The Tusculum Board of Mayor and Commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance regulating fencing and accessory structures on first reading during a brief meeting held Monday night.
The ordinance, which requires a public hearing and second reading for final passage, would create standards for fencing in Tusculum.
If the ordinance were to be approved, non-agricultural fences would require a building permit and would be required to be located at least three feet from any property line. Shared fences would be allowed to be placed on a lot line so long as adjoining property owners agree to the fence in written form and agree on cost sharing. If the city’s building inspector determines that lot lines are not clearly defined, a survey may be required. The survey would be paid for by the party requesting the fence.
The ordinance also addresses accessory buildings. If approved, the ordinance would require all new accessory buildings be located at least 10 feet away from any property line, and accessory buildings would not be permitted to exceed 1,200 square-feet in size.
Vice-Mayor Barbara Britton said she hoped the details in the ordinance would lead to Tusculum receive fewer requests for variances for outbuildings.
A public hearing on the ordinance will be held at the next Tusculum Board meeting on February 23. The ordinance will then be given final consideration at the meeting.
The ordinance also outlines the materials a fence should be made out of, and how a fence should look.
Fences and walls would be required to be constructed of new materials customarily used and manufactured as common fence or wall materials, including solid wood, brick, masonry, stone, chain link, wrought iron, decorative metal materials, or products designed to resemble these materials. Fencing and wall segments located along a single lot side would be required to be of uniform height, material, type, color, and design and would need to be uniform for the entire length of the fence or wall, except where a fence or wall segment transitions from one yard to another or from one height to another.
Property owners would also be required to maintain fences in good repair.
The regulations in the ordinance would not apply to agriculture uses, and the city’s building inspector would determine what constitutes agricultural use.
Tusculum Mayor Alan Corley was absent from Monday’s meeting. Britton and Commissioner Mike Burns were present as well as other city officials.
