On Black Hammock Island, fence-height zoning fuss feeds talk of special ordinance

On some Jacksonville streets, garden gnomes stand sentry. On a few, there are lawn jockeys. Around the streets of Black Hammock Island, there are cows. Horses. Buffalo. Maybe an emu.

That difference helps explain why people in the remote North Jacksonville community expressed shock about a city inspector ticketing dozens of homeowners this winter for having fences taller than the 4-foot limit spelled out in city rules written with more thought to neighborhoods like Arlington and St. Nicholas.

I was rather upset about it. I dont want my fence taken down, said Mozell Masters, 81, whose 5-foot-tall chain link fence stood for decades without controversy.

Now, neighbors on the rural island abutting the Nassau River are asking the City Council for a break.

They want the council to approve a special rule, called an overlay, allowing front-yard fences on the island to stand up to 6 feet tall.

A council committee approved that bill (2014-147) this week, and the full council will take it up Tuesday.

Our situation is different than Avondale, different than Southside or Mandarin. Were not trying to say were better or worse. Were just citizens trying to live, said Wayne Shortridge, president of the Black Hammock Island Civic Association.

For a long time, that wasnt really an issue. The neighborhood north of Cedar Point Road was about as far as anyone could travel from downtown without leaving Duval County, and only a few people made the trip.

More people started settling there in the 1990s, and by the last decade there was a rush to get some of the last waterfront lots on the market. Away from the water, there were cheaper lots where both small houses and manufactured homes popped up.

But friction followed some neighbors, and helped set the stage for about 30 property owners to be cited around Christmas.

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On Black Hammock Island, fence-height zoning fuss feeds talk of special ordinance