Royal Oak Enforces Fence Rules

Royal Oak's enforcement of the city's fence ordinance has some residents howling, "don't fence me in."

The logic behind this decision to send out violations is one of safety, according to Mayor Jim Ellison. Imagine pulling out of a driveway on Main Street and being unable to see if a child is walking or a car is coming because there is a tall, opaque fence blocking your view.

Steve Atkinson is one of several residents who received notice that his 45-year-old fence was in violation. 

"You're asking citizens to tear down perfectly good fences that were put up legally," Atkinson told commissioners in May. He asked the commission to consider grandfathering in existing fences.

Daniel Torresan received a letter on March 22 from code enforcement that stated his fence must be corrected my March 28.

"This gave me five days to comply or I would be fined and then fined every 10 days," Torresan said at Monday's city commission meeting. "I find this time schedule to comply unreasonable, either to complete the work myself or to hire a professional fence company to do the work."

Torresan said he understands that some fences may pose safety issues for pedestrians, but said he has lived in his home for 11 years without an incident.  The fence was in place when he purchased his house, he said.  

Mayor Jim Ellison acknowledged violations got out of hand and took commissioners by surprise, but insisted it's important.

"Basically, it started with a complaint by someone who almost got hit. We investigated it and the fence was in violation."

As the investigation continued, fence violations were discovered all over the city, Ellison said.

"A lot of these fences were built without permits when they should've had permits. Their construction was missed years ago by the building officials at the time."

The mayor said the city is trying to work out a system where all fences are in compliance without causing great stress on people.

"When you're faced with a safety violation, you don't have a whole lot of latitude to give any kind of relief," Ellison said, adding, "We are aware of the problem. We are aware of the inconvenience."

Ellison asked that Jason Craig, the city's chief building official, come to the next scheduled city commission meeting to explain the fence violations "in plain easy to understand language."

"I am still getting emails on this," the mayor said.