Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Albany City zoning board approves two fence variances after neighbors testify of harassment
Summary
The Albany City zoning board on Jan. 7 approved two area variances for a 463-address property to allow a taller, more opaque front-yard fence after owners said neighbors repeatedly harassed them and police advised erecting a barrier. Supportive neighbors and planning staff comments were heard.
On Jan. 7, the Albany City Zoning Board granted two area variances that will allow an existing 6-foot, largely opaque front-yard fence at the property identified in the record as 463 (transcript lists both 'Madison Street' and 'Magazine Street'). The applicants, Jake Owens and his wife, told the board they installed the fence after years of harassment from the adjacent household and said police advised them to put up a taller barrier.
The applicants presented photos of nearby properties with similar 6-foot fences and tall hedges and said the fence restored privacy and peace. "We just want peace," Jake Owens told the board, describing verbal abuse, a threatened attack and an incident he said involved a neighbor draining an above-ground pool that flooded his garage and basement.
Planning staff noted the fence had been installed without a permit and described the situation as partly 'self-created,' but said staff found no clear traffic hazard. Staff reviewed the variance criteria and urged the board to weigh benefit to the applicant against any detriment to the neighborhood; they also pointed to landscaping as an alternative option for privacy.
A nearby resident, Michael J. Sweeney of 15 Dale Street, spoke in support of the Owens family, recounting long acquaintance with them and urging approval. "Good fences make good neighbors," Sweeney said.
During discussion board members clarified corner-lot rules, sight-line considerations and setbacks; the applicants said they left gaps to preserve driveway sight lines. The Owenses said the fence cost about $8,000, was installed by Pasco Fence Company and that installation took a single day.
A board member moved to approve the first variance (recorded in the transcript as "80 25 18"); the motion passed on recorded "Yes" votes and the chair announced the variance was granted. The board then moved and approved the second variance (recorded in the transcript as "1925Dash19"). After the votes, the applicants thanked the board and left.
The board did discuss whether time-limited conditions were permissible; staff cautioned that conditioning a variance on the identity of occupants can raise legal concerns and that time limits require separate justification. The transcript does not record any additional enforcement conditions attached to the approvals.
Next steps: the approvals were announced at the meeting's close; the transcript does not record subsequent administrative steps, permit regularization, or a formal plan review schedule.
