Saturday, February 17, 2007

BF Council limits height of front yard fences for citizen safety

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

Bosque Farms Realizing that there are safety concerns for both local law enforcement and citizens alike when it comes to the height of front-yard fences, the Bosque Farms Village Council agreed Thursday to limit how high they can be erected.

The Village Planning and Zoning Commission had initially recommended to the governing body that verbiage in the zoning ordinance include a six-foot restriction on fences in front setbacks. But when presented with concerns regarding safety, the council decided to modify the ordinance by limiting the height of visual barrier fences.

The council agreed that the ordinance be changed to read that no visual barrier fence shall exceed four feet in the front setback and no fence shall exceed six feet. The ordinance does not restrict the height of fences in the back or the sides of residential property.

Councilor Dolly Wallace was the first to question the height restriction, saying that she believes that police officer safety could be compromised if front-yard fences are too high. She said the police chief also has concerns.

"I am concerned with the six-foot visual barrier in the front and, personally, I would like us to go along with what Police Chief Joe Stidham recommended that we (pass) a maximum four-foot visual barrier restriction."

Police Sgt. Gabriel Beardsley told the council that he agrees with the police chief even though every officer who attends the state's law enforcement academy is required to jump a six-foot wall before he or she is certified. He said while he doesn't want to take away anything from the citizens, Beardsley said the issue raises real officer safety concerns.

"We don't want to make it so that everything has to be for the benefit of the police department because we are here to serve the public and we don't want to take anything away in terms of their privacy, but as a person who jumps over fences all the time, I like to be able to see what's in front of me," Beardsley said. "From a tactical perspective, you come into real officer safety problems when you can't see over a six-foot wall."

The officer told the council that being able to see the front of a house is also a safety concern. Beardsley explained to the council that, when responding to a call for service, officers like to be able to see the windows, the door and anyone who may be possibly hiding behind vehicles in the yard.

"Visual clarity is something that we'd rather have," he said. "It's also for the safety of the residents. Anytime you put something higher than four feet in front of your property, you're inviting the criminal element to come into your property because they know they can't be seen from the road."

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