Manteca is one of only two jurisdictions in San Joaquin County that does not allow 7-foot fences in residential neighborhoods.

It is something Councilman Charlie Halford wants his colleagues to consider changing after fielding several complaints from Manteca residents about the municipal rule capping them at 6 feet

Halford said it was a question of increased privacy and security. Fellow council members agreed it was something that needed to be considered.

But when Community Development Services Director Chris Erias suggested the council wait until after the general plan was updated to tackle the issue in one to two years, Halford responded it needed to be addressed “sooner than later.”

The last time the issue came up was in December 2015 when the council unanimously rejected a Manteca Planning Commission recommendation to increase the height limit to 7 feet. Current council members Gary Singh and Jose Nuño were on the planning commission in 2015. While Singh supported the move, Nuño was the only dissenter citing concerns about police officer safety.

Nuño on Tuesday said the use of drones to help keep tabs on fleeing suspects has negated concerns he expressed in 2015.

Manteca Police leadership in 2015 lobbied heavily against increasing the height asserting it created safety issues for officers laden with dozens of pounds of gear pursuing fleeing suspects. The fire chief also voiced the same concern for firefighters that also might have to scale fences.

It was pointed out that while some officers simply busted through fences, at least one officer at the time submitted worker’s compensation claims for injuries sustained after scaling various fences.

The issue in 2015 created significant acrimony among hundreds of homeowners who were told by city staff in the planning department and building division that 7-foot fences were OK under city rules when they erected them.

Some residents were enraged in 2015 pointing out in the previous  several years after shelling out upwards of $8,000 for a professionally-designed and built backyard or side yard fence they were later issued a ticket by the City of Manteca for not being in compliance with the municipal code. They were told to either cut the fences down by a foot or to remove them and put in a replacement 6-foot fence.

Mike Messner, who was the planning manager at the time, noted municipal ordinances and city zoning got out of synch creating the initial confusion. Then the state upped the maximum allowable fence without a permit to 7-foot from 6-foot. And while the city didn’t have to adopt the state rules some city personnel apparently advised homeowners inquiring about fence heights that it was the new city standard as well.

The city zoning code from 1992 to 2012 allowed 7-foot high fences which was different than the 6-foot limit spelled out in municipal ordinances. Then in January 2013 the zoning code was changed to 6-foot fence limit. Then the state that year upped its minimum for fences without a permit from 6-foot to 7-foot,

As part of the 2015 council decision it made clear 7-foot fences that were put in place under the old zoning code would be grandfathered in as non-conforming until they needed to be replaced. But those put in place after 2012 would be illegal and subject to forced removal by the city.

The city in early 2016 sent residents a form with utility bills to fill out if they could verify they had been allowed by the city to have a 7-foot fence. Once filled out and verified it would exempt them from being cited by code enforcement. However, when the fenced had to be replaced it could no longer be 7 feet.

While fences that stand at 7 feet tall offer more in terms of privacy and protection, they are a foot higher than what prospective peace officers at the Police Officer Standard and Training (or POST) academy in 2015 had to be able to scale in order to pass the physical requirements. The extra foot, according to police at the time, made it nearly impossible for canines to be able to clear the fence if needed and put officers more at risk when conducting surveillance or peering into a backyard when a crime is suspected of being in progress.

 The elevated height means that officers may physically have to hold themselves up to see over or jump to get a fraction of a peek, neither of which is conducive to the elements of cover and surprise.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com