiring verification.

During deliberations some board members expressed concern about preserving cemetery access and about the visual appearance of a chain-link frontage. One board member suggested using a picket-style frontage or otherwise improving the appearance; others noted the length of the frontage would make a non-chain-link fence expensive. Staff recommended, and the board included in the approval, a condition that the chain-link be vinyl-coated or receive a decorative treatment along the frontage to improve aesthetics.

The board moved and seconded approval of the variance and waiver "with the recommended conditions based on the staff report, evidence and testimony heard today." Madam secretary recorded a unanimous roll call vote in favor: Mr. Kron, Mr. Gosnell, Mr. Smith, Mr. Teaford and Mr. Walling voted yes. The motions carried.

The approval is conditional: the board and staff said the applicant must verify and not impede any cemetery access easement before work that would block that access is permitted. Staff also noted that complaints about fence appearance or debris would be handled through the Property Maintenance Code and, if appealed, via the Property Maintenance Appeals Board.

The board did not set a construction schedule or specify enforcement steps beyond the survey/easement verification condition and the usual property maintenance enforcement process.