- Oct 3, 2007
- 1,539
Since I can't seem to get a straight answer from the zoning department in my town I thought I would ask here about a specific issue I'm having. My back yard is approximately 100' x 75' and I need to fence it because we want to be able to let Hank run without needing to always be on a line. Needless to say a 6 foot fence is in order all the way around the property if I expect to keep him in once he is fully grown. The regulations in my town read that a 6 foot non-transparent (basically anything other than chain link) fence must be set back 2' from the property line, which is perfectly reasonable. However, I have neighbors on both sides with two different fences. On one side is a 6 foot stockade fence which belongs to my neighbor and runs nearly the length of my property line. This is a bonus for me since it's about 80' of fence that I don't have to buy, but the way the 2' setback rule reads it doesn't seem to follow that I could butt my fence up against his (for instance at the corner of the property) in order to create an unbroken barrier for Hank.
On the other side is a four foot chain link fence which belongs to my other neighbor. That fence is fine for now but will not serve as much of an obstacle to the dog once he is fully grown. I want to run 6' stockade fence down that side of the property, but again, reading the 2' setback rule literally, it sounds as though I would end up with a 2' gap between my neighbor's chain link fence and my stockade fence which would first of all be unsightly for my neighbor and second of all be nearly impossible to mow making it even more unsightly. Am I reading too much into the rules? Has anyone here dealt with a similar situation in their town?
On the other side is a four foot chain link fence which belongs to my other neighbor. That fence is fine for now but will not serve as much of an obstacle to the dog once he is fully grown. I want to run 6' stockade fence down that side of the property, but again, reading the 2' setback rule literally, it sounds as though I would end up with a 2' gap between my neighbor's chain link fence and my stockade fence which would first of all be unsightly for my neighbor and second of all be nearly impossible to mow making it even more unsightly. Am I reading too much into the rules? Has anyone here dealt with a similar situation in their town?