Fence Permits

Last Week the Ritzville City Council voted to accept an ordinance that requires all fence installations to have a building permit. This ordinance is in response to the city finding several violations to the existing setback and fence height requirements and receiving multiple complaints from concerned city residents.

If you want to install a fence on your property within the city limits, you must visit City Hall and apply for a building permit.

The City requires a cost estimate and drawings or plans that show the exact location on your property, timeliness of installation and building materials used.

The permit must be reviewed and approved, and construction cannot begin for 24 hours after permit approval. Site location and construction inspections are subject to the city building inspector’s involvement and approval.

It is a great concern of everyone at the city that this is even necessary. There are several clichés that can apply here, such as “The best government is the one that governs least” or “Laws should work for the people, not the other way around”.

As I’ve mentioned before, our responsibility at the city is to serve the safety and welfare of the community. Sometimes there is a pretty steep learning curve for individuals when considering their neighbors. We continue to receive complaints about too many dogs and cats, ‘unauthorized’ chickens and the like.

An obvious question that emerges is the ‘grandfathering in’ of existing fences that violate the new ordinance. It is the property owner’s responsibility to know the requirements prior to installation.

There are a couple of notable exceptions however. One, if an existing fence blows over in a storm, the property owner has an opportunity to fix or upgrade the fence to the previous height and setback.

Similarly, fences that have been in for a period of time. This is touchy since what timeline do we use? A month? A year? Two years?

The city cannot put itself in enforcement mode and cite all existing fence violators when we are currently skimming the budget and stretching our financial limits.

It seems prudent to have a ‘cutoff date’ that coincides with the new ordinance, which takes effect five days after publication. That ordinance coupled with this article and additional information the city provides can be considered official notice of this new requirement for homeowners.

Notwithstanding current complaints from unhappy neighbors, I again urge you to please just talk to your neighbor and know the rules. You both may need to be educated. Your city officials need to spend time on more critical issues.

I’m always available to visit with you over concerns but I ask that you have exhausted all other reasonable options and made an effort to be the kind of neighbor you would want living next to you.