CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
February 6, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: Anita D. Gutierrez, AICP, Development Services Director SUBJECT: FENCES IN HISTORIC DISTRICTS
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:
Receive and file this report on front yard fences in historic districts; and Provide, if necessary, further direction to Staff and the Historic Commission on the matter.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Historic Preservation Commission (“Commission”) recently updated the design standards and guidelines for the fences and walls (Attachment #3), based upon Council’s request to review fence and wall standards in historic districts. This report provides a summary of the efforts used to analyze the issue and the new design standards and guidelines adopted by the Commission.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No Fiscal Impact at this time
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
In early 2022, after hearing an appeal related to a new fence in the Hacienda Historic District, the City Council asked the Commission to look at the City’s fence regulations in historic districts and to clarify if new fences are allowed and if so, to specify what standards would apply.
DISCUSSION:
The major issue related to establishing new fences or walls in historic districts has been that the regulations relay on subjective existing conditions to determine on a case-by-case basis if a new fence or wall should be permitted. In order to better understand the extent of the issue and determine how many fences currently exist within the historic districts, Staff conducted a field survey and community outreach in the spring and summer of 2022.
Staff surveyed all three historic districts and identified every front yard fence, identifying their construction material, and presented that information to the Commission (Attachment No. 1) on May 4, 2022. At that meeting, the Commission requested staff obtain more public input on the issue before they recommended any changes. Staff held a community meeting on June 15, 2022, collaborated with Pomona Heritage and the Historical Society of the Pomona Valley to send an email to their memberships asking for input, and created a social media post on the City’s Facebook page asking for input. The City received 39 total responses by email, Facebook, or in person at the community meeting. The results of that outreach (Attachment No. 2) concluded that 79.5% wanted to allow front yard fences in some form, 30.8% (12 respondents) wanted to allow fences without restriction, 48.7% (19 respondents) wanted to allow front yard fences with conditions and 20.5% (8 respondents) wanted to prohibit front yard fences.
Of the respondents that stated they wanted to allow fences with some conditions/restrictions/ etc., twelve (12) of the responses mentioned a period or architectural appropriate design, four (4) wanted a height restriction, and one (1) wanted setbacks. In addition, three (3) emails wanted the process to go through the Commission or an Architectural Commission. Finally, one (1) letter was received on behalf of the board of Pomona Heritage; their position was that they “were fine with front yard fencing that allowed the property to be viewed (preserve curb appeal) and was of a historically appropriate look/material”. They also thought that new fence requests should come to the Commission for review and approval.
On August 3, 2022, the Commission had a lengthy discussion on the appropriateness of fences in historic districts. The Commission decided with a 5-2 vote to allow fences with Staff-level review provided they conformed to a specific architecturally appropriate design, which Staff was tasked with developing. Any fence not conforming to the specific design options, would require a Commission-level review. They directed staff to develop design guidelines and standards for all fences, including front yard fences.
Since 2021, Staff and the Commission have been in the process of updating the City’s Historic Preservation Design Guidelines in their entirety. As part of that update, Staff created a chapter on fences and landscaping. It includes updated fence and wall guidelines and standards, along with tree preservation guidelines, and general landscape guidelines. Chapter 5: Fences and Landscaping (Attachment No. 3) was presented to the Commission on October 5, 2022 and was adopted by the Commission on November 2, 2022.
As part of the change in policy, the fence regulations in the Pomona Zoning Code will also need to be updated. Instead of creating a separate ordinance to accomplish this, the proposed changes will be incorporated into the proposed comprehensive code update, which should be reviewed by City Council this summer.
COUNCIL PRIORITIES & GOALS:
This item supports the 2021 City Council Priority #3 Increased Opportunity and Housing Stability – GOAL J: Encourage the development and maintenance of quality housing opportunities for all.
ALTERNATIVE(S): None
Prepared by:
_____________________________
Geoffrey Starns, AICP, LEED AP BD+C
Historic Preservation Supervisor
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment No. 1 – May 4, 2022 Historic Preservation Commission Staff Report and Presentation Attachment No. 2 – August 3, 2022 Historic Preservation Commission Staff Report and Presentation Attachment No. 3 – Chapter 5: Fences and Landscaping of the Pomona Guide to Historic Preservation.
Front Yard Fences in Historic Districts