Lower Macungie residents: Don't take our fences away

File this one under the heading "be careful what you wish for."

When Lower Macungie homeowner Matthew Deutsch alerted the township's public works department to dead trees near his property line, he brought some unwanted attention to his neighborhood.

It turns out that some of Deutsch's neighbors in the Winding Brook Manor housing development have fences that encroach on township-owned property. Some weren't aware that the fences were on township land.

Now that the cat's out of the bag, it appears the fences will have to come down. The township has sent letters to the homeowners telling them the structures must be removed.

"We'd all love to say get on with your lives and forget about it," township Commissioner Ryan Conrad said at his board's Thursday night meeting. "But where do we draw the line? The only alternative is to move the fence into your property line."

Deutsch and Princeton Road neighbor Shirley Nylund appeared before the board, with Nylund pleading for the commissioners to give them a break on the fencing.

Nylund said she and her husband put up the fencing in 1988 and spoke to township officials about her plans. She said she was told she didn't need a permit. She said she had the property surveyed and believed the fence was erected on her land. Nylund said she's shouldered the financial burden in the past when trees have fallen on the fence.

"I think it's a win-win-win situation," Nylund said. "For the township to allow us to keep the fence, it would allow the township less responsibility in maintaining the land. We have maintained it for 25 years."

She asked the commissioners to make an exception for the neighborhood. While township officials were empathetic, they said they'd be setting a bad precedent, adding that other homeowners could come in with similar requests for playground equipment, pools, sheds and other structures that could encroach on township land.

"We have to worry about consistency with all of our residents," Commissioner Ron Eichenberg said. "Our zoning officer said it best: We have to abide by general regulations and rules for all of our residents."

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Lower Macungie residents: Don't take our fences away