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I am in the process of buying a house on a corner in the Town of Hempstead. It has a fence that is 6 feet high, including the part that is on the side of the house (which means the fenced-in portion of the back/side yard is an L shape). I've read a lot of contradictory things about corner properties and fences, and from what I understand, most towns permit 4 ft. high fences on the side of the house. The sellers had an "open permit" for the fence with the Town that they never had closed, so they had to get an inspector to come. Their attorney told us, "As for the inspection for the fence, they came, inspected, and provided my client with an application to refresh the permit and variance."
The attorney scanned in the application to send to us which says "APPLICATION TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS" on the top.
In the part that says "If a variance is requested, complete the following:" there is a typed section that I guess was typed up by the inspector or the town? It says:
Building Permit Number: (there is a number here but I have no idea if this specifies anything confidential so I won't state it)
Variance W/CONDITIONS TO MAINTAIN 6'FENCE PER BZA GRANT TEMP TIL 3/25/2014
EXPIRATION DATE: 3/25/2014
FEE FOR RENEWAL: $75.00
Can anyone tell me what this means? Did they have a variance at some point for the 6ft high fence that they just never renewed for $75 back in 2014?
Also, I was wondering what happens now that they sent this application back in -- is there a possibility that this can now be denied or is this something that was automatically approved and they now just have to pay the money? Are variances temporary in terms of what they permit? For instance, if they get the variance pre-closing, in 15 years could TOH then come to me and say you need the fence to now be 4 feet high on the side property?
You don’t need a variance for a 6ft fence as long as you leave a 8ft setback if there is a driveway. As of early 2017, TOH now considers the side yards for corner houses as “back” yards instead of front yards.
The fence is in legal position. When did the previous owners put up the fence? I assume prior to 2017 when the side was considered a front yard hence why a variance was needed. It no longer needs a variance and is legal. I would speak to the building Dept directly about this as they’re aware of the rule changes for corner properties.
Perhaps the original permit application shows a variance on file and the inspector is going by that without even realizing that a new fence permit application does not require a variance in this specific situation.
The fence is in legal position. When did the previous owners put up the fence? I assume prior to 2017 when the side was considered a front yard hence why a variance was needed. It no longer needs a variance and is legal. I would speak to the building Dept directly about this as they’re aware of the rule changes for corner properties.
Fence was put up prior to 2012 - that's all I know. It seems it needed a variance back then that they didn't renew. I think the issue is that the fence had an open permit according to my title company? So they had to have the inspector come back to inspect, and the owners just sent that application in. I'm not sure if they just thought that was what they had to do or the inspector actually told them they had to do that.
They are requesting (because they are buying a new house) that they put money into escrow so we can close, but I didn't really want to run into a huge issue with the fence if the entire side had to be replaced with a shorter one.
Fence was put up prior to 2012 - that's all I know. It seems it needed a variance back then that they didn't renew. I think the issue is that the fence had an open permit according to my title company? So they had to have the inspector come back to inspect, and the owners just sent that application in. I'm not sure if they just thought that was what they had to do or the inspector actually told them they had to do that.
They are requesting (because they are buying a new house) that they put money into escrow so we can close, but I didn't really want to run into a huge issue with the fence if the entire side had to be replaced with a shorter one.
That 6ft fence is perfectly legal as shown in those pics.
The fence is in legal position. When did the previous owners put up the fence? I assume prior to 2017 when the side was considered a front yard hence why a variance was needed. It no longer needs a variance and is legal. I would speak to the building Dept directly about this as they’re aware of the rule changes for corner properties.
Perhaps the original permit application shows a variance on file and the inspector is going by that without even realizing that a new fence permit application does not require a variance in this specific situation.
I believe you are correct because the application (as per my original post) refers to that specific variance which seemed to expire in 2014. I wonder if they just came and said okay it all looks good but I see you need to renew the variance and handed them the application without realizing it's no longer necessary.
I believe you are correct because the application (as per my original post) refers to that specific variance which seemed to expire in 2014. I wonder if they just came and said okay it all looks good but I see you need to renew the variance and handed them the application without realizing it's no longer necessary.
I think this is what’s happening as well. I would call the building Dept.
Here’s the permit status # 5168015642. They have direct communication with the inspectors and can help you out.
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