Local municipalities apparently have different priorities or preferences when it comes to how to landscape around so-called retention ponds.
Graham’s city council spent almost half the time on the issue last week hearing from city engineer Josh Johnson with the firm of Alley, Williams, Carmen, and King about the pro’s and con’s of having a fence around the small retention pond on the front side of the proposed townhouse development.
Johnson gave his own view on the issue. “There’s a safety benefit to having a fence,” he told the city council; there’s an “aesthetic benefit to not having a fence.”
Johnson also pointed out the conflicting standards employed by neighboring municipalities.
“Mebane requires a fence,” he noted, “while Burlington does not.”
Graham’s ordinance doesn’t require a fence, either, but council members debated back and forth about whether requiring one in this instance would be a good idea.
Ultimately, in her motion to approve the rezoning, mayor Jennifer Talley left the final decision up to the city’s engineer in consultation with the developer’s engineer.
