Screenshot taken from City Council video.
The front yard fence at the home on Lake Ridge Road was built before a variance was approved.
Front yard fences aren’t allowed in Homewood. Exceptions can be made for residents who request a variance, but these are typically granted to special situations.
At the May 10 City Council meeting, the council considered and approved a fence variance request with a different background: the fence was already installed at the home, which was on Lake Ridge Road, and the landscaping company had overlooked the need to get a permit and request a variance before installing the fence.
The fence variance almost didn’t pass in council. During the council’s first vote, it failed 8-3. When Ward 2 Councilor Andrew Wolverton made a motion to approve the variance request with the condition that it be taken down when the homeowners move, the variance passed 6-5.
Bryant Naile of Father Nature Landscapes of Birmingham said he is part of the team that designed and had the fence built. When asked why he didn’t request a permit, Naile said it was an oversight.
“With the workload we’ve had over the course of the past 12 months with COVID and everything, I failed to dot I’s and cross T’s, and this didn’t go through the permitting process” Naile said. “But as I explained to Mr. (Wyatt) Pugh, there was never any intent to purposefully avoid that.”
The now-fenced-in front yard is the only “usable” place for children living in the home to play, Naile said. Behind the house, the property slopes downward in a steep, wooded hill.
Ward 4 Councilor Barry Smith, who also chairs the Special Issues Committee, said she sees many fence variance requests denied because they don’t have a legitimate hardship.
“Typically, when we grant front-yard fence variances, it’s because someone has a special needs child or a large, steep hill from the front of their house to the street,” she said. “It’s always a very good reason. And people have come before us before to request front-yard fence variances, and we have denied them, and they went through the process in the right way. So to me, it’s hard to justify granting a variance in arrears just because of a mistake. That doesn’t float well with me because I’m going to have people coming to my committee and saying, ‘Oh, I just didn’t know, and we did it anyway. I’m so sorry. Can we get a variance?’”
Not following proper procedures puts the council in a predicament and could open “pandora’s box” for future dilemmas, said Ward 2 Councilor Andrew Wolverton.
Also at the meeting, the council delayed a public hearing for consideration of changes to the landscaping and tree requirements. According to Ward 5 Councilor Jennifer Andress, this is because the city filled the city engineer position with Cale Smith, and she said Smith wanted to take time to study the ordinance further.
The council also authorized the mayor to sign a contract with Placemakers in regards to the downtown rezoning ordinance, which is returning to the council after a year of being tabled.