Page 1 whitecap fences

Fences Along Whitecap Editor’s Note: We had questions this week from homeowners along the south side of Whitecap regarding the policy of the Padre Isles Property Owners Association concerning Whitecap on through lots with their front facing adjacent streets and their back fences facing Whitecap.

A check there will find that some of the fences are ten feet from the road, at the border of the city easement, and others are thirty feet back from the road, and some have gates and some do not. This has meant that some homeowners there can’t get boats and other vehicles into their back yards. We forwarded the question to POA Executive Coordinator Maybeth Christensen. Here is her response.

They are guidelines which were adopted and are on our website as Policy and Procedures Standards under the building forms tab. The rule had always been fences that were on “through” lots – i.e. those that had Whitecap on one side and another behind them, fences were to be built no closer to Whitecap than 30 feet.

Around 2005 or 2006, we started looking at it and really wanted to do something to improve the appearance of Whitecap. The first attempt was to require a stucco wall on all new houses, but after seriously looking at the cost, the Board sent it back to the ACC and asked them to come up with another plan.

So, the plan that eventually passed was – if you wanted to increase your backyard, you could by installing an approved vinyl fence at the 10’ line, but you could not put a gate in the fence off of Whitecap. The City will not allow curb cuts on the South side of Whitecap so no driveways are allowed, thus no gates.

The incentive for owners to do the vinyl fence in addition to gaining more back yard is that the PIPOA will reimburse the owner one half of the additional cost of the difference between a vinyl and wood fence.

So, if the vinyl fence costs $3,000 and a wood would have cost $1,000, the reimbursement is $1,000.

There are homes built prior to 2000 or earlier which front on Whitecap. As I understand it, the Post office requested that Homes front on the other streets – Catamaran, Captain Kidd, and Blackbeard, so the City will not allow homes built now to front on Whitecap.

No one is “grandfathered” however, we have not demanded the folks who have kept the wood fence with the gate change to the vinyl fence to eliminate the gate.