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Homewood BZA allows homeowners to repair fence at 300 Woodland Drive, preserves existing alignment
Summary
After hearing from the homeowners and neighbors, the BZA approved a variance allowing Paul and Patricia Tyber to repair and replace an existing fence along Roseland Drive, citing site‑specific hardship from trees, utilities and neighborhood context.
The Homewood Board of Zoning Adjustment approved a variance permitting Paul and Patricia Tyber to repair and replace a long‑standing fence along their secondary front property line at 300 Woodland Drive, preserving the fence’s existing alignment rather than moving it to a 9‑foot setback.
The Tybers told the board the existing fence is more than 30 years old and that conforming to the current 9‑foot setback would remove about 20 percent of their usable backyard, damage mature trees, expose utility and fiber connections and diminish neighborhood character. They said they planned to retain existing posts where possible and replace pickets with pressure‑treated horizontal slats.
Neighbor Christina Ochsenbauer, who lives one house away, supported the request and emphasized child pedestrian traffic to nearby Edgewood School: moving the fence farther from the sidewalk would not keep children off private landscaping, she said, and would expose garbage and service panels to the public. "If you have a setback fence that is suddenly 9 feet away from where the sidewalk is, there is absolutely no way that the little kids... will stay off that property," she told the board.
Staff researched comparable approvals and reported a City Council‑granted variance for 212 Broadway (2022), but could not find records for all the examples cited by the applicant. After discussion, a motion to approve the Tybers’ variance passed on roll call with Miss Childs, Mr. Nieves, Mr. Gere and Mr. Perkle voting Yes and Miss Hand voting No. Staff advised the applicants to work with Emily Harris on permit follow up.
The board’s action preserves the fence alignment in place, subject to the conditions and permitting steps typically required for such repairs.
