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I've been researching information for homes in Boise and Eagle...mainly in Eagle. I don't see to many homes with fencing and I have NEVER seen a home with privacy fencing. I look at my backyard as a private retreat but some of the homes I've seen online collide into one another. I looked up regulations for fencing yet I couldn't find anything. What's the deal with the lack of fencing?
I thought about this when I first moved here as well. I find it odd that many don't demand privacy in their own back yards.
Some HOAs are overly restrictive on fencing, but there is no code or anything about fencing at the city or county level that I know about. It seems that the nicer the neighborhood, the less likely you are to find fences - possibly pointing to my HOA theory.
My HOA makes it so it's pointless to even have a fence since any fence on a street side or corner can't be more than 3 feet tall. (what!?)
It's crazy...someone can step right over and grab your child or pet out of your yard. I don't want to be the only house with a 6 1/2 ft high privacy fence on the block, but I don't want to have to worry to much about my children playing in the yard or me lounging out in my pjs or swimsuit and someone seeing me. It's weird to me, living in Nor Cal I've never seen anything like it. I've never thought about it from an HOA perspective. HOA's have been shunned here in recent times, it takes away your privacy and homeowner rights to a certain extent. They can be a good thing however.
I completely agree. I am from the Bay Area as well and after living here for over a year, that is one thing I still have not gotten used to (among many other things...) The truly interesting thing is I hear about break-ins and petty thefts here more than I ever did in my corner of the Bay Area, yet this is the area that there is a lack of fences.
There may be some subdivisions that emphasize smaller lots and shared open spaces, but those are pretty rare in my experience and limited to a specific type of subdivision particularly in the Eagle area (geared towards adults with an emphasis on open, green spaces and views to golf course/river/ponds etc.). In a hundred closings, I can think of maybe a dozen that didn't have 6 foot privacy fences. I do most of my work in Boise and I know some areas of Eagle and Meridian have different concepts for backyard spaces, but I would say those are the exception, not the rule. It is not at all difficult to find your own private retreat in your own backyard!!
Looking at the data in the MLS currently, I can tell you that in Ada County (Boise/Meridian/Eagle/Kuna/Star), 72% of listings are either "fully fenced" or "partially fenced." In Eagle, that number is 64%, Boise, 77%, Meridian 73%. I didn't figure for the other municipalities. This doesn't really account for the subdivisions that have wrought iron or 4' cedar fences (or the agents who don't input the fencing information into their listings), but it maybe gives you an idea of things.
Our crime rate, including petty crimes, is really low in our area. It's a bummer that ILI.EB has had that experience, but I wouldn't say that petty theft is a big problem in our area. I'm sure it happens, but to say that it's worse than the Bay Area may not be accurate.
How are you evaluating fencing in your search? Are you looking at aerial views? Just curious.
Both cities definitely do have rules about fences. There are rules about maximum fence heights and about fence setbacks and heights when they are close to intersections, and how close the fence in the front yard can be to the street, and possibly others. I would suggest calling planning and zoning with any specific questions you have. I have seen a form from City of Boise in the past that outlines their specific rules, but I don't seem to be able to find it online.
But as others have said, the whole "not having fences at all" is usually a subdivision HOA thing, and is more common in nicer neighborhoods.
I agree with benchfan, petty crime and all crime is low in this area and nothing like the crime in the bay area. There has been some issues lately with bored high school kids and unlocked vehicles at night, but if the owner is too lazy to lock their car or roll their windows up at night, then oh well, they learn their lesson. The local news here is always looking for anything to make a news story about and they are very good at sensationalizing the smallest things and making it sound like the sky is falling.
I live right in Boise and I believe most homes in the city have fencing in their back yards especially the older areas of town including the historic neighborhoods.
Well I should be more clear with my target search area. I'm looking for homes with @least 3200sq ft and 13,000 sq ft lot (I'm concentrating on Eagle). I rarely ever see fencing on a home and I don't think I've found one yet with privacy fencing.
Not to go off topic, but obviously there are parts of the bay area that are very high crime. My post did not say the whole bay area was safer. I was talking about the specific part that I moved from. Each city in that section certainly did have significantly lower crime rates than Boise and Meridian. I am not saying that Meridian and Boise are bad, just simply that we definitely could use fencing as I live in what seems to be a nice neighborhood, yet have had several things stolen from my backyard - even equipment that was secured to the side of my house.
Also, if the OP is talking about coming from the bay area and looking for a nice sized yard and home, he/she is most likely looking into neighborhoods similar to Castlebury West, Banbury, Two Rivers, etc - and it is VERY unlikely to find a fully fenced yard in these or a neighborhood similar to these.
Many of your average suburban neighborhoods in the valley are fully fenced though.
Well I should be more clear with my target search area. I'm looking for homes with @least 3200sq ft and 13,000 sq ft lot (I'm concentrating on Eagle). I rarely ever see fencing on a home and I don't think I've found one yet with privacy fencing.
Yeah, that is exactly the type of subdivision that is likely to have rules about wanting "open spaces" and no fences. We lived in a subdivision for 12 years that only allowed open style wrought iron fences or "natural fences" (meaning trees and bushes). It isn't a city thing, it is a subdivision thing.
It isn't always true, but on average, the nicer the subdivision, the more likely they are to have an HOA that doesn't like obtrusive fences.
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