Brewer Has Sights Set On Chain Link Fences

New "Crisis" Demanding Attention

Sanford Councilman Steve Brewer, leading proponent of the business privilege tax, has found something else to import here to Sanford--the regulation of chain link fences. In a post on his blog with 18 different pictures of houses with one form or another of chain link fence, he begins with spectra of:

Would you like a 6 foot, chain link, barbed wire fence in the front yard beside your house?

He has discovered that the city of Sanford has no ordinance for chain link fencing and is hot to see one. One can just imagine the day could come that the little dog in the picture can no longer sit beside his owner's protected garden and enjoy the sun in his private haven.

Most subdivisions in Sanford have covenants regarding fencing to address the impact of fencing on the appearance of a neighborhood. For those who have nightmares about fencing, that is a good choice of residence.

For other residents who have a legitimate need for fencing, the city council ought to stay out of their business. If an a newly widowed 82 year old woman finds that chain link fence gives her a sense of security that allows her to stay in her own home, why rob her of that with an invasive ordinance. Brewer notes that most fences are in East Sanford but are now "spreading." Here is a clue--they are not malignant and self-reproducing. If fencing is spreading, it is because the property owners want them and are willing to pay for them.

Having such an ordinance would create hundreds of "Local Joes." Hold on, I have got it now. This is a job creation program since the city has to hire a corp of fence inspectors to make sure whatever ordinance is passed is observed to the .25 inch.

The poet Robert Frost's "Mending Walls" is best known for the line "Good fences, make good neighbors." The poem's narrator displays a disdain for the expression and the walls erected between people, and yet he also shows a grudging acceptance (albeit sadly) of the line's truth in its application to human relationships. The line is listed by the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations as a mid 17th century proverb, which was given a boost in the American consciousness due to its prominence in the poem.

Heaven help the residents of Sanford if Mr. Brewer ever gets hold of the appearance ordinances in Pinehurst.