A spirited debate about deer netting and fences at last night’s Medford Township Council meeting turned into a debate over personal property rights.
Mayor Chris Buoni and Councilman Randy Pace stood firm in their stance on loosening fence regulations in Medford.
Council had asked township planner Scott Taylor to present possible solutions for clarifying the definition of a fence, specifically deer netting. Under current zoning regulations, deer netting is prohibited in the township. However, after Buoni and members of the public spoke about the dangers of the increasing deer population in Medford in previous meetings, council decided to move forward to look at changing the regulations.
Taylor asked council to consider allowing deer netting up to eight feet tall in a front yard. Currently, only wooden fences up to four feet high are permitted. Taylor said the deer netting would have to be at least eight feet to keep deer out of people’s yards.
“Six feet isn’t adequate to discourage deer,” he said.
The deer netting itself would be a thin, black mesh color and attached to poles. Taylor suggested not allowing the netting to hang from trees to avoid damaging or killing them. Taylor said the netting itself would not be a visual deterrent to the neighborhood.
“It’s similar to the netting you see at a Phillies game,” he said.
Pace called the township’s current fence ordinance “over restrictive.” He said homeowner’s associations should be able to regulate the look of a neighborhood, but the township should not.
With the vast differences in Medford’s neighborhoods, Pace thought making fence changes across the board didn’t make sense.
“One size does not fit all,” he said.
Buoni agreed with Pace, saying he should have the right to build a deer fence without an issue.
“Why shouldn’t I have the right to defend my property from that destruction? Because my neighbor says ‘I don’t like the way it looks?’” Buoni asked.
Councilman Frank Czekay disagreed with loosening the regulations too much, telling Buoni and Pace any residents who want to build a fence incompliant with zoning ordinances can go before the zoning board.
However, Buoni and Pace said the regulations are getting in the way of residents becoming more of a community.
“We’re putting into place a way for these people to attack other people,” Buoni said.
“Let’s build community, let’s not build fences,” Pace said.
Councilman Jeffrey Beenstock proposed a middle ground between the two sides. He suggested changing the zoning regulations on deer netting for certain neighborhoods or zoning districts.
Resident Terry Palmer suggested the township allow bow hunting in certain places as an alternative.
“The hunters have no place to hunt,” she said. “The areas they used to hunt are now neighborhoods.”
While Palmer said the idea of loosening the township’s fence restrictions to allow deer netting isn’t a bad idea, she asked council to make sure it was done “tastefully.”
Taylor’s proposal also included other fence changes. He proposed allowing vinyl and other types of fences. Chain link fences would still not be permitted.
After a long debate, Buoni decided to table the deer netting discussion until a future meeting. The township is hoping to bring the homeowners’ associations and neighborhood services advisory board together to get their input on the subject.
