Farmville Council will make the final decision and vote on the fence ordinance

In the end, a majority of the Farmville Town Council listened to Sallie Amos. Since last summer, Amos had encouraged her fellow council members to either scrap the proposed fencing ordinance or severely limit its scope. Over the last six months, she pointed out that this has changed dramatically from the original complaint, which involved a dispute between neighbors. Now council members were trying to regulate the height, color, shape and design of all fences in the city and charge people a fee if they wanted something different.

During the council meeting on Wednesday, January 8, Amos mentioned how she was stopped at the grocery store by residents who thought the proposals were ridiculous. She also pointed to a letter sent by a resident to the Farmville Town Council that said “citizens of this jurisdiction need relief rather than more burdensome regulations and expenses.” And so Amos made a motion to request all the details and additional to eliminate requirements that council members had included in the proposed fencing ordinance since last summer. Instead, she wanted to get back to basics, the reason why this was brought up in the first place.

Last year there was a problem on Longwood Avenue where a resident erected a privacy fence that extended from the back of the yard into the city right of way. This made things difficult for a neighbor of the person who could no longer see traffic coming from that direction when entering or leaving. When it was brought up to city officials, staff discovered that there is actually no current ordinance regarding fences. This began the work of the year, and Amos wanted to return the focus to it.

The residents are a bit confused

Additionally, residents have questioned the more detailed ordinance in recent months. At every meeting, from the planning commission to council work sessions, city residents pointed out problems with some of the proposed restrictions. Some said a fence more than three feet high was needed to keep their dog from leaving the yard. Others just wanted privacy. Another was added to the list at Wednesday's meeting.

Farmville resident Dr. Ruth Budd, spoke to the council and agreed that fencing was needed. She gave several examples of people coming to her Crestview Drive apartment to ask for money and that she didn't feel safe without a fence. However, under the more detailed regulation for protection, if she wanted a fence that was more than three feet tall and a man couldn't climb over it, Budd didn't understand why there was a charge for it. In recent months, a City Council majority had discussed requiring people who want a fence more than three feet tall to apply for a conditional use permit and go through the process, just like a business owner or developer. This permit application costs $500 in Farmville.

“If I want something different, I can appeal and take $500 out of pocket to have to go through the whole (conditional use permit) process if I want to make my house or myself safer,” Budd said. “That sounds kind of like Venezuela. Now I understand that you may want to control that people don't put up 70 foot high fences, bright yellow with graffiti, but charge $500 for a conditional use permit, for someone who needs something taller than the height, that a dog can jump over, I just don't understand it. I don’t see how it helps anyone.”

A new proposal for Farmville Town Council

And this is where Amos' proposal came into play. At Wednesday's meeting, Amos asked to delete all but two sentences in the proposed ordinance. This means no restrictions on color, shape or materials. This two-sentence ordinance states that in the Town of Farmville, “Fences shall not obstruct the visibility of any vehicle or pedestrian. “No fence shall be erected on any corner lot of any subdivision that obstructs or otherwise impairs the view of streets or traffic.”

“That’s all we need,” Amos said. “We don’t need height restrictions. We don't need conditional use permits to incur additional costs for people. This is it.”

Other Farmville council members tried to compromise. Donald Hunter asked staff if the city could eliminate the conditional use permit fee but still require residents to go through the process if they want a front fence taller than three feet.

Davis said he didn't know if that was legal, noting that all other applicants would have to pay $500 for a conditional use permit. City Attorney Gary Elder clarified that while some cities and counties in Virginia allow an applicant to apply for a one-time waiver of the conditional use permit fee, he did not believe that provision was included in any of Farmville's ordinances.

Amos put forward her proposal in the form of an application, without requiring a conditional use permit or anything other than the two sentences she mentioned. That motion passed 4-3, with council members Donald Hunter, Chuckie Reid and Daniel Dwyer opposed.

What happens now?

So what does that mean? Exactly what was in the application. Fences in Farmville can no longer obstruct the view of people traveling by car or on foot. In addition, no fence may be erected on a corner lot that blocks or otherwise obstructs the view of streets or traffic.