[MassHistPres] How do you handle Fences in Historic District?

[Polly Burnell]

Our HDC has a problem; we have a Fence guideline in our bylaws which is
frequently and, we see, innocently overlooked.

We've come to see that it doesn't occur to most property owners that they
need to come before us when they put up or replace a fence; all the
guidelines refer to the exterior of the building and this is the only one
that doesn't.  Naturally, we don't expect everyone to read bylaws; I'm sure
it's easy for you to see why we have this problem in our district.

People need to get a building permit if they install a fence higher that
6', and that it the only thing that seems to trigger awareness of any
rules.  Thus we discover inappropriate vinyl fences, and other oddities
around Provincetown, which is densely settled and offers hundreds of
possibilities for fence-ignorance.  Short of having a "fence police" it's
nearly impossible to find all the "wrong" fences on the numerous tiny side
streets.  There are several that have been brought to our attention that
are already installed; it seems wrong to us, given the above, to force
people to go to the large expense and trouble to remove and replace the
fence to meet our bylaws.

Does anyone else have the same problem?  What were your solutions?  We
would love to get suggestions from other Historic Districts.  Thanks in
advance...

link to our bylaws:
http://www.provincetown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/325

Polly Burnell
Provincetown Historic District Commission
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