09/27/2004 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Regular Council Minutes 9-27-04 Page 15 Mayfield Village; I am not sure but I wish there was someone here who could comment. But from reading through the minutes which was back in August, it seems they were trying to straddle that issue of we don't allow them in the Village; I have mixed feelings about it. I can understand your desires to have a privacy fence down your property line and I realize your neighbors may not object to it but I know that there are instances where in other neighborhoods or homes, neighbors might object to it. I don't think that is necessarily the overriding consideration that the Board gave. I think the overriding consideration that the Board gave was what are our rules and regulations regarding fences and does this really require overturning those rules-at least down to the end of the line. I don't know that I disagree with their judgment on this. Mr. Saponaro said I do not agree it is overturning, I think it is like we do in many instances via whether it is sheds or any other case, we look at the individual property, we look at the property owner, how it is situated and we grant either through the normal process that the Dorans went through or through Council we grant variances. And I don't think if we grant a variance in one case, we've now set a precedent that now anyone could come in with a privacy fence, slap it up and say all right, a precedence was set by the Village Council, therefore we can come in and we can do the same thing. I think everything needs to be looked at on its own merits. Secondly, if this is an issue that is global, I think we have to review the ordinance itself. Dr. Parker said he didn't say it was an issue that was global. Mr. Saponaro said I am just saying if it gets to a point it becomes an issue (and your point is well taken) that is looked at maybe globally by many people, then I think we have to review the ordinance and say is this really for the benefit of all the folks here? Is this antiquated? Should we look at this and maybe tweak it a little bit? And that is more toward Ordinance Review. That is my feel on it. Ms. Calta said I just want to make a few comments on what Mr. Saponaro was stating. Each variance is unique and I know it is sometimes easy to have the illusion that you group them all together and feel that you are overriding variances of the Board of Zoning Appeals but the bottom line is you have to look at each property and it stands by itself in the context of what other variances should be granted or shouldn't be granted in any of your capacity to review the Board of Zoning Appeals [decision.] I remind everyone that in order to reverse you will need a super majority; you will need 5 votes tonight to do that. Dr. Parker said I feel we have these people who make decisions and I feel we are constantly- and I am not making it to be the situation where I am trying to prove them wrong or right but we are constantly telling them to do their job, telling them to do consider with great deliberation I think they have here by trying to find a happy ground and then we turn around and basically tell them-and this is their common complaint--that the decisions they make don't carry so much weight with us. I am looking at the decision they make and looking at the solution and I guess I am not yet convinced that their solution wasn't a fair one to allow them a partial privacy fence unless someone can convince me otherwise. Mayor Rinker said if I can and it is interesting because I think this discussion hits all the issues that should be reviewed. I would remind us all that in our set-up in Mayfield Village, the reason this comes to Council is because Council-each time there is a body that reviews, just as