Examples of fences if the Killeen City Council passes new regulations on privacy fence regulations.
The Killeen City Council may soon be having yet another back-and-forth battle with developers, this time over fence regulations.
The City Council was slated to discuss and potentially vote
on two pieces of regulations having to do with fences at Tuesday’s council meeting, one having to do with subdivision entry signs and perimeter walls and the other about privacy fencing, but both were stricken from the agenda by Mayor Debbie Nash-King moments before they were scheduled to be discussed.
For the subdivision entries, the proposed regulations would make the subdivision perimeter walls at
least 6 feet tall, but not taller than 8 feet. It would also require such walls to be made of masonry.
Privacy fences, according to the proposed regulations, would now be required to be 8 feet in height between commercial and residential areas, and would also be required to be of masonry material. Currently, the regulations allow it to be wooden.
After Nash-King announced that those items were stricken from the agenda, prominent local developers Gary Purser Jr. and Josh Welch could be seen leaving the City Council meeting.
Welch told the Herald Thursday that most developers are already doing what the city of Killeen has outlined in these ordinances but “what staff is
proposing is very limiting.”
“Some of those nicer fencing that we have been using in the past … wouldn’t be allowed,” Welch said.
He said in spite of the examples that the city of Killeen showcased in the presentation attached to its agenda, some of the masonry fences could
also fall into disrepair and, on the contrary to expectations, perimeter fences made out of wood that are taken care of can look really nice.
Welch also said there could be opportunities to make really nice looking fences using different types of materials, but that wouldn’t be allowed if these new regulations were passed.
He further elaborated on his position in a follow up email to the Herald.
“Almost every development has to have an HOA (Home Owners Association) to maintain drainage improvements on site such as detention ponds and most developers or builders install entrance signs and do enhanced perimeter fencing already,” he said in the email. “I would use caution having a requirement to only
allow rock or masonry fencing when there are many other options out there that aesthetically can look better and allow varying products. Masonry fencing has its benefits but it has its negatives as well. It is not maintenance free as it often can get off kilter and can crack and split. Other types of fencing can be easier to repair when or if there is an issue.”
He said increasing regulations just make
things more difficult for everyone.
The Killeen Planning and Zoning Commission previously recommended approval for both the subdivision walls and the privacy fences regulations by a vote of 6-0.
Developers and the city of Killeen have had a long history of going back and forth over different types of regulations.
The last major battle was in August 2023 when there was a political fight over development fee increases.
