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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA4 t 2124 Torrey Pines Rd. Appeal - Page 1 The enforcement letter dated December 19, 2014, states that the rear portion of the privacy/partition fence along the property lines of our back yard violates Ames Municipal Code Section 29.408(2)(c)(iii)(b), because it is six feet tall and is not five feet from our property's rear lot line. We disagree with the interpretation and enforcement of Ames Municipal code Section 29.408(2)(c)(iii) for multiple reasons which we lay out below. First, however, we provide some background on why we have invested a significant amount of money, effort, and time to erect the fence along the side and rear property lines of our backyard. We own two Samoyed dogs that need to be outside a good amount of time, because of their size, athleticism, and energetic natures. The previous owners of the property built a chain link fence, approximately four feet high, around the backyard. Our back yard abuts a public way that contains the bike path on the west side of Stange Road; our dogs sometimes bark at people on the path, or they bark at rabbits and squirrels right outside the fence. Otherwise they only bark intermittently when they are playing with each other. We discovered that people come up to the fence and our dogs stand up and put their front paws on the top of the fence to be petted by those who pass by on the bike path. This concerns us, in the event our dogs might bite someone if they feel scared or threatened, and even creates potential liability for us. In addition, with a foot or so of snow, the four foot fence is more like three feet, thus potentially it could allow our dogs to run and jump over the fence. Ames Municipal Code allows for a fence to be on the property line in compliance with Iowa Code Section 359A.16 (2014). Ames Municipal Code Section 29.408(2)(c)reads in its entirety: (c)Location and Height. (i)Height in Front Setbacks&Yards. The maximum height of fences in front setbacks and front yards is four(4)feet. 2124 Torrey Pines Rd. Appeal - Page 2 (ii) Height in Side and Rear Setbacks.The maximum height for fences in side or rear setbacks is six(6)feet,except as further limited by this section in setbacks abutting street rights-of- way. (iii)Height in Setbacks Abutting Rights-of-way. The maximum height of fences in any setback abutting a street right-of-way is four(4)feet,except that up to six(6)feet of fence is allowed in any side or rear setback if. (a)The lot does not abut the front yard of any other residential property along the same side of the street; (b)The fence is at least five(5)feet from the property line abutting a street right-of-way. Within this five(5)foot area, landscaping is required consisting of one landscape tree for every 50 lineal feet and two high or three low shrubs for every ten lineal feet of area to be planted. It is clear that a fence can be six feet in the back yard and side yards unless there is an abutting street right-of-way. In that case, it is four feet unless the front yard of the neighbors next door house does not face the back or side yard. There is an exception(b)that the City of Ames is trying to enforce, but it is not applying exception(a) at all. The enforcement letter failed to list both possible exceptions to the general four foot height limitation for fences in a rear setback abutting a street right-of-way. Because there is no coordinating conjunction, such as an "and," or an"or"between the two exceptions the second exception only applies if the first one does not. This is further evidenced by the semicolon between the two exceptions. Semicolons are used to connect two independent clauses with a pause that is not as long as the pause that goes with a period. Therefore, the exception stated in (a) is completely independent of the exception stated in(b). Our property meets the first exception listed in (iii)(a). Our lot does not abut either of our 2124 Torrey Pines Rd. Appeal - Page 3 neighbors' front yards along the same side of the street. We are thus allowed to build a six foot tall privacy fence along the rear lot line. The second exception requiring a six foot high fence to be moved five feet back from the property line does not apply to our property. The second exception only applies to rear fences on rear facing properties that abut a front facing property. This may be seen when Ames Municipal Code Section 29.402(4) is interpreted in conjunction with Section 29.408(2)(iii). Our property is zoned as RL according to the current Ames City Zoning Map. Ames Municipal Code Section 29.402(4) reads in its entirety: 4) Through Lots and Corner Lots.On through lots,and corner lots with two or more abutting streets, except lots within the RL, RM.And UCRM Zoning Districts,the required front setback shall be provided on all streets. Reading Section 29.402(4) in conjunction with 29.408(2)(iii)(b) shows that the setback of five feet is intended entirely for when a neighbor's front yard is facing the street abutting the rear of your property or the side of your property. Our interpretation of Ames Municipal Code Section 29.408(2)(iii) is further supported by the fact that there are fences more than four feet high all over the city that are closer to a property line abutting a street right-of-way than five feet when the neighbor's house does not face the abutting street right-of-way. Several of these fences are right in our subdivision along Stange Road and others are readily found further north on Stange Rd., Bloomington Rd., Hoover Rd., 13th St., Grand Ave., Duff Ave., and Ontario St. A number of those fences were erected professionally with some having a sign from The Fence Company. One would assume that a professional fence builder putting up fences in Ames would be following the City of Ames ordinances. None of the attached photos qualify under exception (iii)(b), while all but a couple would qualify to be on the property line with an abutting street under exception (iii)(a). See 2124 Torrey Pines Rd. Appeal - Page 4 attached photos. The photos provided are just a few of the fences in the City of Ames where the fence is on the property line with an abutting street with most falling under exception(iii)(a) and the photos were taken on major roads. There are many more similar fences throughout Ames on side streets and other major roads. Enforcement action has not been taken against the property owners of these fences, as evidenced by the fact that these fences have not been moved back five feet from the street right-of-way abutting the property line the fence is erected along, or lowered to a height of four feet. The rear fence along our rear lot line is also 37 feet 5 inches back from Stange Road, due to the bicycle path that runs down Stange from 24`h Street to University Boulevard. The bike path is eight feet from the street and is eight feet wide, and our fence is 21 feet 5 inches from the bike path. This bike path is part of a public way that runs along Stange Road from 24`h Street past our subdivision and down to 13`h Street. Once again, if this interpretation is incorrect, there are numerous fences that are readily seen on main thoroughfares in Ames that do not comply. We therefore respectfully request that the City of Ames cease its attempts to force us to comply with a municipal code section that does not apply to our property. Sincerely, �,k-�- k" Angela Doss, J.D. and Duane Huffer Ph.D., J.D.