During its meeting, Thursday night, the Columbia County Planning Commission voted down a request to allow a Jones Creek resident to install a seven-foot fence on his property.
Steven and Patricia Davidson had applied for a major planned unit development (PUD) revision on their home on Hammonds Ferry, to permit the fence they installed to exceed six feet.
The Davidsons had replaced an older fence along their property’s northern lot line to secure their yard from their neighbor’s dogs and to provide more privacy. They claimed in the narrative accompanying their application that the new fencing ranges from 6 feet, 5 inches to 7 feet 8 inches, as the slope across the adjoining parcels makes their backyard 10 feet higher than their neighbors’.
The applicants also said they were unaware that the fence height was in violation of the PUD before a complaint, regarding fence and unpermitted work on the site, was submitted to County Code Enforcement.
Despite the narrative document claiming that the applicants had agreements with both their neighbors and the Jones Creek HOA about allowing the fence, staff said that neither the HOA nor the neighbor supported the request. Because of this, staff recommended disapproval.
Steven Davidson said before the commissioners that there were other homes in the subdivision allowed to have eight-foot fences, and that the HOA had not provided information as to why after his requests for it.
“What I’m told is… you can’t have your fence, but this little enclave of houses can have eight-foot fences, but they’re part of Jones Creek,” Davidson said. “I’m trying to seek liberty and justice for all, not for some… and I don’t feel at this point that it’s being looked at fairly.”
Davidson also told the commission that if the county approved the request, but the HOA were to insist his fence be lowered, he would comply.
After a motion by Commissioner James Van Meter, all of the commissioners voted to recommend denial of the request, save for Vice Chairman Mark Moody, who was absent, and Commissioner Ryan Cato.
The board later voted to postpone considering a petition to change setbacks on the Jones Creek pool house property, to accommodate it house’s reconstruction, per the HOA’s request. The item had already been postponed from the Planning Commission’s Aug. 1 meeting.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
