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BACKGROUND Property owners who would like an over height fence, a fence over six feet in height, must utilize the City's Administrative Design Review process prior to construction of the fence. With the submittal of an ADR application, property owners are required to submit written consent from the property owners of the shared property lines that would be affected by the over height fence. After Planning accepts an ADR application, noticing cards are sent to the same adjoining property owners within one business day of receipt of the application; adjoining property owners are given seven business days to respond. Planning then sends an action letter to the property owners at the end of the noticing period (seven business days) with the action becoming effective after the appeal period has ended (15 days after the date of the action letter). Generally, it takes three to four weeks, from the date the application is filed to the end of the appeal period, to secure an ADR permit. The purpose of the Code amendment is to remove a duplicative step that increases the length of time for an owner to obtain a building permit, yet maintains a discretionary review process. For more background information, see the July 8, 2009 Planning Commission staff report (Attachment 2). DISCUSSION The proposed Code amendment would allow property owners to obtain an over -the- counter approval for over height fences. In researching this issue, staff has found that, over time, very few requests have been made for over height fences. For example, from January 2006 to December 2008, 36 ADR permits were approved for fences over six feet in height, none of which, for the reasons stated above, were appealed. This amendment would eliminate unnecessary delays and allow property owners an opportunity to construct a fence to which adjoining neighbors have already agreed. Therefore, amendments to the existing code language are proposed below. Text in standard format remains unchanged, with text to be removed shown in strikeout (i.e., strikeout). Proposed text is shown in bold, underlined, red font (bold and underlined). The following excerpted text is to be amended as follows: 18.84.090 G. Fences, walls and hedges greater than six feet but not over eight feet in height may occupy a required side or rear yard upon approval by the zoning administrator. 1. Application for an over height fence, wall or hedge pursuant to this subsection shall be made with the zoning administrator and shall be subject to design review. e.! Page 2 of 4