Palatine council gives staff direction to ease decorative-fence rules on corner lots, to notice 10-foot landscaping baseline

Councilors in Palatine’s Police Policy & Code Services Committee signaled support for changing the village zoning code to treat decorative fences in side yards that abut streets the same way the code treats front-yard decorative fences.

Staff planner Mike Jacobs told the committee that current regulations permit three-foot decorative fences in front yards (up to 20 feet long) but do not clearly allow the same treatment for side yards abutting streets. He said the discrepancy leaves some corner lots without a simple option to install low, decorative fencing to deter foot traffic and maintain openness. “Our recommendation is that for number 1, we allow the same allowance in the front yard and the side yard abutting the street for that decorative fencing,” Jacobs said.

The presentation also highlighted an ambiguity involving landscaping requirements for taller fences: the code triggers landscaping when a six-foot fence is set back five feet, but the landscaping rule still applies if a six-foot fence is located 10–15 feet from the property line. Jacobs asked whether landscaping should be required beyond a certain setback and proposed considering a range between five and 10 feet.

Council members debated safety and maintenance concerns—including fences built directly adjacent to sidewalks and landscaping that overhangs pedestrians—and differing decorative-fence heights (three feet in front yards, four feet for side yards abutting streets). Several members said they favored keeping administrative review for non-decorative, taller fences while creating a clear allowance for low decorative fences on corner lots.

After discussion, councilors asked staff to notice a public hearing using a 10-foot landscaping baseline so members could observe real-world impacts before finalizing the amendment. No final ordinance or formal vote on code text occurred at the meeting; staff will prepare a text amendment and return to the council for formal consideration and a subsequent public hearing.

What happens next: staff will draft the zoning-text amendment reflecting the committee’s direction, notice a public hearing (using a 10-foot baseline for landscaping), and return to the council—likely at the April meeting—for formal action.