City hears neighbors’ fence spat

Some tense moments at Council meeting

A public hearing about a too-tall fence quickly turned into an emotionally charged dispute between neighbors at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

City Planner Eric Taylor opened the hearing with a report on the Planning Commission’s November decision to deny an after-the-fact variance to Ernest and Karen Bijlsmas for a 6-foot fence at 215 S. A Street, a coastal “flag lot” nestled just north of Battery Point Lighthouse.

The fence violates a city ordinance and was constructed after the owner was made aware of height limitations for fences and landscaping in that type of property zone, Taylor said.

The City Council unanimously upheld the

Planning Commission’s decision to deny a variance.

But first things got tense.

While Taylor showed photos of the disputed fence, Ernest Bijlsmas jumped out of his seat and made a beeline for Police Chief Doug Plack.

Bijlsmas asked the chief to remove Ralph Murphy from the meeting immediately, claiming Murphy was subject to a temporary restraining order requiring that he stay more than 10 feet from the Bijlsmas at all times.

Plack called the Sheriff’s Office and then informed the council that no restraining order was in effect at that time.

Murphy is the partner of Mary Weir, who lives next door to the Bijlsmas and runs a bed-and-breakfast there.

She said the Bijlsmas’ new fence covers her existing 2 1/2-foot white picket fence and obstructs her views of the ocean.

In listening to comments from the Bijlsmas, Weir and neighbors Angela and Roger Gitlin, the council attempted to curb references to the underlying conflict, instead focusing solely on the appeal at hand.

But Mayor Kathryn Murray did offer some parting words of reproach.

“I think it’s really unfortunate that a group of people who live in such a beautiful part of our city are having such a difficult time agreeing with one another,” Murray said.

“I’m hard-pressed to see how any of the fence that was built without the proper height really protects somebody from someone living smack next door to them,” the mayor added.

The fence must come down, probably within the next month, City Manager Eugene Palazzo told the Triplicate Wednesday.

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