The Augusta Board of Zoning Appeals addressed an issue between neighbors during its March meeting, Monday afternoon.
Justina Jenkins, a resident in the Ridge Forest neighborhood in south Augusta, requested a variance from the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance limiting front yard fences at residences to four feet in height.
Jenkins had an ongoing dispute with her neighbor, Bianca Sanders, about Jenkins’ water sprinklers splashing on Sanders’ driveway. To resolve this, Jenkins installed a privacy fence along her front yard.
The portion of the fence within the front setback of Jenkins’ property is six feet high, tapering downward as it approaches the front lot line.
Sanders told the board members that she submitted a complaint to code enforcement in response to neighbors telling her the fence was noncompliant, mistaking it for her fence rather than Jenkins’.
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Jenkins applied for a variance to allow the fence to stay at its current height after code enforcement investigated and issued her a notice of violation.
Sanders also said the height of the fence made it difficult for her teenage daughter, who is four feet 10 inches tall, to see if there are vehicles in Jenkins’ driveway to avoid. While not opposing Jenkins’ variance request, Sanders told the board members that she preferred a section of the fence be reduced, and that the fence be painted with anti-fungal paint, citing her allergy to aspergillus mold.
Planning staff noted that some 15 feet of the fence was in noncompliance, and recommended denial of the variance request.
Vice-chair Sean Mooney moved to deny the variance request. Then board member Jerry Brigham put forth a substitute motion to allow Jenkins to maintain the height of the fence save for another portion toward the lot line, to address Sanders’ objections.
Board member L.C. Myles opposed this, noting that allowing the variance could set an adverse precedent in residential areas that undermines the ordinance.
All the board members, save for Arlean Williams, Chavas Boyd and Brigham, voted to deny this motion.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
