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Kathleen Tellez seeks front-yard fence for dogs; authority urges survey and limits to porch corner
Summary
At the March 5 Hobart City Redevelopment Authority meeting, resident applicant Kathleen Tellez asked to place a fence forward to create a secure area for two small dogs. Board members said the city ordinance generally bars front-yard fences, advised a property survey, and suggested allowing fencing only to the front corner of the porch pending staff review.
At the Hobart City Redevelopment Authority meeting on March 5, resident Kathleen Tellez asked the board for permission to install a fence that would extend from the front of her property toward the sidewalk and run to the rear to enclose a usable area for her two small dogs.
Tellez, who identified herself by name for the record, told the board she has “two little dogs and the lot is consumed by the house mostly all the way back to the alley,” and that she shared images of the proposed fence (described in the record as AI renderings). She said vehicle access and the attached garage layout make it difficult to reach a rear strip of yard without extending the fence farther forward.
Board members responded that the city’s fence ordinance — adopted, they said, around 1983 — generally does not permit front-yard fences except for circumstances where fences predate the ordinance or where lot geometry creates an unusual hardship. “We can’t be careful, because if we allow you to do that, then we’re setting precedent,” the Chair said, explaining the consistency rationale behind past denials and narrow exceptions.
Members walked through aerial and street views with the applicant and noted an existing neighbor fence and narrow side-yard dimensions. The authority advised Tellez to obtain a formal property survey to establish accurate property lines and then work with the building department. One member suggested an option that would avoid extending past the porch: “You can come all the way up to the front corner of the house to the property line,” the Chair said, adding that fencing beyond the curb line or into a neighbor’s front yard would not be allowed.
The board did not take a formal vote on approving a front-yard fence. Instead, members offered guidance: submit a certified survey to staff, discuss the precise fence alignment with the building department, and consider less intrusive alternatives such as adding a man door to the garage or fencing from the porch corner to the property line. Tellez was told to consult neighbors and to return with the required survey and paperwork if she wishes the authority to reconsider any variance request.
The meeting record shows the board’s emphasis on code consistency and precedent; next procedural steps are documentation (survey) and staff review rather than an immediate approval.
