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Posted by HerHusband on February 14, 2007, 6:07 pm
About 15 years ago my wife and I bought a couple of acres out here in the
country. It was a beautiful rural area with lots of trees. We built a small
house on our property, and have tried to maintain as much natural
vegetation as possible.
Over the years, the properties around us have logged off the majority of
their trees and our privacy decreased with each development. Now they are
building a 4280 sq/ft million dollar eyesore on the hillside just across
the road from us. With over 5 acres to build on, they naturally had to
choose a house site that is less than 100 feet from our own. To make
matters worse we are on a hillside, so their two story mansion up on the
hill feels like a giant watchtower looking down over our house and yard.
My wife and I built our home with our own two hands and have planned and
invested a lot for our future here. We fully expect to live out our
remaining days here. Moving is not an option. But, we also don't like the
feeling of our neighbors staring down on everything we do.
My first thought was to build a fence, but because of the slope of the
property a standard 6' tall fence would still be lower than the road, and
far below the neighboring house. I haven't checked to see how high a fence
would be needed to shield us from the new house, but a taller fence would
need some kind of attractive design that doesn't look worse than the house
we're trying to hide. I'd guess we would have to go 8-10 feet, at least, to
be of any real value.
I'd prefer a natural border, but plants take a lot time to grow. Last
summer I planted a row of Thuja Green Giant trees along the hillside,
hoping to gain a little privacy from the road (and now the new house).
They're "supposed" to grow 2-3 feet a year, but we live in a fairly shady
area, so I'm not expecting anywhere near that kind of growth. Best case, it
could still be 5-10 years before the trees are tall enough to provide any
real privacy.
So I'm interested in any ideas others might have to regain our privacy.
Links to tall fence designs would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Anthony
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Posted by JoeSpareBedroom on February 14, 2007, 7:29 pm
> So I'm interested in any ideas others might have to regain our privacy.
> Links to tall fence designs would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> Anthony
Don't waste too much time researching this until you WALK INTO (with your
feet) the town hall and find out the rules for fence height, and how much of
a bribe they need to let you break the rules. I say WALK IN because it's
good to see the face of the person you're dealing with, write down his/her
name, show him/her what you've written, and ask "Is this the correct
spelling of your first and last names?" It's probably the same person who
allowed the monstrosity of a house to be built near yours. Make sure you
know who you're dealing with, and that THEY know that YOU know.
Then, ask for the rules.
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Posted by HerHusband on February 14, 2007, 8:31 pm
>> So I'm interested in any ideas others might have to regain our
>> privacy. Links to tall fence designs would be appreciated.
> Don't waste too much time researching this until you WALK INTO (with
> your feet) the town hall and find out the rules for fence height
Our county has most of their requirements online.
Permits are only needed if the fence is over 6 feet high (which ours
would have to be), but it appears taller fences are allowed with some
conditions.
"Fences over six (6) feet high. However, they must not
cause a sight distance problem or interfere with utilities."
Of course, I wouldn't really want to look at a 10 foot high fence or
stone wall on our hill either.
I'm mostly just toying with the idea of building a fence or structure of
some sort that would block their view, but not be a solid wall to look at
for us.
"The county height limit for houses is 35 feet. Accessory structures
in certain zones will be limited to 18 foot in height."
One thought was a fence with some sort of roof or trellis built above it.
Another was a long narrow storage building or something. But, that might
look equally as odd, and wouldn't exactly be easy access up on the
hillside.
Whatever we do, it has to look good from our side, or it's a bigger
problem than what I'm trying to solve.
> It's probably the same person who allowed the monstrosity
> of a house to be built near yours.
After the rapid logging and development on surrounding properties, we
fought the same type of development across the road. Me and several of my
neighbors argued with the county against the mass logging, begged for
"buffer zones" around the perimeter, and several other requests. Of
course, every request was denied and the developer was given free reign
to do whatever they wanted.
Anyway, what's done is done. At this point, I probably have few options
other than to suck it up and live with it. But, there's no harm in
looking at my options.
Anthony
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Posted by JoeSpareBedroom on February 14, 2007, 8:35 pm
> After the rapid logging and development on surrounding properties, we
> fought the same type of development across the road. Me and several of my
> neighbors argued with the county against the mass logging, begged for
> "buffer zones" around the perimeter, and several other requests. Of
> course, every request was denied and the developer was given free reign
> to do whatever they wanted.
You probably could not pay the officials as much as the logging company.
Remember this: Any time politicians or town officials do something wrong or
stupid involving construction, permits or public projects, it's because they
had a direct, but hidden financial interest in doing so. There are no
exceptions, not ever.
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Posted by HerHusband on February 15, 2007, 11:50 am
> You probably could not pay the officials as much as the logging
> company.
According to the county report, everything was within the "rights" of the
property owner. Basically, it is their land, they can do whatever they want
with it. The concerns and opinions voiced by the surrounding neighbors
meant nothing.
Of course, I find it ironic now that the new development over there has
strict restrictions on what is or is not permitted to avoid detracting from
the neighborhood. Yeah right. Don't want to spoil their million dollar
estates, but who cares how the residents outside their "community" feel.
Anthony
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