Whose Fence Is It?
Fence Removal Came as a Surprise to Some
It’s early on a Thursday morning and you get a frantic call from your next-door neighbor. “Your back fence has been taken down and your dogs are loose.”
This happened to Helotes residents who live on the street behind the Helotes Plaza (previously known as the Helotes Shopping Center) where the new CVS is being built. The contractor is replacing all the residents’ fences that run along the back of this shopping center.
On the previous Tuesday, he had notified the residents that were home, and if no one was home, he taped a note to their front door.
Unfortunately, at least one of these residents was out of town until late Wednesday night and did not see the note. That note was the contractor’s only effort to contact the absent homeowners to tell them they would be removing their back fences. No phone calls. No letters through the mail. No emails. No confirmation that they knew what was going to happen.
This resident was able to find her dogs and get them home safely, but the outcome could have been very different. What if she had already gone to work that morning or she had still been out of town and her dogs had been loose all day?
To make this situation even more frustrating and somewhat puzzling is the fact that on several occasions in the past, at meetings between the owner of the Helotes Plaza and the residents living behind the Plaza, and at several Helotes City Council meetings, the owner had made it clear to everyone that he was not going to replace the fence running behind his shopping center. He had declared that the fence was the responsibility of each of the homeowners, and our City Council had not had a problem with that.
What happened to change his mind? When was the decision made to replace the fence? Was this change approved by Council? Surely if Council had known about this, they would have required the contractor to notify each of the homeowners in a more official way than by taping a note to their front doors, and surely they would have required more than just a day and a half notice. Wouldn’t they?
Most of us would not have been happy with such an intrusion early on a Thursday morning. We would have had to make arrangements to secure our animals and our property. Would a day and a half have been enough for you?
Let us know what you think.
Who’s minding the store? Aren’t you required to pull a permit to build a fence? I would be concerned if somebody came and replaced my fence. I would worry about encroachment, Workmens Comp and the rest. This is “Big Brother” bullying in our own backyards!