Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Variance Fence topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Front-yard fence variance at 96 Cabin Springs tabled after concerns about meeting variance criteria
Summary
The Boerne Zoning Board of Adjustment and Appeals tabled a request by property owners to allow a 4-foot front-yard fence that would obscure visibility above the UDC’s 3-foot visibility line, after staff and several board members said the five required variance findings were not yet demonstrated.
Chair opened the public hearing on variance 26‑06, a request from Brown & McDonald on behalf of Jamin Kirkwood and Maria Delmar Perez Cachot for 96 Cabin Springs, asking to allow a 4‑foot fence/wall and 4‑foot gates in the front yard that would obscure vision above the UDC’s 3‑foot visibility requirement. Planner Joanne Andrade summarized staff analysis and public notice: the city received eight responses (4 in favor, 4 opposed), and staff concluded the lot’s conditions are not sufficiently unique to meet the variance criteria.
Applicant attorney Mia Marie Pugh of Brown & McDonald said the property’s uphill siting and topography create a blind spot and security concerns, and that the custom gate will include keypad/Knox‑box emergency access. Residents and a consultant with law‑enforcement experience countered that the UDC’s visibility rule promotes street-level openness and public safety and suggested less‑opaque options (for example three feet solid with a transparent top foot). Planner Andrade clarified administrative exceptions for elevation exist only for side and rear yards, not for front yards under the cited UDC provision.
Board members pressed whether the applicant had demonstrated the five required findings for a variance — including unnecessary hardship and uniqueness — and indicated at least three criteria appeared unmet as presented. The applicant requested additional time to work with staff and the HOA. The board recorded a motion to table/continue the item to allow the applicant and staff to pursue compliant alternatives and return with further documentation. No final vote on the underlying variance was taken.
