22-04-2004, 03:03 AM
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vegetative street barriers
(tim wilde) wrote:
Hi,
My wife and I have lived in Altamonte Springs (Orlando) for a few
years and are slowly getting into the process of redeveloping our 2/3
acre corner lot.
snip
One of the chief things that we want to address is the fact we are on
a corner block that is quite busy at times thanks to the fact we are
on a short cut between a couple of very busy roads. With kids and all
we want to try and create a barrier or buffer both for safety and for
privacy, and we seem a little limited in what we can do thanks to
local city ordnance.
snip
I can sympathize. I also live on an increasingly busy and noisy
street and am considering plants as a barrier. I wish I had as much
space as you and also the growing conditions!
We had
thought of a simple hedge, but the city has told us that hedges have
to be pruned to the requisite 2 1/2 feet if they're along the fence
line, so we figure on getting around it with short trees and shrubs!
If you haven't already done so, I would suggest obtaining the actual
printed city regulations/code/etc and looking for loop holes - is it a
hedge, or a fence or a trellis or an accessory structure? wink
Get it in writing, not just the say so of the person behind the
counter. You may have more wiggle room examining the printed regs.
Keep the printed regs so if regs change years later (to your
disadvantage) you can make a case for being "grandfathered in"
I don't know how strict Orlando is...
If the city restricts hedge height, what are the restrictions on
trellis location and size? What about a fence with vines growing on
it. Is a set of poles say every 15 feet apart with 2 wires strung
between them, one at say 6 feet high and another at say 3 feet
considered to be a fence or is it a trellis because you planted vines
a year before the poles appeared so the vines will be established and
you'll have lots of growth to drape on the pole and wires?
(oddly enough we know of at least four or five houses in the area that
have very high hedges along the fence line facing the road, but why
tempt fate by trying to get away with it ourselves?)
Some cities take the position of "if it is not an immediate threat to
public safety, we only take action if there is a complaint."
Not sure how you might feel about putting in the high hedge and if you
are told to trim it, you do so but hey guess what, a couple of years
later it is tall again! wink This is of course assuming that there
is no safety issue like obscuring sight lines for road traffic, etc.
snip
I've thought that a few plants from my Australian homeland might work well in such a sunny
spot.
Ah! Plants from home! I grew up in Hawaii and now live in Las Vegas
so tropicals are a bit tough.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
I wish I could be more help but best of luck!
Jay
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