GOOD FENCES - GOOD NEIGHBORS

“Good fences make good neighbors.”  Really?

Today and especially in this area fences require significant preparation and planning.  What with HOA restrictions, utility and sight easements, county ordinances and general societal litigiousness, sometimes it’s a wonder we get anything done.  Still, sometimes a fence is the way to go (privacy, pets, etc.), and when you’ve decided to go there, be sure to think before you leap.  

The following checklist of considerations will go a long way to assuring your yard enclosure does not have to come back down:

• HOA restrictions.  If you live in a community governed by an owners’ association, chances are very high you have restrictions on what you can do to the exterior of your property including installing a fence.  These are typically found in either restrictive covenants recorded against every property in the association or in architectural guidelines passed by the governing association.  If you can install a fence at all, you will typically find that you are restricted in height, location, color and materials.  Generally speaking, these restrictions are likely to be upheld (though the association must have followed its own procedural requirements in enacting the restrictions for them to be binding).

• County ordinances.  Usually adopted as part of our local county zoning ordinance plans, fence restrictions vary (much like the owners’ association rules and covenants) from where and whether you can construct them to how high they can be.  Generally only shorter fences are allowed in front yards and taller ones are typically allowed in side and back/rear yards – be sure to verify how these terms are defined in the relevant code as it may not be self-evident!

• Easements.  Nothing worse than spending a lot of money on a beautiful fence only to learn later that it runs over a cable, sewer or electrical easement which gives Cox/Comcast, Public Works, or the likes of VEPCO the right to remove when they need to manage or replace the lines that run beneath.  A call to Miss Utility is a given before doing any work, but a review of your plat is a necessity as well.  A property on or near an intersection, for instance, may have what’s called a “sight easement” to assure drivers have an unobstructed view of oncoming traffic.  Such a restriction will be noted on the plat.

• Survey.  Know your property lines.  Often over time neighbors’ memories of the precise    location of the boundary tend to fade.  Or maybe the line has never really been clear.  Have a professional survey done to establish the boundary lines and then construct the fence sufficiently inside the line to avoid any issues.  Remember, if the fence veers at any point onto or over the line, you just gave your neighbor ownership rights in that part of the fence.