Fence ordinance nailed down

Regulations for accessory structures dropped, for the time being.

After nine months of work, Bella Vista now has an ordinance regulating fences.

The fence regulations were part of a broader ordinance that included regulations for accessory structures. At an impasse about how to proceed with the accessory structures, alderman Frank Anderson proposed an amendment during Monday night’s City Council meeting to drop all references to accessory structures. Aldermen agreed in a unanimous vote.

Removing the accessory-structure wording does not, however, mean an end to the idea.

Mayor Peter Christie agreed to quickly appoint a committee to tackle accessory structures. Driving the move to regulate these outbuildings is a desire to keep from creating eyesores in town.

During the open forum section of the meeting, Linda Loyd noted that as a real estate broker she sees the impact accessory structures can have.

“Many of my customers have a lot of their assets in their home,” she told aldermen. “They rely on the sale of their home to fund the rest of their life. I hate to be in the position to tell one you can’t sell for as much as you hoped for because of what’s next door. …. And it will take a lot longer for you to sell it because I have to find someone who’s not concerned about what’s next door.”

She urged aldermen to approve the ordinance, noting that it can be tweaked later.

“We need protection for our citizens’ assets,” Loyd said.

Immediately before Loyd spoke, Lyle Mercer

noted that the accessory structure proposal didn’t take into account lot size and terrain.

“You can’t have cookie-cutter for small lots — there are people like myself who have over seven acres,” Mercer said. “Not that I don’t understand we all want to look at something nice out the window. … I have to build back 50 feet while others do not. We all have different things. Don’t pick on one circumstance that does not fit all of us.”

The fence ordinance requires all owners of the property to consent to the fence; for the fence to not encroach on adjoining property or right of way; and can be attached to an existing fence with the owner’s consent.

It requires all front-yard fences:

• On residential property of less than four acres to be no more than four

feet tall

• On residential property of four acres, fences can be more than four feet tall if the fence is located to delineate a property boundary and does not provide seclusion or privacy from public view, the fence shall not be more than eight feet tall

• On nonresidential

property to be no more than eight feet tall.

Aldermen also approved a resolution to accept a grant from FEMA for power cots and lifts for six ambulances.