Porter County board denies six-foot front-yard fence for kennel; allows remainder of fencing

The board considered a use and development-standards variance request from the new owners of a kennel and training facility who asked for permission to install a six-foot fence that would extend into what the county defines as front-yard area.

The applicants described inheriting an operation with prior variances, said they wanted a white vinyl fence to protect children and dogs and to meet a neighbor’s prior fencing concerns, and estimated boarding levels typically range from about 10 to 24 dogs depending on season. They explained the planned fence line would run near a row of mature shrubs and be largely obscured from the road.

Board members examined where the property’s front axis crosses the lot and whether the requested six-foot height would intrude into the front-yard setback. Several commissioners said they were reluctant to approve a six-foot fence in a front yard even when obscurely placed behind vegetation. One member said, “I really don't like the idea of a fence at all in the front, but yeah, I think six foot's too much here.”

A motion was made and seconded to deny only the six-foot portion of the proposed front-yard fence while permitting the remainder of the fence in locations outside the front-yard plane and retaining the other prior stipulations on operation.

The board’s action leaves the property owner able to install up to the county’s four-foot limit in the front-yard area without variance and to construct the taller fence outside the constrained front-yard plane; the decision reflects the board’s effort to balance neighbors’ view-shed concerns with the property owners’ safety arguments.