[CC 1976 §540.010; Ord. No. 877 §1, 8-10-1965]
No person, firm, or corporation shall hereafter construct or
erect any fence, wall, or screen, hereafter designated as a vertical
separation, without first having obtained a permit from the Building
Commissioner. No permit shall be issued for construction of any vertical
separation unless plans for the proposed vertical separation are in
accordance with the provisions of the Building Code and as hereinafter
set forth.
[CC 1976 §540.020; Ord. No. 877 §2, 8-10-1965]
Application for a permit to construct any vertical separation
must be made in writing upon forms provided by the City. Said application
shall contain the name and address of the person, firm, or corporation
making application; the name and address of the contractor or person
who is to construct said vertical separation; and plans showing the
dimensions, location, and type of materials to be used in constructing
said vertical separation, shall accompany and form part of the said
application for a building permit.
[CC 1976 §540.030; Ord. No. 877 §3, 8-10-1965; Ord. No. 2555 §2, 3-10-2009; Ord. No. 3023, 12-14-2021]
At the time the applicant applies for a permit to erect and
construct any vertical separation, a building permit fee shall be
paid by the applicant. The building permit fee shall be thirty-five
dollars ($35.00) for the first (1st) two hundred (200) lineal feet
or less and an additional fifteen dollars ($15.00) for each additional
one hundred (100) lineal feet or factional part thereof.
[CC 1976 §540.040; Ord. No. 877 §4, 8-10-1965; Ord. No. 1209 §12, 8-12-1975; Ord. No. 2555 §3, 3-10-2009; Ord. No. 3023, 12-14-2021]
The fee to be charged for inspection of said vertical separation
shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each inspection.
[Ord. No. 2848 §I, 5-10-2016[1]]
A.
ADDRESSED FRONTAGE
FRONTAGE
Definitions.
Any frontage upon which the house is addressed.
Any area on a lot which is bounded between the primary building's
front building line, any adjacent property lines and an adjacent public
roadway.
B.
Prohibited Material And Construction.
1.
Vertical separations shall not be constructed or reconstructed
or erected, in whole or in part, with cloth, canvas, bamboo, chicken
coop wire, or other like material.
2.
Vertical separations in the front of the front building line
of any residentially zoned or residentially occupied lot shall not
be constructed or erected, in whole or in part, with chain link, wire,
wire mesh, or other like materials or construction. This restriction
shall apply to all street frontages on corner lots, through lots,
or multiple-frontage lots.
3.
Vertical separations shall be constructed in such a configuration
that all framing members and support posts face towards the interior
of the property of the person who erects, constructs or causes the
vertical separation to be constructed, unless otherwise approved by
the Shrewsbury Board of Aldermen.
C.
Barbed Wire. Vertical separations on any residentially
zoned or residentially occupied lot shall not be constructed, in whole
or in part, with barbed wire or any like material unless otherwise
approved by the Shrewsbury Board of Aldermen.
D.
Electric Fences. No vertical separation shall have
an electric current running through it unless approved by the Shrewsbury
Board of Aldermen.
E.
Swimming Pool Fences. Swimming pools shall be enclosed
by a vertical separation/barrier in accordance with the Shrewsbury
building codes.
F.
Height Requirements.
1.
Height shall be measured vertically from the topmost point of
the vertical separation material to the ground.
2.
Vertical separations shall not exceed six (6) feet in height.
Posts may extend upward in height past the vertical separation material
up to, but no further than, six (6) inches.
3.
Vertical separations located in front of the front building
line of any residentially zoned or residentially occupied lot shall
not exceed forty-eight (48) inches in height, unless the aforementioned
frontage area does not have any other frontage areas adjacent to it
on the same side of the street. However, no vertical separation shall
ever exceed forty-eight (48) inches in height on the addressed frontage
of the lot.
4.
Vertical separations located in the front of the front building
line of any residentially zoned or residentially occupied lot shall
be at least one-third open, unless the aforementioned frontage area
does not have any other frontage areas adjacent to it on the same
side of the street. However, any vertical separation on the addressed
frontage shall be at least one-third open.
G.
Location.
1.
Vertical separations shall not be located within the public
right-of-way.
2.
Vertical separations shall not be located within a twenty-five-foot
radius measured from a starting point of intersection between two
intersecting streets, measured from the middle of the curb's arc at
the intersection (if the curb is in an arcing pattern) or from the
point of pavement intersection (if the pavement from the two streets
meets at a ninety-degree angle).
3.
Vertical separations shall not be located within one foot of
a public sidewalk.
H.
General Exemptions.
1.
Vertical separations enclosing utility substations; utility installations; bridges; retaining walls along roadways; culvert openings; open drainage areas; installations by City, State, county or public utility; and temporary construction separations are exempt from the provisions of Section 535.050.
J.
Non-Conforming Vertical Separations. Vertical separations
legally installed prior to the adoption of this Chapter and not in
conformity to this Chapter may remain. However, such legal, non-conforming
separations shall be maintained in good repair and shall not be structurally
unsound and shall not be allowed to deteriorate to an unsightly condition.
Non-conforming separations which require fifty-percent or more replacement
or repair in a one-year period shall be required to conform to the
provisions of this Chapter.
K.
Appeals And Variances.
1.
Any person aggrieved by an order, requirement, decision or determination
of the Building Commissioner with respect to vertical separations
covered by this Chapter shall be entitled to appeal to the Board of
Adjustment for the purpose of review and modification of the Building
Commissioner's order, decision or determination.
2.
The Board of Adjustment may grant variances from this Chapter
where it is found that the applicant would be subject to an undue
hardship because of:
a.
The limitations on the character, size, or dimensions of a vertical
separation as part of a historic restoration of the property; or
b.
Due to the nature, shape, size, or area of the lot such as may
be present on through-lots or multiple-frontage lots, whereon no reasonable
area is available for the use and privacy of the resident.
3.
Undue hardship will not be constituted by mere cost considerations,
mere loss of possible advantage or lack of convenience to the applicant.
Even if it is determined that the applicant for a variance is subject
to an undue hardship, the Board of Adjustment retains the right to
reject or revise and determine the scope of the proposed vertical
separation based on the following factors:
a.
The size and type of the proposed vertical separation compared
with the scale of the building to which it relates and/or to the aesthetic
environment of the surrounding structures and land uses;
b.
Whether the proposed vertical separation impairs the adequate
supply of light and air to adjacent properties in any manner;
c.
Whether the vertical separation adversely affects the character
of the neighborhood;
d.
Whether the proposed vertical separation adversely affects the
general health, safety and welfare of the community.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section I of this ordinance repealed former
Section 535.050, Plans Subject to Approval, adopted by CC 1976 §540.050,
as amended.
[Ord. No. 2848 §II, 5-10-2016[1]]
It shall be the property owner's responsibility to ensure that
the vertical separation/barrier is placed entirely upon the owner's
property.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section II of this ordinance repealed former
Section 535. 060, Building Commissioner To Issue Permit —When,
adopted by CC 1976 §540.060, as amended.
[CC 1976 §540.070; Ord. No. 877 §9, 8-10-1965]
Vertical separations may be constructed of woven wire of twelve
(12) gauge or heavier, wood, brick, rubble stone, cut stone, wrought
iron, sculptured concrete block, terra cotta, or a combination thereof,
and other materials as approved by the Building Commissioner.
[CC 1976 §540.080; Ord. No. 877 §10, 8-10-1965]
It shall be the responsibility of the legal owner, agent, occupant,
or person in control of the property to fully maintain the vertical
separation, in a neat, clean, and safe condition at all times.
[CC 1976 §540.090; Ord. No. 877 §12, 8-10-1965]
Any person, firm, or corporation violating any provision of
this Chapter shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00)
and costs, or not more than ninety (90) days imprisonment, or both
such fine and imprisonment. A separate offense shall be deemed committed
upon each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
