Photo by James Short.
The Telford Borough Council Monday, April 13 discussed a proposed amendment to the borough’s fence ordinance to ease restrictions on residential privacy fences.
The amendment comes as the residents of the corner home at 444 Main Street are seeking to erect a privacy fence on the Summit Avenue side of their property, citing safety concerns for their children. The borough’s current fence ordinance, however, requires front yard fences to have a minimum 50% open area to maintain an appropriate line of sight for passing motorists.
At Monday’s meeting, borough secretary Bryan Poster said that the amended ordinance will permit corner homes to install privacy fences on one of their front-facing yards. He noted that the borough police and fire departments did not find any safety issues with the change. He also pointed to other local corner homes who successfully erected privacy fences after obtaining a zoning variance.
“There’s gonna be people who benefit in the future who don’t have to go through these hoops to get a fence,” said Poster. “To me, this is common sense.”
The borough is planning to approve the advertisement of the amended fence ordinance at its April 27 work session, with final approval planned for its May 25 work session.
Rental inspection program update
Council heard an update on the borough’s rental inspection program. Approved in December, the program requires biannual inspections as well as annual rental license registrations for rental units within the borough in order to protect tenants from negligent landlords.
Poster informed council that over 300 units have registered, with approximately 35 units outstanding. The borough has mailed letters to the remaining units, said Poster. The first inspections are scheduled for the summer, Poster added, with owners receiving checklists in advance.
Council also discussed some upcoming borough events, including the weekly Telford Night Market from May 27 to August 26 at 125 South Hamilton Street and the Indian Valley Beer Fest on July 17 from 2 to 7 p.m. at Rotary Park.
The next Telford Borough Council meeting is on Monday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit telfordborough.org
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