This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "City of Royal Oak Fence Ordinance."
For the purposes of this chapter, certain words used herein are defined as follows:
FENCE A barrier erected upon, or immediately adjacent to, a property line for the purpose of separating properties, or for screening, enclosing, and/or protecting the property within its perimeter. A fence shall not include construction site barriers, landscape treatments, or privacy screens as defined herein.
PRIVACY SCREEN A barrier erected within the interior of a parcel of property and not upon, or immediately adjacent to, a property line for the purpose of obscuring patios, decks, courtyards, swimming pools, and other similar outdoor features, from observation by persons outside the perimeter of the property. Privacy screens shall not include landscape treatments.
SIGHT-OBSCURING Opaque or having such qualities as to constitute an effective visual barrier in the determination of the City's Chief Building Inspector. A chain-link fence, in the absence of slats, shall not be considered sight-obscuring.
YARD, FRONT A yard extending across the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the minimum horizontal distance between the principal building and the front lot line, and measured perpendicular to the building at the closest point to the front lot line. In all cases, the front lot line shall be considered to be that portion of the lot which abuts a public road right-of-way or private road easement.
YARD, REAR A yard extending across the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the nearest point of the principal building. In the case of a lot which comes to a point at the rear, the rear lot line shall be that imaginary line parallel to the front lot line, not less than 10 feet long, lying wholly within the lot and the farthest from the front lot line.
YARD, SIDE A yard between any building and the side lot line, extending from the front yard to the rear yard. The width of the required side yard shall be measured horizontally from the nearest point of the side lot line to the nearest point of principal building.
Any person, firm, or corporation that owns or leases property upon which a fence or privacy screen is located shall be responsible for the repair, upkeep, maintenance, and reconstruction of any such fence or privacy screen and any area adjacent thereto. If ownership of a fence located upon a property line is joint or cannot be determined, then each party owning or leasing property adjacent to the fence shall be responsible for its care, upkeep, and maintenance.