Sue's 1.8m fence. Photo: Supplied
Several Auckland homeowners in Point Chevalier have received infringement notices asking them to lower the height of their front fences, by just under half a metre.
It means taking their fences from 1.8m to 1.4m, making them permeable.
The council changed the rules around fence heights a few years ago partly to increase safety for pedestrians and children and improve the streetscape and best outcomes for the community.
However, it has left some feeling less than neighbourly after the council issued infringement notices giving them about a month to cut back their fences.
Point Chevalier resident Sue told Checkpoint she discovered an Auckland Council letter in the mail box detailing her fence violation.
"They are saying either get retrospective resource consent because it is breaching unitary plan rules. The rule is h 5.6 point 15.1 of the unitary plan."
Her fence at 1.8 metres, even though it slopes down with the path to the house, is too high.
"If you go and look around Point [Chevalier] and most of Auckland, our fences are generally 1.8 high, which I believe was a bylaw that contractors are sticking to this day."
Her fence is a white PVC fence that she said was important to her for privacy and security.
"It has vertical panels and is solid, our bedroom is on that side of the house."
Sue said she was not aware of the 1.4m limit when her fence was put up.
"We paid a lot of money for professionals because we didn't know the rules and we trusted that these professionals, these contractors, would keep us safe.
"At the time, I wanted the fence to go right across as a straight line, but they said no. In order to be legal, it had to stagger down to stay at 1.8m."
When Sue received the compliance notice, she checked back with the contractor who made the fence, and they could not give her a clear answer as to whether they knew the rules when they put it up.
"I called the contractor, and he said, tell the council to go and get stuffed and that legally, we can build to 1.8m high, and we only need consent if it's over two metres on a front boundary."
The contractors who built her fence have not been able to supply her with any rules they comply with.
"They just referred me back to the council, which is smacking of leaky building syndrome, where Council and builders are pointing the finger at each other, leaving the ratepayer to hold the can.
"Honestly, professionals do not know the rules. The council have not educated people, and of course, they will turn around and say that these professionals should be up with the laws."
She said the rules changing due to safety reasons and for an improved streetscape contradicted each other.
"The safety of children and pedestrians is paramount. However, you can have a solid, thick, three-metre-high hedge that can't be seen through.
"That is acceptable to [the] council, which does not help pedestrians or children being seen.
"In regards to the aesthetic of a place, which apparently is important in the unitary plan that's all fair enough, but if it's reducing our privacy and our security for aesthetic reasons, where there's no risk identified, I can't see why there's been a complaint."
Sue said she was horrified that ratepayers' money is being used to hold homeowners compliant with rules that Auckland Council has not educated contractors on.
"We're left like the leaky building syndrome of history, where homeowners and ratepayers are left holding the can and it seems like the council is making us pay in every which way after not really educating people."
Sue said she would not be taking her fence down.
"I'm currently trying to find out from the council whether a form 8b would be acceptable to them. But even if I get the consent of my neighbours, which costs $1,000 to lodge on its own, this two-page form, then apparently, I still need building consent.
"It's a big process, and three weeks is not long to do it. So I have a challenge ahead."
Checkpoint put Sue's concerns to Auckland Council who sent a statement.
It said it's currently investigating three addresses in Sue's street for breaching height restrictions. All three were referred to the council via a single complaint.
They said the rules are designed to strike a balance between privacy, streetscape and safety, with international research showing that "modest-sized fences create the best outcomes for communities."
They encourage anyone undertaking building work, including fences, to check their local planning rules and engage a suitably qualified contractor to carry out the work.
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