St. Charles Advances Overhaul to 2006 Fence Code Changes

In his poem, Mending Wall, Poet Robert Frost wrote that “good fences make good neighbors.”

But setting up a good fence code is a little more complicated. There are difference fence heights, and in some areas, the fences need to be set back from the edge of the property, and landscaping added for aesthetic reasons.

If he was still alive and visiting St. Charles, Frost might be tempted to write, “Something there is that doesn’t love a fence code …”

Then again, he probably would have desperately avoided writing something like that.

Regardless, a 2006 revision to the fence code primarily for the city’s corner lots has had some unintended consequences that St. Charles City Planner Matt O’Rourke told the Planning Commission during a public hearing last week had resulted in a hodgepodge of fences that varied from yard to yard, and created unexpected conflicts in fence heights related to front and side-yard fences restricted to 42 inches tall, with regulations for swimming pool fences, which must be 48 inches tall. Then there are rules related to privacy fences, which are 6 feet 4 inches tall and must be set back 5 feet from the property line and have landscaping added.

“In practice, staff has encountered issues with homeowners wanting to replace an existing nonconforming privacy fence on a corner lot,” states the staff documentation on the issue. “In some situations, relocating the fence to comply with the current requirements may require modifications to the yard. Also, in some instances, the fence is being used to meet the building code requirements for swimming pool security, which requires a minimum height of” 4 feet, which is 6 inches taller than the ordinance otherwise allows.

As a result, the city’s planning staff recommended some changes. Planning Division Manager Russell Colby told aldermen, meeting Monday night as the City Council Planning and Development Committee, that the fence code amendment largely would eliminate the setback requirement on the taller privacy fences, and raise the height for other yard fences from 42 inches to 48 inches to comply with swimming pool safety fence requirements.

The 5-foot setback requirement, he continued, still would be required if an exterior side yard is adjacent to a front yard.

Aldermen voted to recommend formal City Council approval of the fence code amendments.