By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Despite being warned that it would be “challenging” to enforce a regulation requiring that the “finished side” of a fence face neighboring properties, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted Thursday to approve the new amendment.

P&Z Director Mary Young advised against the approval, saying it can be difficult to tell the difference between one side of a fence and the other, and that zoning officials routinely receive neighbor vs. neighbor complaints that are challenging to resolve.

P&Z rules weaponized in neighbor disputes

“We find ourselves … being used as weapons between neighbors,” Young said of the department’s staff.

She also cited other issues that demand the department’s attention, such as affordable housing and downtown revival. “When I think of all the issues the P&Z is facing … it’s not the best use of my staff’s time to negotiate fence arguments,” she said.

Young also said she believes that municipal property should be regulated by the fencing “finished side” amendment.

Rule is good not just for neighbors, but for the community

But four out of six P&Z commissioners said they think the new amendment requiring the finished side of a fence face outward from a property would be good for the community. 

“These fences face the street sometimes, so this is about our entire community, not just about neighbors,” said Danielle Dobin, the P&Z chairwoman. 

She also noted that sometimes the unfinished side of a fence is climbable because of beams and supports, making it dangerous for fencing around pools to be installed “bad side” out. 

Other issues discussed in the fence-facing debate included concerns that certain kinds of fences, such as deer or pool fencing, may present different enforcement problems than typical fences along property boundaries.

Is amendment a punishment or overreach?

P&Z commissioner Patrizia Zucaro disagreed with the majority, saying a property owner’s desire to erect a beautiful fence is to enhance the view of their own yard. “Are we punishing someone for wanting to put up a fence on their property?” she asked. 

The fence regulation “would be a deterrent to putting up a fence,” which often is an asset to a property, said Zucaro, who voted against the amendment. 

Also voting against the proposal was Paul Leibowitz, the P&Z vice chairman. “I want to be careful that we don’t overreach … I want to make sure that we’re not creating more of a problem than we’re solving,” he said.

Dobin assured the board that if enforcement becomes too difficult, the panel could repeal the rule.

The amendment, which will not be enforced retroactively, was then approved by a 4-2 vote. It will take effect in January.

Other business: Homes with Hope lease backed; new alternate member OK’d

In other business, the P&Z voted unanimously to recommend approval of a town lease with the nonprofit Homes with Hope for property at 124 Comp Road North.

The town-owned property is the site of Susie’s House, a program previously known as Project Return, to support homeless teenage girls and young women. 

Homes with Hope  needed an extension of its $1 per year lease as the condition for receiving a grant to pay for renovations to the building.

 “It is one of the jewels of Westport that we offer this kind of service,” Leibowitz said before the vote. The Board of Finance has also approved recommending the lease to the Board of Selectwomen.

The P&Z on Thursday also voted to approve Marcia Falk as a new alternate member of the commission. Falk said she had real estate experience in upstate New York, and been involved in several community organizations since she moved to Westport, including the Westport Library and the Play with Your Food theater group.