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I live in the LA area of California. And, I'm in a situation where I've had a neighbor recently build on an additional room to their house.
Please See Attached Photo.
In the picture you can see my diving board. Over the fence is the additional room the neighbor built onto their house. The problem is that this additional room is up against my fence. In past years, the area where this add on rooms sits now was originally and open backyard. In effect, I had much more privacy.
The picture was shot from looking across the pool standing on my backyard patio by the pool. You can clearly see the neighbors "Sliding Glass Door". And, I often see my neighbor actively doing stuff in the backyard: going in and out of the sliding glass door and glancing over at me from time to time (especially as they enjoy their new add-on)...etc.
To make things worse, when on the diving board in a bathing suit, now you are even elevated further. And then the neighbor can see your entire body.
From my understanding, and because my house is on a hillside, the max fence height is 6 feet tall (*sigh* rules rules rules).
I'm not really sure what to really do about this or how to obtain more privacy. It would seem like under certain circumstances some rules should be allowed to be bent. Does anyone see a issue with perhaps raising the fence another 1 or 2 feet (7 or 8 foot fence)? What if the neighbor agreed to this so they too could have more privacy?
I'm not sure how to best handle this situation, who to talk to, or where to even go for more information?
Any input and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Not sure about the fence height, but it sounds about right. Why not construct a wood lattice screen in front of the addition on your property. I believe the height of the screen can be higher if on your property. Check with your city. You can grow a beautiful flowering vine on it which would obstruct their view. Or plant some tall bushes.
I would suggest you call building and safety, and ask to be connected to code enforcement.
They will tell you if there is a solution to your problem.
I know hillside code is 6', and any variant from that height most often requires a zone variance which involves a lot of red tape .
As for putting up additional lattice to cover the area, you can do that, but it has to be separate from the fence.
You can't put lattice on top of an existing fence if the fence is already 6' high.
The lattice would have to be a minimum of 2' inside your property away from the existing fence.
The reason I know this is because I had a similar situation a few years back, and at that time the inspector said I could install lattice as long as it wasn't attached to the fence.
Rules governing codes are always changing, so it would be a good idea to contact building and safety before doing anything.
Bob.
Buy 3-4 fast growing screen trees like a Ficus (24" box or larger) and plant alongside your fence. It's probably the fastest and lowest cost solution.
You can try and get zone variance but even if you get approved it doesn't look like your wooden fence is in good shape and I'm sure it would pretty ugly to just nail 2 ft of boards to he top your existing fence that shard with your neighbor if that's even allowed. You can easily spend >1k with a new fence or trying to raising your existing one.
Buy 3-4 fast growing screen trees like a Ficus (24" box or larger) and plant alongside your fence. It's probably the fastest and lowest cost solution.
Be careful with Ficus trees. Ficus Benjamina (sp?) will cause a lot of damage from its roots. There are other fast growing plants that will accomplish your privacy needs.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I find it hard to imagine them being permitted for that addition. Call the
permit office and find out. Most places have a building setback of 10 or 20 feet to the nearest property line. If they did this without permits then
they may have to take it down.
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