All new and existing fences, walls and hedges that are installed,
planted, placed, constructed, erected or maintained shall be installed,
placed, constructed, erected or maintained in accordance with the
requirements of this article.
All fences and walls that are constructed with generally accepted
building materials and which comply otherwise with the permit requirements
of this section and the performance standards of this article shall
be permitted in all residential districts, with the exception of fences
and walls constructed with jumbo concrete block, precast or poured
concrete, or of the gabion basket type, none of which shall be permitted
without approval by the Zoning Hearing Board for use as a special
exception in those residential districts.
All legal nonconforming fences and walls in existence prior
to the effective date of this article are permitted to continue, subject
to the following provisions:
A. No such nonconforming fence or wall may be enlarged or altered in
a way which increases its nonconformity.
B. Should such nonconforming fence or wall be destroyed by any means
to an extent of more than 50% of its replacement cost at time of destruction,
it shall not be reconstructed except in conformity with the provisions
of this article.
C. No such nonconforming fence or wall may be structurally altered so
as to change the shape, size, type or design of the fence or wall.
The owner of a property where a fence or wall is located is
responsible for maintenance of both sides of the fence or enclosure
wall.
A fence or wall permit applicant shall make all construction
or work for which a permit is required accessible and exposed for
inspection until approved by the Code Enforcement Officer. Approval
as a result of an inspection is not an approval of a violation of
the provisions of this article. Inspections presuming to give authority
to violate the provisions of this article are not valid. The permit
applicant shall ensure the work remains accessible and exposed for
inspection purposes. Neither the Code Enforcement Officer nor the
Township is liable for expense entailed in removing or replacing of
any material to allow inspection.