Having a fence in place can help increase the value of home, maintain friendly relations with your neighbors, and provide security and safety for you kids and pets. Fences help provide privacy in outdoor living spaces, reduce noise disturbances, as well as more obvious benefits like keeping your pets and kids in a safe place. Adding a fence on your property can also increase the value of your home on average of $1,000 to $5,000 dollars. This is why I am asking you to please join me in asking the Hartford City Planning and Zoning Board to reconsider the current fencing ordinance. Ordinance No. 545, section 12.08 Fences, letter “O” states that “No fences may be built within drainage ways and/or on drainage easements.” Some of the drainage easements that have been put in place are 10 to 20 feet wide. This means that the Zoning board is telling some of the residents that in order to put up a fence they have to give up 10 feet to the back of their property line if they would like to enjoy the benefits of a fence. In some other communities; including Sioux Falls, the city reviews each application for building fence on a drainage easement. They will make recommendations such as clearing brush, or using chain link, or suing construction techniques that allow the water to flow when water is backed up. In these cases the property owner is responsible for the removal and replacement of the fence if the city needs to gain access to the drainage area. I believe that the Hartford city residents property values, and standard of living are being diminished by the current ordinance, and that is why I am asking you to stand with me in asking the Zoning board to reconsider the ordinance by signing this petition.