(a) Permits Required. A fence permit shall be obtained prior to the erection, construction, alteration, or moving of a fence within the City. No person who is the owner of a property, the agent of the owner, or a party in control of a property, shall erect, alter or move a fence, or permit a fence to be constructed, altered or moved on said property, without a fence permit having been issued or after a fence permit has been revoked. A contractor shall be considered the agent of the owner of the property on which the contractor erects, alters or moves a fence.
(b) Permit Application; Fees.
(1) An application for a fence permit, signed by the owner, agent of the owner, or person in control of the property where the fence is to be erected, constructed, altered or moved, shall be filed with the Department of Building and Housing on a form furnished by the Director of Building and Housing.
(2) An application for a fence permit shall be accompanied by a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00). There shall be an additional charge of ten dollars ($10.00) for each inspection required due to an incomplete application or as a result of any violation of this section. If any part of a fence has been erected, constructed, altered or moved without a fence permit having been issued, the permit fee shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00), but the payment of such double fee shall not relieve any person from fully complying with the requirements of this Section or any other State law or City ordinance.
(3) A fence permit shall be issued only after the City receives a complete application with all information required by the Director of Building and Housing on the application form, the full fee is paid, and the City determines that the proposed fence and its location are in full compliance with the City's ordinances and any applicable State law and regulations.
(4) The Director of Building and Housing may add terms and conditions to the permit, at the Director's discretion, that are consistent with the requirements for fences in the City's ordinances.
(5) Only one fence permit and one fee are required for fences six feet in height or higher that are required to have a permit under the Building Code. However, all other provisions of this section shall apply to fences of all sizes.
(c) Permit Revocation. A fence permit may be revoked:
(1) If the fence approved by the permit is not fully erected, constructed, altered or moved, as allowed by the permit, within twelve months from the date the permit is issued; or
(2) If the fence or its installation violates the terms and conditions of the permit or any ordinances or State law or regulations. The permittee shall be provided notice in writing and a reasonable time as determined by the Director of Planning, or said Director's designee, to complete the fence or correct any violations prior to the revocation of the permit. No person shall perform any work on installing, altering or moving a fence after the revocation of the permit.
(d) Enforcement and Penalty.
(1) The erection, construction, alteration or moving, in whole or in part, of a fence without a permit, or after a permit has been revoked, shall be a first degree misdemeanor.
(2) The City may enforce this section by bringing a prosecution, by bringing an action in equity for an order to abate a violation or to remove a fence erected, constructed, altered or moved in violation of this section, or by taking any other action the City is authorized by law to take to enforce its ordinances.
(3) The Director of Planning, or said Director's designee, shall have the authority to issue and revoke permits, to inspect plans for fences, to inspect fences, to issue an order to bring a fence into conformance with a permit and/or the ordinances of the City and laws and regulations of the State, to remove a fence in violation of a permit or said laws and regulations, and/or to bring or initiate any action to enforce this section.
(4) The Director of Planning, or said Director's designee, may declare any fence in violation of the City's ordinances a public nuisance, and proceed to abate said nuisance as permitted under Chapter 107 of the Codified Ordinances, including assessing the cost to the City of any abatement of such nuisance to the property on which the fence is located, without further ordinance of Council.
(Ord. 17-92. Enacted 11-13-17.)
(Ord. 17-92. Enacted 11-13-17.)