[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Town Council of the Town of Edmonston 9-20-2010 by Ord. No. 2009-O-001. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Trees — See Ch. 418.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to erect any wall or fence, or combination thereof, in excess of 3 1/2 feet in height, measured from the surface of the finished grade, around or on any property within the Town without first obtaining a permit from the Mayor and Council.
B. 
A permit may be granted for any deviation from such height as a special exception by the Mayor and Council if the fence is located to the rear of the building line, or if it is an ornamental iron fence or such that would enhance the beauty of the property. The Mayor and Council may require as a condition of granting a special exception that any such proposed fence having a more finished face on one side be so erected that the more finished face is outward when viewed from the surrounding properties.
[Amended 1-10-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-OR-001; 9-11-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-OR-05]
A. 
Purpose. It is the intent and purpose of this section to protect the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the Town of Edmonston and its residents by generally restricting the placement of certain types of fences on residential and commercial lots. Such restrictions shall, among other things: prevent the obstruction or reduction by man-made structures of visibility at corners and intersections for drivers and pedestrians; add to the attractiveness of the community; create a better home environment; preserve an area generally regarded by the public as pleasing to the eye; and preserve, improve and protect the general character of the lands within the Town and improvements thereon.
B. 
Definitions. In applying the fence restrictions contained in this section:
CHAIN-LINK FENCE
Shall mean a fence made from wire helically wound and interwoven in such manner as to provide a continuous mesh without knots or ties, except in the form of knuckling or of twisting the ends of the wires to form the selvages of the fabric, as well as all posts, clamps, and other accessories necessary for the stable construction of the chain-link fabric into a fence.
CORNER LOT
Shall mean any property that abuts two OR MORE adjacent public rights-of-way.
FRONT YARD
Shall mean the property between the front building line and the public street on which the property is located.
C. 
Front yard fences. Except as otherwise provided, all chain-link metal fences on or abutting on Decatur Street are prohibited between the front building line of THE property and other adjacent property, dwelling, publicly dedicated street, private street or parking area.
D. 
Side and rear yard fences. Nothing in this section shall affect the design, permitting or erection of side and rear yard fences within the Town of Edmonston. The building codes of the Town of Edmonston and Prince George's County, Maryland, as well as § 259-1 of this chapter of the Code of the Town of Edmonston shall govern such fences.
E. 
Permitted front yard fences. Fences that otherwise meet all design and construction specifications of the building codes of the Town of Edmonston and Prince George's County, Maryland, as well as the Ordinance Code of the Town of Edmonston shall be permitted as front yard fences so long as they are not constructed of chain link on Decatur Street.
F. 
Corner lots. For any property deemed to be a corner lot under this section, no chain-link fence may be erected along the side yard that abuts just Decatur Street.
G. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, aboveground electrified fencing is prohibited. Existing electrified fencing may not be replaced in kind.
H. 
Repair and replacement. All front yard fences legally existing as of October 10, 2010, which do not comply with any subsection (i.e., front yard chain-link fences), shall be deemed nonconforming uses. All front yard fences erected subsequent to October 10, 2010, that are intended to replace those fences deemed nonconforming uses shall conform to the requirements of this section. A fence deemed to be a nonconforming use under this subsection which has been removed or destroyed through no fault of, and due to circumstances beyond, the control of the owner may be replaced or repaired in a manner substantially identical in all material respects, including such factors as materials, height, length and location, to the fence so removed or destroyed. Nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the maintenance and repair of a nonconforming fence so long as the fence is not changed in character and all repairs are made with materials substantially the same as the materials requiring maintenance or repair.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of any premises within the Town to permit any hedge or shrubbery within three feet of any public sidewalk or public path to grow to a height of more than three feet, measured from the surface of the sidewalk grade or path.
B. 
On any corner lot in any residential zone, there shall be no fence, hedge, wall, terrace, structure, shrubbery, planting or other obstruction to vision having a height greater than three feet above the curb level for a distance of 25 feet from the intersection of the front and side street lines.
Whenever any hedge or shrubbery is found to be higher than is permitted by the preceding section, the Town shall mail or cause to be delivered to the owner or occupant of such premises a written notice of the violation, requiring the owner or occupant of the premises to comply with the preceding section within 10 days from the date of service of the notice, and if the same be not corrected to conform to this chapter within the time specified in the notice, the person responsible for the condition of the property shall be cited for a violation of this chapter; provided, however, that if any person interested in the property feels aggrieved by the application of this provision to his particular case, he/she may appeal, at any time before expiration of the notice, to the Mayor and Council where he/she shall be given a hearing. If the Mayor and Council find that an exceptional condition exists which would make the application of this provision as to height unreasonable in the particular case, and that permitting the greater height would result in no traffic or other hazard to the public, then the Mayor and Council may determine what is a reasonable height for the particular location under the circumstances, and such person shall, from and after the expiration of three days from the time of such determination, not permit such hedge, fence or shrubbery to be or grow to a height greater than that determined.
All hedges or shrubbery shall be planted sufficiently back of the property line so that when grown to three feet and trimmed they shall not extend over the sidewalk and impede the foot traffic or create a safety hazard.
A. 
Industrial area plantings. Any building or property abutting or facing a residential zone is required to provide appropriate screening, trees, shrubs, or fences which will limit the visibility of the industrial use from neighboring residential properties.
B. 
Whichever screening methods are proposed for § 259-5A must be submitted to the Town of Edmonston Town Administrator for approval prior to installation.
C. 
In the event the proposed screening is denied by the Town Administrator, an appeal may be made to the Mayor and Council whose decision will be final.
All retaining walls constructed along a sidewalk shall require a building or construction permit. Construction plans must be submitted to the Town of Edmonston prior to construction for approval and payment of building permit fee.
Violations of the provisions of this chapter are declared to be municipal infractions, the penalty for which shall be $100 for each offense. Each day that a violation continues after initial notice shall constitute a separate offense.