220 12th Street (Fence)Alan, do you agree with my below interpretation? And by-the-way, I will
need you at the December meeting.
And if we don’t have any business other than June Salaun’s fence
request-for the third time, we may calla special meeting earlier than
the 16th. I’ll discuss with you before then.
From: Doerr, Sonya
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 5:15 PM
To: Alan Jensen ; Blaine Adams; Chris Lambertson ; David Boyer; Ellen
Glasser; Josh Putterman; Kirk Hansen; Lynn Drysdale
Cc: Sherrer, Alex; Hall, Erika
Subject: Fence at 220 12th street
I wanted to update you on questions/comments about the height of the
fence that is installed 220 12th Street. In August of this year, a
permit was issued for a 4-foot ornamental aluminum pool enclosure fence.
The property owner obtained the permit, had the fence ordered and
installed by the fence contractor. (Mr. McGuinness was out of town when
the fence was installed.)
No comments or complaints about this fence were received until the day
of the October CD Board meeting, when the Code Enforcement Officer (Alex
Sherrer) received a call complaining that this was a 6’ fence.
Alex went over the property and measured the fence. He reported back to
me that the fence was not 6-feet, but only 4-feet high. He measured
the fence again the next day, and found that the fence is actually 54
inches high, which is 6 inches over the standard fence height limit for
fences in this location. A Courtesy Notice was sent to the property
owner advising that the fence height would have to be corrected or a
Variance sought. The property owner advised that he had ordered the
fence to meet State Pool code requirements knowing that the required
minimum height is 48 inches. He was unaware that the fence was 6 inches
too tall until he received the notice from Code Enforcement.
Mr. McGuinness in turn contacted the fence contractor and was told that
54” is the standard height for this design of aluminum fence to meet the
State Pool Code safety requirements, and that the contractor had checked
the local regulations. I discussed this with the City’s Building
Inspector and learned that 54” is in fact the required height for the
gate latching mechanism, and that this requirement typically “drives
the design” of pool fences to be a consistent 54 inches in height.
Alex checked a number of aluminum fence manufacturers and found that
54” is a standard for this type of pre-manufactured “Drop Rail”
aluminum fence to meet the National BOCA Pool Code.
Given that this fence was installed solely for the purposes of providing
an enclosure to meet pool code regulations; and that it is an open fence
that creates no sight visibility obstruction; (Public Safety approved
the fence permit.) and this would seem to a more aesthetically
desirable fence than a 48” chain link or solid wooden fence, I do not
believe that any further action is warranted in that the fence as
constructed meets the State Pool Code and is consistent with Section
24-164.
I do think we may wish to consider a clarification to the specific
provision (below) related to pool fence enclosures as there is a
discrepancy between the general fence height regulations and the
specific pool enclosure language of “at least four (4) feet in height.”
Sec. 24-164. Swimming Pools.
(c) Fences: All Swimming Pools and any ornamental pool with a maximum
depth greater than two (2) feet shall be enclosed by a Fence, wall or
equivalent barrier at least four (4) feet in height and designed in
compliance with all applicable State and local regulations.
Sonya Doerr, AICP
Community Development Director
800 Seminole Road
City of Atlantic Beach, Florida 32233
904 247-5826 Phone 904 247-5845 Fax
sdoerr@coab.us www.coab.us
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