On May 3rd of this year, the Tampa City Council heard an appeal of an Architectural Review Committee (ARC) ruling on the size of a fence located at 2723 N. Morgan Street.

This is a corner lot located on the SE corner of the intersection of Morgan and Gladys Streets.

The resident has constructed a plain wooden, unpainted fence that is 6 feet high and runs from the rear of his property along Gladys Street, attaching to the front corner of the house.

The ARC had ruled that the fence was in direct violation of the following Tampa Heights Architectural guideline:

Fences or walls along the front yard and along a corner yard along the building facing a street shall be no higher than four feet; beyond the rear of the building, the fence height may increase to the maximum height allowed in the Tampa Zoning Code.

For the full ARC guidelines, please visit this website:

https://www.tampagov.net/sites/default/files/historic-preservation/files/TAMPA%20HEIGHTS%20GUIDELINES/LANDSCAPE%20PGS%2063-70.PDF

At the Council meeting on May 3, the resident claimed his residence is in a high crime and drug dealing area (which It is NOT – there have been very few problems on the blocks surrounding this residence for several of years).

The Council voted 2-1 in favor of repealing the above referenced guideline, which was narrowly defeated since there was not a quorum (2 Council members were absent, and the repeal required 3 of the 5 sitting Council members approval to carry the vote).

The hearing was continued until 28 June 2018. The hearing will be held at 315 E. Kennedy Blvd., 3rd Floor, Tampa, Florida 33602, at 10:30 a.m.

If this ARC Guideline is repealed, it will be detrimental to the property values of all Tampa Heights residents, and will open the door to any resident building any size fence they want around their property, detracting from the historic nature and aesthetic appeal of our neighborhoods.

If you agree that the repeal of this ARC guideline will indeed be detrimental to our Tampa Heights property values and way of life, please sign this petition so it can be presented to the City Council to demonstrate our united disagreement with repealing this guideline to the City Council at the 28th hearing.

Additionally, I urge any of you that can get to the Council meeting on the 28th please do so and let the Council members know that this is NOT a good idea.

To the Tampa City Council: We, the undersigned, urge you to leave the ARC Fence Guidelines for Tampa Heights as they are currently written.