By John Schwing
Fencing: A sport where participants use a sword, otherwise called a foil or saber, to score points against opponents.
To Fence: A criminal act by a middleman who buys stolen goods for later resale.
A Fence: A structure that defines boundaries between properties, or is designed to keep someone or something in or out.
So, as Robert Frost once famously observed, do fences — the boundary-defining sort — make for good neighbors?
Or, in that great Westport tradition, do fences make for aggrieved — perhaps litigious — neighbors? Particularly if the back-end, rough-hewn, multi-bracketed side of your neighbor’s fence faces your property
That existential issue of neighborliness will be taken up Thursday, Dec. 16, by the Planning and Zoning Commission when it tackles a proposed change to its regulations for fences and walls that, in general, would require the “finished side” of a fence face either an adjoining lot or the street — except when there is a non-residential property next door or wetlands.
The full text of the proposed amendment can be read here.
The P&Z meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. Thursday, will take place online — livestreamed via the town’s website or by the Zoom link provided on the meeting agenda.
It follows the commission’s earlier discussion of the issue in September.
What is the finished side of a fence? A cursory survey of the many available styles and materials of fences indicates that question may not be easy to answer.
What, for instance, is the “finished” side of a chainlink fence? Or, for that matter, its upscale metallic cousin, the aluminum fence featuring various designs of vertically positioned poles — bracketed and finialed and spaced in many ways?
Also, what is the finished face of a vinyl fence, with smoothly plasticine facades? And what of decorative caps — does a vinyl “Gothic” decorative fencepost cap, or other finials, balls or spears — have to be GPS-positioned away from a neighbor’s gaze so as not to offend?
Picket fences? Stockade fences?? Dog fences??? Pool fences???? Will they all need to present a smiley face to neighbors?
Will Westport need to appoint a “fence whisperer” to expertly make a hard call when doubt clouds which is a fence’s “finished” side.
Finally, what if an iconoclastic neighbor — and, historically, Westport has been home to more than a few — would prefer to appreciate the hand-hewn brackets and unmatched planks of a good, old-fashioned wooden fence, rather than a smoothed-down, blank “finished” face?
Can that neighbor intervene to ask that the “unfinished” side of a fence face his or her property to maintain a good neighborly vibe?
Unlike a fence, there may be more than two sides for Planning and Zoning Commission members to consider Thursday when they review this proposed regulation change.
I have told this story more than once so forgive me if you’ve heard it.
When we were working on construction of Canal Park plans called for a stockade fence on the easterly property line with the “good” side facing the neighbor. After reviewing the plan the neighbor asked that the fence be turned around “so that (he) could feel that (he ) was fencing the project out rather than being fenced out”
I’m all for fencing in Pools, I’m all for fencing in Dogs. I see fencing that is charming, But what I’m noticing recently is fences you need repelling equipment to scale. what’s up with that ? Free Climbing criminals?….I’ll wait till the next superstorm and take pictures past the fences for the historical museum. LoL what a shame.
This is an easy change and one that most people believe is already reflected in our zoning regulations. The commentary by the Westport Journal on this change is particularly unfortunate. The examples given are sort of silly, the answers will be clear and there will be no problems. I am confident this “good side” fence rule will pass easily. I only hope and urge that there be no exemptions for wetlands or commercial sites.