Board denies variance to keep 6-foot chain-link fence with barbed wire at Lafayette Road property

The Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals Division 1 denied a variance request from Lafayette Center LLC to retain an illegally installed 6-foot chain-link perimeter fence with barbed wire at 2440 Lafayette Road. Staff recommended denial, noting the consolidated zoning and subdivision ordinance prohibits chain link in commercial front yards and limits front-yard fence height to 3.5 feet. Staff also recorded three complaints to the mayor's action center and a violation opened in October 2025 tied to the fence and related site issues.

Shane Caton, testifying for the petitioner, said the fence was installed for security and that the company would remove the barbed wire if required. Nearby residents opposed the variance on aesthetic and neighborhood-character grounds; one resident said the fence 'is wholly inappropriate' for the strip-mall corridor. After board discussion, each board member voted against granting the variance and the petition was denied.