TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Peter D. Lear, CPA, CGMA, City Manager
TITLE: An Ordinance of the City of North Port, Florida, Amending the Unified Land Development Code Related to Fences, by Amending Section 53-3, Section 53-240, and Section 61-3; Providing for Conflicts; Providing for Severability; Providing for Codification; and Providing an Effective Date
Recommended Action
Approve, modify, or deny Ordinance 2019-15 to be continued to second reading.
Recommended Action for Second Reading: Approve or deny Ordinance 2019-15.
Recommended Action for Third Reading: Approve Ordinance 2019-15, Petition TXT-18-296.
Background Information
In July 2018 a North Port resident requested that the ULDC be amended to allow for the 6-foot fence height limit in residential areas to be measured relative to the elevation at the location of house rather than the location of the fence. This would allow for fences that are taller than 6 feet if the house is at a higher elevation due to fill.
At a special Commission meeting on November 5, 2018, staff was directed to bring forward ULDC text amendments related to fence height and location. Specifically, per the approved minutes:
(1) Allow an eight-foot fence as measured from the elevation of the house (ground level at house) and around all sides (of the lot-no setbacks);
(2) Remove hedges from the language;
(3) Be sure to cross reference the landscaping section of the code bringing any necessary changes there to be consistent;
(4) Make sure the code is consistent within the language itself; and
(5) Review the visibility triangle language to be consistent with the changes.
Planning staff drafted the proposed amendments and reviewed them with staff in other departments with expertise in traffic safety and State Building Code requirements before finalizing the ordinance. During that process, several issues and potentially unintended consequences were identified that staff wanted to ...
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