Moses Lake woman may have to remove fence

Ordinance prohibits six-foot tall fence

MOSES LAKE - A Moses Lake woman may be taking down a newly built fence because it violates a Moses Lake ordinance.

During a Tuesday night council meeting, citizen Tiffany Issacson requested the Moses Lake City Council allow her to keep her six-foot tall fence in her yard, which she uses as a safety precaution for her children.

Community Development Director Gilbert Alvarado said a complaint was received from a citizen who did not approve of the height of the fence located on Jean Road Northeast on Aug. 27. A notice was sent to Issacson informing her of the violation the following day.

According to a city ordinance, fences are to be no higher than four feet tall in the front yard of a residence, he said.

Several other residences within the vicinity of Issacson's residence have six-foot tall fences, Alvarado said. They are permitted because they were constructed before being annexed into the city nearly 10 years ago. Issacson's fence was built after the annexation.

The fence was built without the required building permit. If the building permit were applied for, the height would have been corrected before being constructed, he said. In the past a citizen was required to take down a fence because it was too tall.

"What they've done is they put up a very nice fence," Alvarado said.

He said the Issacsons have done a great job cleaning up the property and installing the fence.

Alvarado displayed several pictures of the residence and the fence.

Mayor Ron Covey agreed the property looked better with the new fence.

Tiffany Issacson said her fence is built to look the same as her neighbor's fence and conforms to the overall look of the neighborhood. She said it does not block the house from the roadway.

"Our fence is a safety net for our kids," she said.

The Issacsons have a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old and are expecting a newborn in November. She said the fence was built high enough to prevent them from setting something against the fence to climb over and reach the roadway.

"I just want it to be fair," Tiffany Issacson said. "I didn't realize we received a complaint over our fence."

Covey asked council if anyone wished to make a motion to amend the ordinance to allow six- foot fences.

No one made a motion.

Issacson will work with the community development staff to check into the specifications of the ordinance to see if she is able to keep her fence or portions of her fence.