Nibley council reverses P&Z decision, will permit front-yard fence

By Diana Maxfield

November 4, 2005 | NIBLEY -- The City Council overturned a decision by the Planning and Zoning Commission and will allow a 6-foot fence to be built in a front yard along U.S. Highway 89-91.

Two sections of the city ordinance concerning fences conflict with each other -- in one section it states that a fence in a front yard can be 6 feet high as long as it is 30 feet back from the property line, but in another section, a front yard is defined as all the area in front of the house, city administrator and recorder Larry Anhder said.

No fence higher than 4 feet can be built in a front yard according to the ordinance, Anhder said. When there is a conflict within the ordinance, the strictest adaptation of the ordinance applies, he said. Height on fences in backyards is not restricted to 4 feet.

When Steve and Emily Ballard requested a conditional use permit that would allow them to build a 6-foot fence, they thought as long as the fence they built was 30 feet from the property line, they were within the parameters of the ordinance, Emily Ballard said.

They want to build the fence for several reasons, Steve Ballard said. His house has a big bay window facing the highway, he said, and that creates some problems.

"Privacy is the big issue," he said. "On the highway, you're on display." He said he has had neighbors and friends tell him they had seen him playing with his kids in his living room, meaning that anyone who drives by has a view into his house. Building a 4-foot fence wouldn't solve that problem, he said, but a 6-foot fence would. Other concerns he said he had were safety and noise. The property the house is built on, he said, doesn't really have a backyard, so they can't simply fence in the backyard for their children to play in.

Part of the issue in this situation is the direction that the Ballard's front door faces, Councilman Scott Wells said.

Steve Ballard said if they called the back door the front door, they could call the front yard the back yard and the restriction on fence height would be no problem. He said members of the planning and zoning commission had been concerned about creating a corridor effect on the highway for people driving past, but said he did not feel building a fence 30 feet back from the road would create this feeling. The fence would block enough for privacy, but not seclude the house, he said. Other concerns were whether he would landscape and maintain the area between the fence and the road, he said, but he presented plans to plant grass and shrubs or perhaps xeriscape the area.

"I want a beautiful home," he said.

After 90 minutes of back-and-forth discussion, Steve Ballard said he wanted to withdraw his appeal. He said the council needed to figure out what they were going to do with the highway before passing judgment on a fence in his front yard. The council was at the point of withdrawing the appeal when Emily Ballard spoke up.

"Can he withdraw if my name is on the agenda?" she asked. The council agreed that she would have to withdraw the appeal herself, and the matter went to a vote instead. The vote came out 4-1 in favor of the Ballards, and the motion passed. The council agreed to allow a 6-foot fence to be built along the front and south sides of the property at the setback line of 30 feet, under the conditions that the area between the fence and the road would be landscaped and the fence would be constructed of cedar. If these conditions are not met, the permit will be revoked and the fence will have to be taken down.

A similar motion failed in planning and zoning with a 3-2 vote Oct. 26. This is the second time in two months that the city council has voted to overturn the decision of the planning and zoning commission.

In other business, the council:
-- authorized Anhder to pursue recovering water rights.
-- authorized Anhder to look into getting an intern over winter break to make sure Nibley city laws are in line with new state laws.

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