Laredo City Council will meet Monday evening along with requests from councilmembers to discuss a possible explanation that occurred with three recent waterline breaks, the expansion of the World Trade Bridge and a city-wide event hosted at Uni-Trade Stadium.

City leaders took time this week to review a fencing ordinance and discuss possible ways to help households with limited resources when building a fence without encroaching on their neighbors' property.

The item was in discussion during council as a status update on residential fencing requirements at the request of councilmember Vidal Rodriguez. Building Development Services Director John Hickle said manufactured housing has the most setback as they can only build a fence at a 20-foot setback. He clarified per the ordinance, the four-feet-height limit was misinterpreted, as it only pertains to highways and boulevards.

The item was noted as vital, as Rodriguez indicated households looking to build fences around their home and vehicle for security purposes are limited due to the ordinance’s planned setback. He cited safety issues in his district and brought up the item to facilitate a process to help families apply for a special permit to build a fence.

The Fencing and Screening ordinance highlights the R-1MH district as single family manufactured housing districts and says their perimeter of the manufactured housing subdivision shall be buffered from all R-1, R-1A, RS and nonresidential subdivisions by an opaque masonry fence or wall of not less than seven feet in height and no fencing or permanent wall or structure may be located within the front-yard setback.

Interim City Manager Samuel Keith Selman further clarified if a mobile home is in the R-1MH zone, the setback is 10 feet for the structure as opposed to a site-built home which would be a 20-feet setback. He said the R-1MH zone is the only district regulated and restricted but applying to build a fence is allowable in any district aside from R-1MH zones through the current ordinance.

Hickle indicated prior to returning with the ordinance on the next council meeting, he would like to meet with the engineering department for the R-1MH districts, meaning the single-family/mobile home districts.

A presentation showed fence requirements and visualized what fences required permits, what fences are allowed without permits and which ones are prohibited. Concrete fences need a permit, while wood fences and chain-link fences do not.

The ordinance adds that further requirements are:

The council then began to discuss what the city could do for households interested in building a fence but lacking the information regarding their property lines. Both Rodriguez and councilmember Vanessa Perez indicated homeowners risk significant losses in the event where they build a fence encroaching on a neighbor’s property or if they build without a permit.

Both inquired about city resources at homeowners’ disposals and if new programs could be created to help families planning to build a fence.

According to Hickle, families can visit the building development service website and find the geographic information system mapping division to find more information on where their property line is located in order to properly build a fence on one’s property. Furthermore, he said each property has underground stakes surveyors can use to locate the property line.

Perez asked if it would be possible to use city resources to send city employees to homes to survey the property line in order to ease the process for the homeowner and ensure the fence planned is not on neighbor's land. She was told the city does not have the resources to survey properties and homeowners would have to hire someone to do that themselves.

Christian Alejandro Ocampo reports on education for the Laredo Morning Times. He originally joined LMT as a photographer.