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New fence at Mt Pleasant Street and Hobart Street

 
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slambert



Joined: 01 Aug 2011
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:24 pm    Post subject: New fence at Mt Pleasant Street and Hobart Street Reply with quote

Does anyone know if the new fence going up at the rowhouse at Mt Pleasant and Hobart streets (on the SW corner) is going to be solid? Or at least visibly penetrable? It appears much too high for a main street environment and I am surprised it has been approved. Does anyone know anything about this? I can certainly respect the need for keeping people off of property on a busy street, but do hope that the owner has considered how that a high fence will create a dead pedestrian environment.
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ilana-mtp



Joined: 01 Aug 2007
Posts: 200

PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Could you explain what do you mean by "dead pedestrian environment"?

(I don't know the owner but can't imagine why someone would object to a fence on a private property...)
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jack



Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 4400
Location: 19th & Lamont

PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:54 am    Post subject: Re: New fence at Mt Pleasant Street and Hobart Street Reply with quote

slambert wrote:
Does anyone know if the new fence going up at the rowhouse at Mt Pleasant and Hobart streets (on the SW corner) is going to be solid? Or at least visibly penetrable? It appears much too high for a main street environment and I am surprised it has been approved. Does anyone know anything about this? I can certainly respect the need for keeping people off of property on a busy street, but do hope that the owner has considered how that a high fence will create a dead pedestrian environment.


It seems likely that the fence is on "public space", and there are regulations concerning such fences, specifically to prevent an oppressive impression.

Recall that Mayor Gray was compelled to take his six-foot fence down, because it violated these public space regulations. Many residents don't realize that substantial portions of their front yards are "public space", and are subject to these regulations. Most significant is a height limit of 42 inches.

-- Jack
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slambert



Joined: 01 Aug 2011
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 10:48 am    Post subject: Dead pedestrian environment Reply with quote

Sorry to be using planner jargon. I meant that a very tall fence right up against the sidewalk (potentially in public space as another poster mentions since most front yards in DC are actually DC property) would create an imposing wall especially if solid. One of the nice things about walking along Mt Pleasant Street is that there is a lot to look at - shops, houses, gardens, etc.
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jack



Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 4400
Location: 19th & Lamont

PostPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 11:26 am    Post subject: fence regulations Reply with quote

Attached, the regulations pertaining to fences on "public space".

The portions of our lots adjacent to the sidewalk can generally be assumed to be "public space", known as "parkings" (because they're supposed to be maintained in the manner of parks). The depth from the sidewalk of this public space ranges from 2 to 20 feet. In many cases, our entire front yards are "public space" of this type.

-- Jack



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lmikesDC



Joined: 14 Aug 2010
Posts: 10

PostPosted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Any address in DC can be checked for proper permits. Any permit issued by DCRA is available online within about 2-3 days after being issued:

http://cpms.dcra.dc.gov/OBPAT/idjob.aspx
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jack



Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 4400
Location: 19th & Lamont

PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:11 pm    Post subject: Hobart fence Reply with quote

lmikesDC wrote:
Any address in DC can be checked for proper permits. Any permit issued by DCRA is available online within about 2-3 days after being issued:

http://cpms.dcra.dc.gov/OBPAT/idjob.aspx


Indeed, but this calls for a DDOT public space permit, not a DCRA building permit. I've found only old public space permits on line, not recent permits.
-- Jack
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jack



Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 4400
Location: 19th & Lamont

PostPosted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 1:01 pm    Post subject: Fence at Hobart and Mount Pleasant Reply with quote

Today, DDOT revealed its brand-new public space permit database system:
http://gis.ddot.dc.gov/PermitLocator/#Home

And yes, there's a permit for this fence, meeting the public space regulations:

PA66174 1600 HOBART STREET NW
42 HIGH IRON FENCE 50% OPEN BEHIND SIDEWALK

That is indeed a proper "pedestrian friendly" design.

-- Jack
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lmikesDC



Joined: 14 Aug 2010
Posts: 10

PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 7:15 pm    Post subject: Re: Fence at Hobart and Mount Pleasant Reply with quote

jack wrote:

PA66174 1600 HOBART STREET NW
42 HIGH IRON FENCE 50% OPEN BEHIND SIDEWALK

That is indeed a proper "pedestrian friendly" design.

-- Jack


If the "42 HIGH" in the description pertains to the height in inches of the design, they may have a permit, but unless they plan on cutting the posts in half that they already have in place, then they're not implementing the permit they've asked for. These posts are easily 6-7 ft high.....
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jack



Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 4400
Location: 19th & Lamont

PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:52 pm    Post subject: Re: Fence at Hobart and Mount Pleasant Reply with quote

lmikesDC wrote:

If the "42 HIGH" in the description pertains to the height in inches of the design, they may have a permit, but unless they plan on cutting the posts in half that they already have in place, then they're not implementing the permit they've asked for. These posts are easily 6-7 ft high.....


Well, that's a problem. The height limit on fences on public space is 42 inches.

-- Jack
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gfletcher



Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 89

PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fwiw I guess they will shorten the posts. They are of different and inconsistent heights. It looks like they intend to cut them.
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