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Resident urges exception to allow 6-foot temporary deer fencing for front-yard gardening
Summary
A Market City resident told the planning commission she lost gardens to deer and was cited for temporary fencing; commissioners and staff discussed drafting a 'wildlife exclusion' exception to permit seasonal, removable 6-foot fencing in limited front-yard situations and will return with draft language.
Madeline Smaran told the Market City Planning Commission on March 3 that severe deer pressure and large right-of-way areas on her lot make gardening in rear yards impossible and that she was cited after installing removable chicken-wire fencing to protect a front-yard garden. “I hung 6 foot chicken wire on removable fence posts around the perimeter of my garden, which I claimed to remove at the end of the season,” Smaran said, adding that when she shortened the fence to comply with a 4-foot front-yard limit it no longer excluded deer.
Her testimony prompted a detailed work-session discussion about whether the land development code should allow a narrowly tailored exception for wildlife exclusion. “You have no the planning commission, no discretion on anything in the right of way,” Jake Blueberry said, noting that changes affecting right-of-way would need action by the city commission. Staff advised that the planning commission could amend the temporary-fencing section (Fencing §706) to add a specific seasonal, material- and location-limited allowance rather than changing front-yard height standards across all zoning districts.
Commissioners and residents described practical constraints: temporary barriers must be removable yet sturdy enough to withstand deer that can jump or dismantle lightweight nets. Commissioners suggested limiting any exception to defined months (for example, summer gardening season) and adding material or anchoring standards so the provision allows genuine, purpose-built wildlife exclusion fencing rather than improvised barriers.
Staff said a separate draft ordinance regulating use of the public right-of-way is already headed to the city commission and that the planning commission’s authority is limited to zoning and fence standards on private property. Several commissioners asked staff to draft language amending the temporary-fencing section to add a wildlife‑exclusion allowance with clear months, material standards and vision-triangle safeguards.
The planning commission took no formal vote on a code change at the meeting; commissioners asked staff to return with proposed amendment language at a future meeting. The commission noted the March 17 meeting as the next scheduled date for continued business.
