Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/498244
WORLD FENCE NEWS • MAY 2015 • 53 height require commercial engineer- ing review. (Commercial same day walk through.) If your property is not a landmark and is not in a designated historic dis- trict or designated parkway, the fol- lowing rules apply. For front yard fences: • If 4 feet or shorter, no permit is required. • If taller than 4 feet, an over- height fence permit is required; fence must be 50 percent or more open for any portion of the fence above 4 feet and meet other conditions in Denver Zoning Code. For backyard fences: • If 4 feet or shorter, no permit is required. • If between 4 and 6 feet, a zoning permit is required. • If taller than 6 feet, an over- height fence permit is required; fence must meet conditions in Denver Zon- ing Code for permit to be approved. • If fence is taller than 8 feet or doesn't meet over-height fence permit conditions, a zoning variance from the Board of Adjustment is required. A building permit is also required for this height. Hunterdon, New Jersey Fencing is a major management element for many types of farms, as well as a significant expense. For live- stock farms, fencing is necessary to keep animals inside the farm and to protect them from the public. The requirements for fencing vary, depending upon the species, numbers, and ages of the animals. Other fencing is intended to keep out wildlife or un- wanted trespassers. Often it is useful to include fencing in the buffers that separate farms from other land uses, especially residential development. Other types of fencing include temporary electrified fencing used for pasture management and fencing to keep livestock from water bodies. Review of the fencing provisions of many municipal ordinances shows that many do not recognize the spe- cial and varied fencing requirements for farms in that section of their ordi- nances. Protection of a crop is permitted by the Right to Farm statute, and this preempts municipal ordinances. Requiring farmers to get a vari- ance when the ordinance is insensitive to farming requirements, and Right to Farm encourages crop protection, cre- ates more expense for the farm opera- tion, in addition to the time and stress of having to educate the municipal government and the public as to their needs. Municipalities seeking to pre- serve many acres of farmland must support the agricultural industry as well as protecting the land. Because farmland preservation is forever, a general provision that differ- entiates agricultural fencing from res- idential or other types, but is flexible enough to cover many types of fenc- ing, would enable the wide variety of fencing that may be necessary long into the future as agriculture changes. A more narrow eligibility stan- dard for this exemption might be use of the definition of the Commercial Farm from the Right to Farm Act, rather than merely the standard for Farmland Assessment: (1) A farm management unit of no less than five acres producing agricul- tural or horticultural products worth $2,500 or more annually and satisfy- ing the eligibility criteria for differen- tial property taxation pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," or (2) A farm management unit less than five acres producing agricultur- al or horticultural products worth $50,000 or more annually and other- wise satisfying the eligibility for dif- ferential property taxation, etc. Here are further definitions re- garding fencing: Fence – A structure constructed of wood, masonry, stone, wire, metal or any other material or combination of materials serving as an enclosure, barrier or boundary. Livestock – Cattle, horses, ponies and other domestic animals, swine, sheep, goats, llamas, emus, aquacul- ture, and rabbits. Open fence – A fence in which at least 2/3 of the area between grade level and the top cross member (wire, wood or other material) is open. A. General provisions – All fences shall be situated on a lot in such a manner that the finished side of the fence shall face adjacent properties. – No fence shall be erected of barbed wire, razor wire, topped with metal spikes or other sharp objects, nor be constructed of any material or in any manner which may be danger- ous to persons or animals, except ag- ricultural fencing. – Fences shall be erected in such a way as to avoid damming or diverting the flow of stormwater. Agricultural fencing Fencing for different forms of agriculture takes different forms, heights, and requires different mate- rials depending upon the crop to be protected or enclosed and the purpose Fence ordinances from around the country continued from page 50 continued on page 60