Yucca Valley Planning Commission considers variance to town development code for taller fences

The town of Yucca Valley’s development code was challenged at last night’s Planning Commission.

The main issue at hand last night was a hearing on a fence and how high that fence can be. In the Town of Yucca Valley Development Code, a street-facing fence can have a maximum height of four feet if they are solid or 6 feet if you can see through them. 

There are also requirements regarding fence height and setback for properties situated on an intersection to allow cars the ability to safely see both directions on a perpendicular street.

That development code applies to almost all single family residential lots in the town, and any proposed change to that code requires a variance from the Planning Commission. 

Shorter fence meant more break-ins

That’s what Kate Shaw was seeking last night. She’s the property owner for the home that sits on the corner of the 58000 block of Alta Mesa Drive and Hanford Avenue. She bought the previously derelict property and fixed it up from an abandoned party house to a short-term rental. She says that before she put up the fence years ago, break ins and vagrancy was common. After putting up a 6 foot metal corrugated fence, the thefts stopped. But after lowering the fence to a more “hoppable” five feet, the house has been broken into twice.

She says she’s had over $1000 in lumber stolen as well as one situation where a vagrant was sleeping on the property.

Kate Shaw: “It’s a notable home in the area because it is renovated. And as we all know, there’s this like ‘go back to L.A.’ mentality around any homes that are renovated. So it kind of makes it a target as it’s two-story and it’s renovated.”

Kate isn’t from L.A., not that it matters. She’s lived here since 1989 and says she remembers the house was known as a party house when she was growing up here. She says that along with security concerns, the direct line of sight into her property makes it feel exposed. She’s requesting that the planning commission allow her to keep her fence as it is, even bring it back up to 6 feet. Kate brought letters from neighbors in support of the fence variance, and she also notes that in the two years the home was a short-term rental it received zero noise complaints and brought the town over $25k of tax revenue.

She also cited concerns that a nearby school bus stop could potentially allow children to witness legal but potentially unsavory activities on the property such as smoking pot, changing for the swimming pool or just general backyard recreation.

Defining a “variance” to the Town Code

Senior Planner Jared Jerome presented the Town Staff’s due diligence on the matter with photos and measurements of the fence and property lines. Concerns about public safety, line of site and setting a precedent were ultimately used to deny the property owner’s request for a variance to the town’s development code, meaning her fence will have to stick to the four and six-foot limits.

Planning Commission Chair Clint Stoker praised Shaw’s work on her application for the variance, saying “You did a lot of legwork. You did a lot of provide a lot of information in regards to providing us photos, providing us other locations to consider why we should help with a variance and your concerns and your neighbor’s concerns. So thank you.”

You could almost feel the planning commission’s reticence to enforce the code so strictly in light of the impassioned argument for a higher fence. Chair Alejandro Vasconcelos mentioned he could only remember one variance granted in the last two years and that was based on the topography of the property.

Deputy Town Manager Shane Steuckle provided comment saying that these type of variances set a precedent in the town’s code which requires the type of careful consideration the commission was giving this request. A variance is more than a single exception to the code. It creates a pattern that all similarly-zoned property owners can then follow if they choose to, which is why the decision on a single variance is so heavily weighed.

Steuckle further explained “that decision has to be based upon number one: facts on the record. And the facts have to pertain to the physical characteristics of the property. The topography, the geography, the shape of the lot, those types of things. So what staff has presented to you this evening are facts that in staff’s opinion, there’s no physical differences of this property compared to other properties in the immediate vicinity in the (single family residential) RS2 zone that would support a variance.”

Planning Commission members did provide suggestions to the property owner on some fencing solutions that would fall within code but still allow some privacy and security, such as possibly setting back the corner fence to avoid even stricter height requirements, and finishing out the four-foot solid fence with a two-foot see-through portion.

El Pollo Loco, Nice Dream Ices and other town developments coming along

A brief discussion on two designs submitted by El Pollo Loco landed on a compromise between the more colorful first submission and the clearer signage from the second.

And Nice Dream Ices was granted some parking lot and landscaping requests, moving the project even closer to an opening date.

You can view the entirety of the Planning Commission meeting as a video on The Town of Yucca Valley’s website.

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