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Chapter 17.68
FENCES, WALLS, ARBORS AND HEDGESSections:
17.68.010 Purpose.
17.68.020 Applicability.
17.68.030 General requirements.
17.68.040 Prohibitions – Walls with sharp elements.
17.68.050 Fences, walls, arbors and hedges that create potential safety hazards.
17.68.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide regulations for fences, walls, arbors, hedges and other partially or totally sight-obscuring installations, to assure that desirable objectives of providing privacy, security, and screening of properties can be met while limiting unsafe obstructions of motorists’, cyclists’, and pedestrians’ vision. (Ord. 2571 § 2, 1997).
17.68.020 Applicability.
These regulations shall apply to fences, walls, arbors, hedges and other partially or totally sight-obscuring installations within residential zoning districts. (Ord. 2571 § 2, 1997).
17.68.030 General requirements.1
A. No fence, wall, arbor, hedge or other partially or totally sight-obscuring installation shall be allowed within any public right-of-way, unless a street use agreement has been approved pursuant to Chapter 12.10 PTMC.2
B. Fences, walls, arbors, hedges and other partially or totally sight-obscuring installations may be permitted within any required front, side, or rear setback area or along the edge of any yard; provided, that:
1. No fence, wall, arbor, hedge or other partially or totally sight-obscuring installation which poses a traffic safety hazard shall be located within a clear vision area;
2. Except as provided in subsections (B)(3) and (4) of this section, no fence or wall, or other partially or totally sight-obscuring installation shall exceed eight feet in height;
3. No fence, wall, or other partially or totally sight-obscuring installation shall exceed four feet in height within any required setback area abutting a public street right-of-way;
4. No arbor located outside of a clear vision area shall exceed 10 feet in height;
5. None of the height limits established in this section shall apply to hedges, including any closely planted trees or vegetation.
C. Variation from the requirements outlined in subsection (B)(3) of this section may be allowed; provided, that:
1. The overall height of all parts of the structure does not exceed eight feet in height; and
2. Any portion of the structure above four feet shall be predominately open, such that there is free circulation of air and passage of light.
D. Maximum heights specified by this chapter shall be measured from the elevation of the ground within two feet of the installation on the lower side.
E. Notwithstanding any of the provisions contained in this section, all fences and walls shall comply with the requirements of the International Building Code, as adopted under Chapter 16.04 PTMC. (Ord. 2867 § 2, 2004; Ord. 2571 § 2, 1997).
17.68.040 Prohibitions – Walls with sharp elements.
No wall shall have attached to it any barb, spike, broken glass or other pointed or sharp instrument. This prohibition shall not be construed to limit the placement of barbed wire fences. (Ord. 2571 § 2, 1997).
17.68.050 Fences, walls, arbors and hedges that create potential safety hazards.
Notwithstanding the provisions of PTMC 17.36.030, no fence, wall, arbor, hedge or other partially or totally sight-obscuring installation over three feet in height shall be placed within five feet of any dwelling or dwelling unit where such installation runs parallel with an outside wall of a dwelling unit and substantially interferes with access to such dwelling unit for fire and public safety purposes, or substantially impairs the ability of an occupant of a dwelling unit to use windows, doors, etc., as emergency exits. (Ord. 2571 § 2, 1997).
Footnotes
1Please refer to the following definitions in Chapter 17.08 PTMC: “arbor”; “clear vision area”; “fence”; “hedge”; and “wall.”
2The burden shall rest upon the property owner to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the director that such fence, wall, arbor, hedge or other partially or totally sight-obscuring installation does not encroach upon a public right-of-way.
2Code reviser’s note: Chapter 12.10 PTMC has been repealed by Ord. 2578.
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