All fences, walls, and other protective barriers (referred to in this section as “fences”) of any nature, description located in the city, shall conform to the following regulations.
(A) Fences in other than M-1 or M-2 districts, unless specifically provided otherwise, shall conform to the following requirements.
(1) (a) No fence shall hereafter be located in the front yard without the prior written approval of the Director of the Department of Public Works or his or her designate. Upon the request for a permit to construct a fence in a front yard, the Director of the Department of Public Works or his or her designate shall notify the persons to whom the adjacent real property is assessed of the proposed fence. The adjoining property owner shall, within 7 days of the notice, request a hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals if he or she has an objection to the construction of the fence in the front yard. If no objection is received within 7 days of the date of notice, the Director of the Department of Public Works or his or her designate may issue a permit to construct the fence; provided, however, the fence shall be of an ornamental nature and of a design so as to be non-sight-obscuring and not in excess of 48 inches in height.
(b) Bushes and hedges must be kept trimmed to a maximum height of 42 inches. Setbacks of bushes and hedges must be at least 3 feet from the edge of any sidewalk and must be kept trimmed back to this setback. Fences may have up to 50% screen, and be of decorative design as required in § 157.089(A)(2). There shall be a 20-foot free vision zone measured from a street curb and private driveway intersection if no sidewalk exists; also, observance of a 30-foot free vision zone requirement at intersecting streets per § 157.066.
(2) (a) Fences of an ornamental nature which may be located in a front yard and any other yard shall be of approved materials, of a fence type listed below:
1. Post and rail;
2. Split rail;
3. Picket;
4. Wrought iron;
5. Chain link;
6. Wood; or
7. Vinyl.
(b) Fences of a type not listed above must be approved by the City Zoning Board of Appeals before placement in any yard.
(3) Barbed wire, spikes, nails, or any other sharp instruments of any kind are prohibited on top of or on the sides of any fence, except that barbed wire cradles may be placed on top of fences enclosing public utility buildings or equipment in any district or wherever deemed necessary by the City Zoning Board of Appeals in the interests of public safety or protection of private property.
(4) No chain link or wire fence shall hereafter be erected in any required yard space in excess of 5 feet in height above the grade of the surrounding land, unless the Zoning Board of Appeals shall give its special approval as provided in §§ 157.152et seq. of this code.
(5) Wooden fences may hereafter be erected in all residential districts to enclose property within a required side or rear yard, shall not exceed 6 feet in height above the natural, average existing grade or ground adjacent thereto, and shall not extend toward the front of the lot nearer than the front of the house or the required minimum front yard, whichever is greater.
(B) No fence shall be erected, established, or maintained on any corner lot which will obstruct the view of a driver of a vehicle approaching the intersection, with the exception that shade trees shall be permitted where all branches are not less than 8 feet above the road level.
(C) Fences in M-1 or M-2 districts with a maximum height of 6 feet may be located on property or road right-of-way lines of a lot, provided that those fences shall be located on parcels with an approved industrial use, maintained in good condition, and shall not constitute an unreasonable hazard. The fences shall be of an approved type located within the city’s Specifications Governing the Granting of Permits for Commercial or Residential Driveways and Site Improvements, adopted November 3, 1980.
(D) Required walls and screening barrier shall have no openings for vehicular traffic or other purposes, except as otherwise provided in this ordinance and except such openings as may be approved by the Chief of Police and the Zoning Administrator. All walls herein required shall be constructed of materials approved by the City Planning Commission to be durable, weather resistant, rustproof, and easily maintained; constructed in accordance with city specifications.
(E) Screen plantings may be approved to be utilized to comply with screening requirements set forth in this ordinance. Individuals wishing to utilize plantings are to submit a landscaping detail to the City Planning Commission for approval.
(1) Screen plantings shall consist of plant materials which shall constitute a closed planting strip and height of 5 feet within 2 years after planting
(2) Owners of required screen plantings have the obligation to replace or maintain the condition of the plantings.
(3) Screen plantings shall be placed in a planting strip of at least 5 feet in width.
(F) All required walls, fences, trash container enclosures, and screening barriers are to be maintained in a good condition, shall not constitute an unreasonable hazard, and shall comply with the intent for which they were required.
(G) Fencing for lots or parcels of land which abut more than 1 street frontage (private or public) shall maintain front yard setback requirements unless special approval of Zoning Board of Appeals is granted.
(H) All fences shall be constructed in such a manner that all structural members, including braces, posts, poles and other projections, shall be on the interior side of the fence.
(I) No person shall use rope; string; wire products including but not limited to chicken wire, hog wire, wire fabric, and similar welded or woven wire fabrics; chain; netting; cut or broken glass; paper; unapproved corrugated metal panels; galvanized sheet metal; plywood; or fiberglass panels in any fence or any other materials that are not manufactured specifically as fencing materials. The Building Official may require the applicant to provide the manufacturer’s standards to establish the intended use of a proposed fencing material.
(J) (1) Fences must be maintained so as not to endanger life, property, or be in a stage of disrepair in the opinion of the Code Enforcement Officer. No fence shall be attached in any way to a neighboring fence. Any fence which, through lack of maintenance or type of construction or otherwise, imperils life or property, shall be deemed a nuisance. No fence, regardless of the zoning district in which it is located, shall be constructed in such a manner as to interfere with the vision of any motorist or pedestrian on any street. No hedge shall be erected or grown in excess of 42 inches in height in front of the setback line for that property which shall unreasonably interfere with the visibility from any street or adjoining property. If any fence or hedge shall constitute a nuisance or otherwise violate this ordinance, the owner of the property on which that fence or hedge is located shall abate the nuisance within 10 days of written notice thereof.
(2) If the nuisance is not abated within 10 days after the owner of the land is notified by the Code Enforcement Officer, then the city may perform the necessary work to eliminate the nuisance at the expense of the property owner; and in the event the property owner fails to reimburse the city within 30 days after receiving notice of the amount due from the City Treasurer, then the amount shall become a lien upon the property and be collected in the same manner as collection of city real property taxes.