Montgomery City Zoning Code
§ 16-5.3
Fences, Walls, Sight Triangles and Guiderails. 1
[Ord. #85-482, S 503; Ord. #88-584, S IV D; Ord. #89-628, S 3; Ord. #93-779, SS 1, 2; Ord. #98-952, S 1; Ord. #02-1071, S 1]
a.
All permitted fences shall be situated on a lot in such a manner that the finished side of the fence shall face adjacent properties. No fence shall be erected of barbed and/or electrified wire, topped with metal spikes, nor constructed of any material or in any manner which may be dangerous to persons or animals, except that these provisions shall not apply to farms and except further that fences permitted for nonresidential uses in the MR/SI District may be topped by a barbed and/or electrified wire protective barrier, and except further that requirements of State or Federal regulations shall prevail.
b.
On any lot in any district, no wall or fence shall be erected or altered so that said wall or fence shall be over four feet in height in side, rear and front yard areas, provided that said fence may be erected with an additional six inches of clearance from grade, and excepting the following:
1.
A dog run or privacy area may have fencing a maximum of six feet in height, provided such area is located in rear yard areas only and is set back from any lot line at least 15 feet.
2.
See Subsection 16-5.15 for standards applicable to swimming pools.
3.
A tennis court area, located in rear yard areas only, may be surrounded by a fence a maximum of 15 feet in height; said fence to be set back from any lot line the distance required for accessory buildings in the zoning district in accordance with Section 16-4 or Section 16-6.
4.
On residential lots only, fences not to exceed eight feet in height designed to deter deer may be erected around vegetable or flower gardens and/or other similarly contained areas not exceeding 5,000 square feet in size, provided that:
(a)
The fence shall be located in the rear yard areas only;
(b)
The fence shall not be constructed or topped with any barbed or electrified wire, or metal spikes;
(c)
Any portion of the fence over four feet in height shall be constructed only of thin, high-tensile woven wire running parallel to the ground or thin, high-tensile woven wire grid and shall not have any nonperpendicular or nonparallel elements;
(d)
The portion of the fence over four feet in height shall have at least a six inch separation between all vertical (stay) wires and between all horizontal (line) wires;
(e)
The fence shall be erected perpendicular to the ground with posts firmly secured in the ground or attached to the inside of an otherwise permitted fence and shall be tautly stretched between the supports so that the wire(s) do not sag or droop; and
(f)
The fence shall comply with the minimum side and/or rear lot line setback distances specified for accessory buildings in the respective zoning district, but in no case shall the distance be less than 15 feet.
5.
On farms only, high-tensile woven wire fences not to exceed eight feet in height designed to deter deer and small mammals may be erected provided that:
(a)
In the front yard the fence shall be set back a minimum of 10 feet from the street line, and
(b)
The fence shall not be constructed or topped with any barbed or electrified wire, or metal spikes.
6.
A zoning permit shall be required for any fence. A construction permit shall be required for any fences over six feet.
7.
Buffer areas shall meet the requirements specified in Subsection 16-8.4b20.
8.
Off-street parking, loading and driveway access shall meet the requirements specified in Subsection 16-5.8.
c.
Sight triangle easements shall be required at intersections of a street with another street and at intersections of a street with a driveway providing ingress and/or egress to nonresidential developments. The sight triangle easement shall be in addition to the specified right-of-way width of a street and cartway width of a driveway and shall not contain any grading, planting or structure more than 12 inches above the center line of the street and/or driveway, except that street signs, fire hydrants and light standards may be located within a sight triangle easement.
The sight triangle is that area outside of the street right-of-way or driveway cartway, bounded by the intersecting street right-of-way or driveway cartway lines and the straight line connecting sight points, one each located on the two intersecting street or driveway center lines. In the instance of intersections with no stop controls, the sight points shall be 90 feet.
In the instance of stop controlled intersections, sight triangles shall be provided as follows in accordance with the standards established by the Institute of Traffic Engineers; specifically, the most current edition of the Transportation and Traffic Engineering Handbook. The required dimension of the sight triangle shall depend upon the design speed of the uncontrolled street, which design speed shall be established by the Township Engineer, and the sight triangle shall be laid out so that a driver 15 feet from the proposed or future edge of pavement of the uncontrolled street can see approaching traffic at the following distances related to the design speed:
Design Speed of Uncontrolled Street | Minimum Required Sight Distance |
|---|---|
25 mph | 250 feet |
30 mph | 300 feet |
35 mph | 350 feet |
40 mph | 400 feet |
45 mph | 450 feet |
50 mph | 500 feet |
Additional lands may be required to be included within the sight triangle easement in order to provide an unobstructed sight view for the entirety of the minimum distances noted hereinabove. |
The dedication of sight triangle easements shall be expressed on a subdivision plat or site plan as follows: "Sight triangle easement deeded for purposes provided for and expressed in the Land Development Ordinance of Montgomery Township." |
d.
When guiderails are to be installed and provided a different requirement is not imposed by another jurisdiction, they shall be made from weathering A588 steel and shall be in accordance with the Standard Construction and Detail Sheet (Sheet D2.14), appended to this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: Sight Triangle Easements Intersection Diagrams is included at the end of this section.
