Fence-sitters were scarce at Monday’s Batavia City Council meeting when aldermen voted 9-5 to require that a 6-foot fence straddle the western edge of a proposed 14-home subdivision on Hart Road.
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“I think it’s ludicrous,” said Ald. Norman Hagemann as he objected to including the fence in the annexation agreement.
The 7.5-acre site, formerly the Judd farm, is sandwiched between subdivisions to the north and south. But it also is adjacent to industrial areas that generate noise.
The fence, along with a bank of staggered trees, is being included by the council as a kind of pre-emptive strike to possible noise complaints by future homeowners.
“The fence will not, will not,” Hagemann repeated, “stop the noise . . . It can cut down on the open view of the (sites), but it will not fix the noise. I think we should leave it up to the home buyers if they want to put up a fence,” he said.
Ald. Mary McCarter’s ward includes the site and she has received noise complaints from residents.
“When we first discussed this annexation . . . I said I would only support it if the fence is included,” said McCarter, “or anything else we can to provide a buffer so we can say that to the new homeowners.”
Along with the annexation and zoning, the council also approved a special-services area designation, which requires new homeowners to contribute funds for the maintenance of the fence and tree bank.