Warsaw BZA Approves Detroit Street FenceFor their dog’s safety, Chase and Madison Cochran petitioned the Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals on Monday for a variance from development standards to allow fencing in the front yard at 431 S. Detroit St.
With no remonstrators against the request, the BZA unanimously approved it, and at a slightly higher height than originally petitioned.
Presenting the petition, City Planner Justin Taylor said the proposed fence will be vinyl and have a height of 3.5 feet. The fence will wrap around the house and contain a gate to access the public sidewalk.
The surrounding area contains several fences visible from the road, including privacy and chain-link fencing, he said.
Chase Cochran said he and his wife Madison moved into the house at 431 S. Detroit St. at the beginning of December and their dog has been staying with her parents.
“But the main motivation for the fence is to give her an area to run around in and provide a little bit of protection from Detroit Street as it gets pretty busy,” he said.
The fence will wraparound the back yard to give their mini Goldendoodle space to run.
Chase Cochran said that while 3.5 feet high was the proposed fence height, there were some nice fences at Lowe’s that were 4 feet tall.
“And if we were to make that adjustment, and get a 4-foot fence instead of a 3-1/2-foot fence, I’m wondering if that would be OK?” he asked.
Taylor said the city’s recommendation to approve the petition would be the same, but the city wouldn’t want a fence much taller than that.
“It’s not going to interfere with traffic or visibility, so we would be fine with that,” he said.
Chase said the fence was vinyl but you could see through it.
BZA member Tammy Dalton made a motion to approve the variance request at 4 foot, with Jeff Johnson providing the second. The motion was approved 5-0.
In other business, the BZA re-elected Tom Allen as president and Rick Keeven as vice president for 2022.
