Politics & Government
Homeowner not Allowed to put Fence in Open Space Buffer
Upper Macungie Supervisors turn down request of homeowner on Wyndham Drive who sought to extend his back fence into open space buffer.
turned down a request by a homeowner on Wyndham Drive to extend his backyard fence into an open space buffer.
Supervisors said it would set a precedent if they allowed Kyle A. DeLabar to extend his backyard fence into the easement behind his property near Windermere Ave.
Township Solicitor Andrew Schantz told the supervisors that DeLabar’s complaint is that the open space easement had been used by some people who have left litter and even drug paraphernalia there.
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“He’s requesting that his property be released from the open space easement so he can put a fence further into the tree line, which would maintain privacy and security for his family,” Schantz said.
DeLabar planned to use floodlights to light the area at night to discourage such people from congregating there.
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Supervisor Sam Ashmar said if they allowed DeLabar to put fencing on the open space buffer, they’d have to do if for others who request it. Schantz said the township has had 30 or 40 requests in the last year to release open space easements and it hasn't granted any of the requests.
The open space buffer behind the homes at Wyndham Drive is right along two subdivisions and it’s designed to provide some privacy between the backyards of the properties, Schantz said.
Township Engineer Dean Haas said he could talk to DeLabar about how he might deal with the problem without encroaching on the open space. The homeowner had suggested he’d open up the fence in the back and extend the side fences into the buffer to make unwelcome visitors visible and discourage them from using the area. Haas said DeLabar open up the back fence and accomplish the same thing without extending the fence into the open space buffer.
The supervisors rejected the DeLabar’s request, saying they didn’t want to set such a precedent.
At a supervisors meeting in early May, numerous residents from the Heritage Highgate development on Yorkshire Drive in Breinigsville made that the easement restrictions there be modified to allow them to use the open space land.