The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Building official
means the city's building official, code enforcement officer, or designee.
Front yard
means the area between the residence and the front property line along with the area from the front edge of the residence to the side property line.
Major repair
means any maintenance that is more than a minor repair, and includes the replacement of entire sections or panels of a fence totaling more than 20 feet in any six-month period.
Minor repair
means routine maintenance where replacement of materials is less than 20 feet in length and the scope, location, or dimensions of the fence are not changed. All minor repairs shall be made using materials with color, size, and shape as nearly identical to the original as possible, and with quality meeting or exceeding the quality of the original.
Rear yard
means the area between the residence and the back property line along with the area from the rear edge of the residence to a side property line.
Residential fence
means an artificially constructed barrier on property used for residential purposes that: encloses, separates, or screens areas of land; serves as a boundary, a means of protection, a buffer, or, a means of confinement; or, serves as a decorative element or a means of visually modifying the appearance of the property on which the fence is located. Except where otherwise required in this Code, regulations governing the height, location, and opacity of residential fences also applies to walls, hedges, or landscaping used in lieu of a fence or in combination with a fence. A residential fence is any part of a fence including the base, footings, supporting columns, post, braces, gates, structural members, or any other of its appendages.
Side yard
means the area between the residence and a side property line.
(Ordinance 20-673-14, § 1, adopted 5/21/2020)
(a) 
Any person who desires to construct or reconstruct a residential fence, or to conduct a major repair to a residential fence, within the city shall submit an application for a residential fence permit with the city secretary. The application shall provide:
(1) 
The name and address of the applicant;
(2) 
The location and description of the property on which the fence will be constructed or on which the existing fence is located;
(3) 
Plans or drawings for the construction, reconstruction, or major repair;
(4) 
The type of materials to be used for the fence; and
(5) 
The dates of the proposed construction, reconstruction, or major repair.
(b) 
Prior to submitting an application for a residential fence permit, an applicant shall determine the location of any easement, right-of-way, and utility associated with the property on which the residential fence is or will be located. An applicant shall be responsible for researching and complying with all private deed restrictions or private subdivision requirements that relate to the property on which the residential fence is or will be located.
(c) 
A permit shall not be required for minor repair of a residential fence.
(Ordinance 20-673-14, § 1, adopted 5/21/2020)
A fee set by the city council shall be charged for the permit required by this article. Before granting the permit, the building official shall ensure that the residential fence complies with this Code.
(Ordinance 20-673-14, § 1, adopted 5/21/2020)
(a) 
A residential fence shall be constructed of material commonly intended for use in a residential fence, such as wood, wrought iron, chain link, stone, masonry, brick, or other materials deemed to be commonly accepted residential fencing materials by the building official.
(b) 
An application to construct a residential fence with stone, masonry, brick fence, or a similar material, greater than four feet in height, shall be submitted with properly drawn plans sealed by a registered professional engineer.
(c) 
No residential fence shall be constructed with broken concrete stacked in piles or rows, razor ribbon wire, plywood, corrugated steel, sheet metal, tin, fiberglass panels, or any other material determined by the building official to be inappropriate for residential fence construction.
(d) 
Any residential fence constructed to intentionally conduct electrical current is prohibited except on parcels of one acre or greater. The use of a fence or fencing material constructed to intentionally conduct electrical current is prohibited as fencing or fencing material on property adjacent to or adjoining single family or multi-family residential property.
(e) 
Any residential fence constructed of barbed wire is prohibited except on parcels of one acre or greater. The use of barbed wire is prohibited as fencing or fencing material on property adjacent to or adjoining single family or multi-family residential property.
(Ordinance 20-673-14, § 1, adopted 5/21/2020)
The maximum height of any residential fence shall not exceed eight feet in the rear or side yards. The maximum height of any residential fence shall not exceed six feet in the front yard. Any residential fence located in the front yard that exceeds four feet shall contain at least 75 percent unobstructed open views comprised of uniformly spaced gaps separated by visually solid materials not less than one-half inch in width.
(Ordinance 20-673-14, § 1, adopted 5/21/2020)
(a) 
Every residential fence shall be adequately maintained by the owner or designee of the property on which the residential fence is located. No residential fence shall become dilapidated or deteriorated.
(b) 
Every residential fence must be maintained in a state of good repair, which shall include, but is not limited to: preventing any broken, loose, damaged, or missing parts; keeping the residential fence in a safe and secure condition with all braces, bolts, nails, supporting frame, and fastenings substantially free from deterioration, termite infestation, rot, rust, and loose components; and, ensuring that the residential fence is able to withstand the wind load for the residential fence. Broken, damaged, removed, or missing fence parts must be promptly replaced with the same material or materials of comparable composition, color, size, shape, and quality.
(c) 
If 50 percent or more of the length of any single side of a residential fence must be replaced due to damaged, broken, deteriorated, or missing parts, then the entire side must be replaced or the fence must be removed.
(d) 
If a residential fence is located along a boundary line between properties, then the property owner on each side of the residential fence shall be responsible for the maintenance of the side of the residential fence on his or her property.
(e) 
A residential fence shall not be more than 15 degrees off vertical alignment.
(f) 
Every residential fence that is painted or stained shall be maintained free of peeling or blistered paint and will be stained or painted as necessary. Paint or stain shall be uniform in color along the entire residential fence.
(g) 
Every residential fence must be maintained free from the growth of weeds and high grass, including any area of the residential fence located outside the fenced area.
(h) 
A permit is not required for the maintenance of a residential fence as required in this section unless bringing the residential fence into conformance with this section requires a major repair.
(Ordinance 20-673-14, § 1, adopted 5/21/2020)
(a) 
Every residential fence shall be in conformance with this article. All nonconforming residential fences shall be removed or modified to comply with the provisions of this article within two years of the effective date of this article.
(b) 
Any owner of property containing a nonconforming residential fence may request that the city council extend the period of conformance provided in this section. The city council may use any criteria to grant or deny a request for extension allowed by this section.
(c) 
A nonconforming residential fence may not be altered or expanded to increase the degree of nonconformity with this article. A nonconforming residential fence shall not be rebuilt in the case of total destruction, or repaired in the case of partial destruction, exceeding 50 percent of its fair market value.
(Ordinance 20-673-14, § 1, adopted 5/21/2020)
Every nonconforming residential fence that poses an imminent threat to the health, safety, or welfare of any person or to the general public, as determined by the building official, is hereby declared a nuisance and is subject to removal by the city upon failure of the property owner to take reasonable, timely actions to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public to repair, replace, or remove the nonconforming residential fence after the property owner has received notice of the imminent threat to the health, safety, or welfare caused by the nonconforming residential fence.
(Ordinance 20-673-14, § 1, adopted 5/21/2020)
A violation of this article is prohibited and shall be subject to the general penalties provided in section 1-13 of this Code.
(Ordinance 20-673-14, § 1, adopted 5/21/2020)