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Kathleen Tellez seeks front-yard fence; board cites ordinance, asks for survey
Summary
At the Hobart City Redevelopment Authority’s March 5 meeting, resident-applicant Kathleen Tellez asked to install a fence that would extend toward the front of her property to create space for two small dogs. Board members said the city ordinance generally forbids front-yard fences, discussed precedent for grandfathered fences, and directed Tellez to provide a survey and work with the building department.
At the March 5, 2026 meeting of the Hobart City Redevelopment Authority, resident and applicant Kathleen Tellez asked the board for permission to install a fence that would extend toward the front of her lot to create an enclosed area for her two small dogs.
Tellez told the board she was proposing "to put a fence and a fence around the front of the property... I have 2 little dogs" and presented aerial and street-view images from meeting materials. She referenced the property in discussion as being on Garfield and supplied addresses in her materials as "212 South Beach" and "212 South Ash." The applicant said cost and recent moving made some alternatives difficult.
The board pushed back on extending the fence into what it described as the front yard. Chair said he was hesitant, adding, "I don't think that we'd be able to entertain allowing a front yard fence there," and cited concerns about setting a precedent if the board allowed exceptions. A board member explained that the ordinance adopted in 1983 created a general prohibition on front-yard fences, with limited exceptions for lots where the house orientation makes a typical front yard effectively a back yard: "Those extraordinary circumstances... have to do with the land," the member said.
Members reviewed aerial and street-level images and noted a neighboring fence that appears to be grandfathered because it predates the ordinance. The board discussed possible compromises, including running a fence to the side of the house, placing a fence up to the front corner of the house (but not past it), or adding a man door in the garage to access an existing side area. Board members repeatedly recommended the applicant obtain an official property survey to establish property lines and usable space.
The board directed Tellez to work with the building department and provide a proper survey before the board could consider allowing the fence to be placed closer to the curb. As the meeting closed on the item, staff reiterated that without a survey and full application materials, the board could not approve an expanded front-yard fence.
Next steps: the applicant was told to obtain and submit a certified survey and to consult the building department on permitted fence placement; no variance or final decision was made at the March 5 meeting.
