Isanti City council discusses fence-code changes but defers approval after posting error

City staff presented proposed amendments to Isanti City’s zoning regulations on fencing, screening and landscaping and the City Council discussed changes intended to limit the city’s role in neighbor-to-neighbor fencing disputes.

A staff member reviewed alterations to ‘chapter 4 45, section 15, fencing, screening, and landscaping,’ telling the council the city attorney recommended retaining language about written permission even though the city would not make it a mandatory administrative requirement. “It puts the onus on the property owner putting up the fence,” the staff member said, adding that written documentation helps if the matter later becomes a civil dispute.

The proposed edits also add language to permit connection of fences where adjoining property owners want to attach to an existing fence, eliminating the need for small maintenance strips between properties. The staff member said the city would only intervene in boundary disputes when a property owner provides proof, such as a paid survey, establishing the fence location.

Councilman Merrill moved to approve the ordinance and Councilman Heaman seconded. City staff then advised the council that the version before them had been revised after it was posted and therefore had not met the statutory 10‑day posting requirement for ordinance changes. Staff told the council the item must be reposted and brought back at the next meeting; the council agreed to consider it at the subsequent session.

The council did not take a final vote on the ordinance at this meeting; staff said the matter will return after the required public-notice period.

The council also handled routine business, including adoption of the agenda and approval of minutes, and moved on to other items on the agenda.