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Hilliard board rejects request for 5-foot privacy fence at 5270 Gladstone Place
Summary
The Hilliard Board of Zoning Appeals on Dec. 18 rejected a request to allow a 5-foot vinyl privacy fence to extend past the build-to line at 5270 Gladstone Place, siding with staff and neighbors who said the fence would create a visual barrier; board members encouraged the applicant to pursue an open ornamental option with landscaping.
The Hilliard Board of Zoning Appeals voted 4-3 on Dec. 18 to deny a variance that would have allowed a 5-foot privacy fence to be built past the city's build-to line at 5270 Gladstone Place.
Planning staff, in a presentation to the board, recommended denial. "Based on these findings, staff respectfully recommends the proposed variance be denied," a staff member said, citing the fence's visual effect on the public right-of-way and the potential to alter the neighborhood's character.
The applicant told the board she preferred a privacy fence "for my family" and showed a photo of the proposed fence with landscaping, saying the plantings would reduce the fence's visual impact. Staff said the property is an unusual 0.41-acre lot on a court and that the applicant's proposal would place the fence as close as about 10 feet from the Copley Court right-of-way; by code, an open ornamental aluminum or wrought-iron style fence could be built up to roughly 17.5 feet from the right-of-way without a variance.
Board members and staff discussed the history and purpose of the city's fence rules, which allow open, ornamental styles on corner or unusual lots to preserve sight lines and avoid a "wall off" appearance along sidewalks and streets. One staff member said the board generally "[is] just not comfortable recommending for a privacy fence on these cases" because of that appearance concern.
After an initial motion to approve the 5-foot privacy fence with a condition requiring landscaping was withdrawn so the motion could be restated, a subsequent motion to approve a variance from Hilliard code (the section cited during the meeting) for a fence similar to the applicant's image with landscaping was moved and seconded. The motion failed after four members voted no, citing neighborhood reaction and the preference for a wrought-iron style fence in that location; three members voted yes.
The board encouraged the applicant to continue working with city staff to explore an open ornamental aluminum or wrought-iron fence in the same area, with landscaping as mitigation. Planning staff also noted the applicant's previous application, BZA2526, which had been denied, and that the current proposal reduced height (the prior application had been for 6 feet) to 5 feet total including a 1-foot lattice on top.
The meeting record does not show the applicant immediately agreeing to a specific revised design. Planning staff and board members suggested further coordination on design and setback as the next step.
The meeting also included brief staff updates on the city's housing study and a proclamation recognizing Aaron Epling for his service on the board. The board adjourned following the recognition.
