Village of Fayetteville, NY Chapter 73 Fences

[HISTORY: Adopted the Board of Trustees of the Village of Fayetteville 3-12-2013 by L.L. No. 4-2013.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.

GENERAL REFERENCES

Fire prevention and building construction administration — See Ch. 78.

Dumpsters — See Ch. 86, Art. III.

Housing standards — See Ch. 99.

Private swimming pools — See Ch. 154.

Zoning — See Ch. 187.

[1] Editor's Note: This local law was adopted as Ch. 66, but was renumbered to maintain the organization of the Code.

§ 73-1 Purpose and intent.

It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to establish regulations for the installation and construction of fences on real property located within the Village of Fayetteville.

§ 73-2 Definitions and word usage.

A. Scope. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the words and terms shall, for the purposes of the Code of the Village of Fayetteville, have the meanings shown in this chapter.

B. Interchangeability. Words used in the present tense include the future; words stated in the masculine gender include the feminine and neuter genders; and the singular number includes the plural, while the plural number includes the singular. The word "shall" is always mandatory; the words "may" or "will" are always permissive.

C. Terms defined in other codes. Where terms are defined in the National Electric Code (NEC) or in the Code of Village of Fayetteville and are defined in the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (Uniform Code), such terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them as in those codes.

D. Terms not defined. Where terms are not defined through the methods authorized by this chapter, such terms shall have ordinarily accepted meanings such as the context implies. Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, shall be considered as providing ordinarily accepted meanings.

§ 73-3 Location of fences or screening devices.

A. No fence or screening device shall be installed or maintained in any easement, public street, sidewalk or right-of-way unless submitted to and approved by formal resolution of the Village of Fayetteville's Board of Trustees.

B. A fence or screening device shall be located a minimum of 12 inches back from any public sidewalk. If there is no public sidewalk, the fence or screening device shall be installed a minimum of 10 feet from the edge of the road.

C. No fence or screening device shall be more than four feet high (above grade) in the front yard (as defined below).

(1) The front yard is the space within and extending the full width of the lot from the front lot line to the part of the principal building which is nearest to such front lot line (§ 187-2B).

(2) At all street intersections, there shall not be constructed any obstructions to sight lines of vehicular traffic. No fence, wall, hedge or other similar planting more than 3 1/2 feet shall be erected, placed or maintained within the triangular areas formed by the intersecting street lines and a straight line joining said street lines at points which are 30 feet distant from the point of intersection, measured along said street lines (§ 187-10B).

D. No fence or screening device shall be more than four feet high (above grade) in the side yard (as defined below) between the front yard (as defined above) and the front corner of the principal structure. No fence or screening device shall be more than six feet high (above grade) between the front corner of the principal structure and the rear lot line (§ 187-2B). The side yard is the space within the lot extending the full distance from the front yard to the rear yard and from the side lot line to the part of the principal building which is nearest to such side lot line (§ 187-2B).

E. No fence or screening device shall be more than six feet high (above grade) in the rear and side yard in the rear yard (as defined herein). The rear yard is the space within and extending the full width of the lot from the rear lot line to the part of the principal building which is nearest to such rear lot line (§ 187-2B).

§ 73-4 Materials of fences or screening devices.

A. Fencing or screening devices shall be uniform in design, of natural or natural-appearing material or chain link. No barb- or electric-wired fencing shall be allowed.

B. The finished, or more aesthetically pleasing finished, side of the fence or screening device shall face the adjoining properties.

§ 73-5 Other fences or screening devices.

A. All swimming pools shall be effectively fenced by an artificial enclosure not less than four feet in height above the ground that surrounds either the property or the pool area (§ 154-9).

(1) If there is a gate in the fence, said gate shall have a lock.

(2) The fence shall be strong enough to make the pool inaccessible to small children.

(3) The fencing shall be opaque or made so by plantings such as bushes or trees.

(4) Fencing of aboveground pools shall be required, unless the aboveground pool, in its entirety, is four feet in height above the ground.

B. In other than R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4 Residential Districts, the placement of swimming pools, together with the restrictions imposed thereby for a proposed fence or screening device, shall require site plan approval by the Village of Fayetteville's Planning Board. Recreation courts installed in a rear yard (as defined in the Zoning Code of the Village of Fayetteville) may be a maximum of 12 feet in height, subject to site plan approval by the Village of Fayetteville's Planning Board.

C. Dumpsters used for the collection of garbage and other waste materials shall be enclosed on all sides by a solid and opaque fence and gate enclosure that exceeds the height of the dumpster by a minimum of one foot (§ 86-22).

(1) The fencing shall be opaque or made so by plantings such as bushes or trees.

(2) The minimum setback of the fencing for a dumpster from an adjoining residential property shall be 10 feet.

D. Communication towers and accessory structures shall be enclosed by a locked security fence not less than six feet in height (§ 187-69).

(1) The tower itself shall be equipped with appropriate anticlimbing devices.

E. Fencing or screening devices not otherwise addressed in this chapter shall require site plan approval by the Village of Fayetteville's Planning Board.

§ 73-6 Disputes.

In the event of an issue or dispute regarding the foregoing, the Codes Enforcement Officer shall make the determination subject to the owner's right to appeal such determination via a variance or interpretation to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

§ 73-7 Waiver or assumption of liability.

This chapter shall not create liability on the part of the Village of Fayetteville, any officer or employee thereof for any damage that results from reliance on this chapter or any administrative decision lawfully made hereunder.

A. Contiguous property owners sharing common fencing, screening devices and/or attached fence posts, or where fencing, screening devices and/or attached fence posts are installed on the common property line, are advised to consider establishing a written agreement between property owners that would be binding on successors in title and recorded in the Onondaga County Clerk's office. Otherwise, improvements located on the common property line may be subject to removal by any present or subsequent transferee of either property.

§ 73-8 Variances.

Any person aggrieved by the Code Enforcement Officer's application of any of the provisions of this chapter may appeal such decision to the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Fayetteville as provided in the zoning regulations of the Village of Fayetteville and the Village Law and shall comply with all procedural requirements prescribed by such Zoning Board of Appeals.

§ 73-9 Penalties for offenses.

Any person committing an offense against any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable for each offense by a fine or by imprisonment as set forth in Chapter 113 of this Code.