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Applicant seeks front‑yard fence variance; board urges survey, cites 1983 ordinance
Summary
Applicant Kathleen Tellez asked to extend fencing to the front and back of her lot to create space for two small dogs; board members cited a 1983 fence ordinance, recommended a property survey and suggested side-yard or front‑corner compromises instead of permitting a full front‑yard fence.
At the March 5 Hobart City Redevelopment Authority meeting, an applicant who identified herself as Kathleen (last name spelled in the record as Tellez) asked the board for guidance on installing a fence that would run from the front to the back of her lot to give her two small dogs an outdoor area.
Kathleen Tellez told the board she had photos and an AI rendering of the proposed work and explained the lot configuration limits access to a usable side yard. "I have 2 little dogs and the lot is consumed by house mostly all the way back to the alley," she said, urging the board to consider allowing the fence to come forward so the dogs could access a yard.
Board members reviewed aerial and street-view images and discussed the city's fence ordinance. A board member cautioned: "If we allow you to do that, then we're setting precedent," and noted that the ordinance (which the board said was adopted in 1983) generally prohibits front-yard fences except in narrow, land-based circumstances that existed before the ordinance.
Members and staff suggested practical alternatives that would provide usable outdoor space without breaching the ordinance: placing the fence to the front corner of the house (not past the front of the house to the curb line), using the side yard where there is more space, or adding a man door to the garage to reach the side yard. Staff advised the applicant to obtain an official property survey and bring it to the building department for guidance on allowable placement. "You need to have a survey done, like, an actual survey to find out how much space you have there," a board member said.
The board did not make a final decision on a variance at the meeting. Instead, members recommended the applicant secure a survey and work with the building department and staff before a formal variance application is considered.
Next steps: the applicant was to obtain a property survey and consult the building department; the board will consider a formal variance only after those steps are completed.
