2009-38 AMENDING ZONING ORDINANCE - URBAN CORRIDORS - FENCES - NON-CONFORMING USES

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Excerpts from Plan Commission Minutes of May 7,2009 continued: • in industrial districts. Property owners in office and commercial zoning districts will be allowed to petition the Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance to erect barbed or razor wire. • Fences which are built across property lines. • Allow low density residential property owners to build fences up to eight feet adjacent to heavier uses for additional screening. • Allow residential property owners to build fences up to 6 feet in height adjacent to a street in their side yard for properties located on a corner lot. A front yard for properties located on a corner lot will be determined by the street the front door faces. Additionally, Staff is recommending a permit be required to construct a new fence as we believe that this is the most efficient and cost effective way for the City to ensure the guidelines are being met. Many of the cited problems could have been prevented or more easily resolved if a property owner would have been required to take out a permit. The permit will require property owners to research their property lines and draw where they are going to erect their fence. As the Ordinance reads now, this process requires many extra City Staff hours in addition to neighbors' time and resources in researching the issue. Moreover, the majority of the time without a permit and submission of a scaled drawing the City has no concrete proof of when a fence was erected. This leaves only a complaint from a neighbor who most of the time does not have sufficient photos of when the fence was erected. For the cost of twenty-five (25) dollars, staff feels City residents and our neighborhoods will receive a lot of benefit from the permitting process. The other Sections are being amended as a result of the changes to the Non-Conforming Uses and Fences Sections. These proposed changes will make the Zoning Ordinance more comprehensive and avoid contradictions. Hyphens were also added to existing "nonconforming use" phrases throughout Section XXIII to create uniformity within the Ordinance. Phrases involving numbers spelled out and/or numerically written were also adjusted to create uniformity. Staff recommends approval of the amendments as proposed. Section XXIX.G. of the Zoning Ordinance requires the Plan Commission to hold a public hearing and make recommendations to the City Council on amendments to the Zoning Ordinance. A motion to forward Calendar Number 09-24 to City Council with a recommendation of approval is suggested. Ms. Elayna Sadorus asked if the permit would be required of all height of fences. Ms. Ashe responded all new height fences would require a permit. Ms. Sadorus asked if a decorative fence for landscaping purposes would be required to pull a permit. Ms. Ashe stated not a decorative fence, only a protective or privacy fence. Mr. Matthew Jackson asked if the point for the permit is to give the City a record and time of when the fence was erected along with its statistics. Ms. Ashe stated this was correct. The