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

Sun Jan 20 19:33:14 EST 2013

Polly and all: 
The Bedford MA HDC added an A mendment to their by-laws (State Acts of 1964) entitled Landscaping (approved by the Legislature), back in 1983. The definitions included removal/planting of large trees and bushes, new paving, and other changes to the topography of the land which could be viewed from a public way. Also listed under Landscaping is fences - of any shape or size which can be viewed from a public way. We have fairly new written HDC guidelines to hand out to anyone who requires an application, and we encourage District owners/renters to read them. The guidelines have helped applicants in many ways, and I would encourage each town Commission to publish them. Historic District Commissions handle their workings in different ways, with some having an easier time with enforcement than others. 

I love Provincetown's little side streets and ways and can certainly understand your concerns, and I think the suggestion of publicity is a great one. Our Landscaping amendment was talked about a lot before and after Town Meeting approval, and info was published in the local paper. I can't remember having much of a problem with fencing or other landscaping issues once that Amendment was approved, and I've been on the board for eons. 

Good luck.... and altho I see fencing as important to the look of District neighborhoods, I don't find them a permanent detriment or as important as, say, someone paving their whole front yard. Just sayin... 

Carol M Carlson 
Bedford HDC 

, and can understand 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Larson" <larson at tei.umass.edu> 
To: "Ralph Slate" <slater at alum.rpi.edu>, "MassHistPres MA" <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu> 
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2013 10:49:57 AM 
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] How do you handle Fences in Historic District? 

Dear Polly: 

I don't know if the attached booklet will help at all. There are still circumstances when a town's Fence Viewers can perform a service and there are a host of little known state laws that have something to do with fences. One state law related to fences (stone walls) that we missed is the Scenic Road statute, Mass General Laws Ch 40 Sec 15C. 
Sincerely, 

Joseph S. Larson 
Fence Viewer 
Town of Pelham 
27 Arnold Road 
Pelham, Massachusetts 01002-9757 

-----Original Message----- 
From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Ralph Slate 
Sent: Saturday, January 19, 2013 10:12 AM 
To: MassHistPres MA 
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] How do you handle Fences in Historic District? 

Hi Polly -- 

Fences are often a problem because they can be erected without a building permit, so there is no opportunity to head them off. I sympathize with your reluctance to make someone remove something they have spent considerable money on. 

I suggest the following approach: 

1) Get publicity about fences being controlled in your districts. If you have a small number of properties in the districts, a letter might suffice. If you have a town paper, write a press release and send it to them. Get the concept out into the public's consciousness. 

2) After doing this, if someone puts up a fence, make an example of them, but in a minor way. Cause them some inconvenience without making them remove the fence. For example, require that they put shrubs in front of it, or make them paint or stain it a different color (if it is a wooden fence). Make them do things that require effort on their part, but not necessarily expense. Word will quickly get out that you are enforcing the rules. 

3) Make it clear to the homeowners who have erected fences that their fences are not approved, and that they are not grandfathered. This is important because in 20 years, when the fence is in bad condition, they need to remove it and can't replace it on the grounds that it is grandfathered. 

4) If the fence is particularly egregious, make them remove it. In Springfield, we went to court against a homeowner who erected a six-foot tall aluminum fence in front of her property, at the sidewalk line. It took almost two years to resolve, but the fence is now gone. It was a horrendous fence without even a gate. The owner was not someone who you might sympathize with, she was confrontational and brash, and felt like she could do whatever she wanted because it was her property. That was a lot easier to pursue than, say, an elderly widow who just spent her savings on a fence. Before taking her to court, we asked her to remove it multiple times, and she refused. 

The main reason people want fences in Springfield is for "safety". We allow fences, but only if they are behind the front foundation line of the house. On several occasions people have put in front yard fences, we have listened to their reasons, and occasionally permitted them for a limited time period (say, five years), usually when a house has been abandoned for a number of years and people have gotten used to entering the property. We will often put a restriction on the approval that the fence must be removed upon transfer of the property. Other times we have required the homeowners to simply move the fence back behind the foundation line, which does require an expense of the homeowner, but they don't have wasted material. 

One other avenue is to contact the fence installers - on Cape Cod, there may be just a handful of them - and let them know that fences are controlled in Provincetown. 

Hope this helps. 

Ralph Slate 
Chair, Springfield Historical Commission 

On 1/18/2013 9:19 AM, Polly Burnell wrote: 
> 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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