No person, agent or corporation shall construct, erect or bury any permanent object or structure, as defined by Article 2, Section 102 of the Zoning Ordinances and Regulations of the City, or any fence, driveway or hard surfaced walk or terrace upon any dedicated street, alley or utility right-of-way or upon any easement acquired by the City or utility company without first obtaining a permit from the Zoning Administrator, Provided, However, no fence of any description shall be located on dedicated street right-of-way and the maximum height of any fence located in a front yard, as defined by Section 2-102 of the Zoning Ordinances and Regulations of the City, shall be four (4) feet.

(Ord. 1139, Sec. 1; Ord. 1175; Ord. 1177; Code 2015)

To obtain the required permit, the person, or his or her authorized agent, desiring to establish the obstruction upon said right-of-way or easement shall submit to the Zoning Administrator a written construction plan, which plan shall contain dimensions and other details which may be required from time to time by the Zoning Administrator or the Governing Body. The minimum requirements for the issuance of said permits shall include:

(a)   On dedicated street, alley or utility right-of-way or easement:

       Constructed items requiring solid attachment to the ground shall not be located:

(1)   Within Fifteen Feet (15’) of the street curb or within Fifteen Feet (15’) of an alley center line.

(2)   Within a volume Two Feet (2’) of either side of a plane paralleling and perpendicular to any utility line.

(3)   Within One Foot (1’) of any sidewalk, or where a line for a sidewalk has been established, but not installed.

(4)   Within Three Feet (3’) of the center line of any sidewalk, or where any sidewalk has been established, but not installed.

(b)   On acquired and recorded easements:

       Constructed items requiring solid attachment to the ground shall not be located within a volume Three Feet (3’) either side of a plane paralleling and perpendicular to any utility line.

(c)   No structure, fence, driveway, hard surfaced walk or terrace, or any other object shall be permitted if it is found that the same would substantially interfere with the established use of the involved right-of-way or easement or that such object or structure would impose a hazard or inconvenience to the general public, interfere with vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or interfere with the loading and unloading of vehicles at the curb.

(Ord. 1139, Sec. 2)

Structures, fences, driveways, sidewalks and other obstructions presently located upon street, alley or utility rights-of-way or easements shall be subject to removal unless the placement of the same is found to be in reasonable compliance with this Article and there .does not exist a hazard or inconvenience to the general public, or to vehicle or pedestrian traffic or to the loading and unloading of vehicles.

(Ord. 1139, Sec. 3)

(a)   No fence shall be constructed, erected, enlarged or altered within the city without applying for a permit therefor from the City Clerk and paying the permit fee. Said application shall be upon forms furnished by the city for such purpose, showing the proposed location and dimensions of the fence, the location of lot lines with lot dimensions, the location of the principal structure(s) on the real estate to be fenced, the materials to be used, and any other information requested by the Building Official.

(b)   For the purposes of this section, a fence is defined as a freestanding structure of metal, masonry, glass, wood, or vinyl, or any combination of said materials, resting on or partially buried in the ground and rising above ground level, and used for confinement, screening or partition purposes.

(c)   Fences to be constructed in residential zones of the city shall be considered to be an “accessory use,” as defined by the zoning regulations of the city (Article 5, Section 100). As provided by said regulations, no fence shall be constructed on any lot or property prior to the time of the completion of the construction of the principal structure to which the fence is accessory.

(d)   The fee for fence construction permits shall be Ten Dollars ($10).

(e)   Any person or other entity violating any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars and not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500), and the maintenance of any fence contrary to the provisions of this ordinance for a period of more than ten (10) days shall be deemed to be a separate offense for each calendar month or part thereof during which it is so maintained.

(Ord. 1231; Code 2015)