595 North Main Fence Public Comment from Joe ShieldsDear Kalispell City Council,
CC: Susie Turner, Doug Russell, Mark Johnson, Sam Nunnally, Kalispell City council
I live at 595 North Main Street and have been notified by the city engineer Patrick
Jentz that I have to move my fence. This fence was here when I bought the house over
20 years ago.
I have two request or solutions to make concerning this.
I realize there were many people who received notices informing us that our
fences were over the line including three of four of my neighbors. Apparently Mr. Jentz
took the time to investigate every dwelling in the city looking for these violations as
people at my employment that live throughout the city also received notices on their
doors. When he first notified us of the issue he did so by leaving a
threatening message taped to our front doors. This was setting up the city for major law
suits as that is hardly a legal notification. Someone must have told him as later he sent
certified letters to everyone.
That is the background and now to my specifics.
I have two trees in my yard [see attached photos] that are both literally on the
property line, being half mine and half city. Mr. Jentz sent a surveyor out to verify
this. However, this presents a problem for moving my fence as I cannot put the fence
through the tree. Mr. Jentz has authorized me to cut the tree down but according to city
ordnance 24-10-106 1 cannot do so without penalty as he does not have the authority to
grant this. I have asked him for a waiver to move the fence to about a foot from the tree
as a compromise and he has told me no.
My proposals at this point are these:
First, I would request a grandfather grant to leave the fence where it is. Should the
city at some point in the future decide to widen the street or put in a sidewalk I would
then go ahead and move the fence. I would be more than willing to sign legal
documents to this effect. Second, if this is not possible then next would be to be
granted the previously mentioned one foot waiver to save the trees. I see no need to
destroy two perfectly healthy trees because they decided to grow on a property line. On
the alley side there are several buildings that are over the line and they are
grandfathered and when the city did sewer work [I think it was sewer] in the alley last
year my fence was not a problem.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at 756-3062.
Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
Joe Shields
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