(a) Fences and Walls in the Country Home District. In the Country Home District, fences and walls shall maintain a minimum six inch setback within the property lines and shall conform to the following regulations. This minimum six inch setback may be waived by the Zoning Administrator, when written permission from the adjacent property owner is received, providing such fence, including its foundation, shall not encroach on the adjacent property.
(1) Height and Opacity.
A. Front Yards and Corner Side Yards. Fences in a front and or corner side yard shall not exceed forty-two inches in height above the natural grade. At least seventy-five percent of the vertical surface of the fence located in a front or corner side yard shall be open and such openness shall be uniformly distributed across the vertical surface.
B. Side and Rear Yards. Fences and walls in the side or rear yard shall not exceed six feet in height above the natural grade, except fences which are erected behind the minimum side and rear setback shall be exempt from this regulation.
(2) Fences may be located in any part of the yard. Fences located adjacent to public rights-of-way shall have a one foot setback. Fences shall be located entirely on the property of the person constructing it.
(3) Fences, gates, doors and other obstructions shall not swing across or over a sidewalk, property line, or public right-of-way.
(4) All fences must comply with the visual clearance requirements for corner lots set forth in Chapter 1299.
(5) No fence shall be constructed, without Village authorization, within a right-of-way or a utility easement. Any fence constructed within a utility easement, or inhibiting access to such easement, may be removed by the Village and the cost of such removal may be charged against those parties having an interest in the fence.
(6) Materials and Construction.
A. Only ornamental fences shall be permitted in the front and corner side yards. Other fences shall be constructed of finished masonry (unfinished masonry shall not be permitted), wood, wrought iron, decorative steel, aluminum or other similar synthetic materials, except that chain link fencing shall only be permitted in the side or rear yard provided the height of chain link fences shall not exceed five feet.
B. No fence shall be electrified or topped with broken glass, spikes, barbed wire or other sharp edged material. A living fence whose species has briars, thorns or other foliage which can scratch, injure or harm a person or animal shall be kept trimmed by the owner when such fence is within the required front, side, or rear setback.
C. Fences that are painted shall be one color. Fences and walls shall be maintained in good repair at all times by the owner and/or occupant of the lot on which they are located. The smooth finished side of the fence shall be the side of the fence that faces outward from the yard being fenced.
D. All fences on a single parcel shall have a unified style along a single plane and for all fence segments visible from off the premises from any single direction.
(b) Fences and Walls in the Commercial, Office Building, and Industrial Districts Fences and Walls. Fences and walls may be erected in any Commercial, Office Building, and Industrial Districts only in compliance with the requirements set forth below:
(1) Location.
A. Fences and walls shall maintain a minimum six inch setback within the property lines at all times. This minimum six inch setback may be waived by the Zoning Administrator, when written permission from the adjacent property owner is received, providing such fence, including its foundation, shall not encroach on the adjacent property.
B. All fences must comply with the visual clearance requirements for corner lots set forth in Chapter 1299.
(2) Materials and Construction.
A. Approved fencing materials include stone, brick, finished wood, iron, or synthetic look-alike products. Chain link shall only be permitted in rear and side yards at a maximum height of six feet above the natural grade at the fence location, except as provided for in subsection 1298.12(b)(2)C. below.
B. No fence shall be electrified or topped with barbed wire, except in the industrial districts as provided for in subsection 1298.12(b)(2)C.
C. In the Industrial districts, fences topped with barbed wire are permitted to a maximum height of eight feet above natural grade at the fence location and only if the fences are fabricated with chain links topped with barbed arms turned to the inside of the property. Such barbed wire shall only be constructed above a minimum height of seven feet from the natural grade at the fence locations.
D. Only ornamental fences shall be permitted in front of a building, unless required for screening pursuant to Section 1298.06, Buffering and Screening Between Districts and Uses, or provided for outdoor dining.
E. All fences shall be designed, constructed, and finished so that the supporting members face the property of the owner of the fence.
F. All fences on a single parcel shall have a unified style along a single plane and for all fence segments visible from off the premises from any single direction.
(3) Height. No fence shall exceed seven feet in height in any rear or side yard, or exceed forty-two inches in height when located in front or corner side yards, unless otherwise required or permitted by this Zoning Code.
(4) Screening and Landscaping.
A. Screening and landscaping is not required for ornamental fences.
B. All fences, other than ornamental fences, when visible from public streets, shall be visually softened and reasonably screened from the street with appropriate landscaping as follows:
1. Fences that are located within required building and parking setbacks shall be considered appropriately screened when the landscaping required in Section 1298.04, Landscaping along the Street Frontage, is planted within five feet of the fence and between the fence and the property line.
2. Fences that are not located within the required building and parking setback areas shall be screened with the following landscape materials, planted not more than five feet from the fence and between the fence and the property line:
a. One shade tree shall be provided for every thirty linear feet of fence length or fraction thereof, not including gates or other fence openings. Each tree at the time of installation shall have a minimum caliper of two and one-half inches and a clear trunk height of at least six feet;
b. One shrub, that is twenty-four inches in height at planting, shall be provided for every five feet fence length or fraction thereof, not including gates or other fence openings; and,
c. The landscaping may be flexible in its arrangement by appropriately aggregating the required plant materials.
(Ord. 2009-17. Passed 9-15-2009.)