March 12, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Franklin Lakes Proposed ordinance would prohibit dangerous fences by Frank J. McMahon The Franklin Lakes Council has intro- duced an ordinance that would prohibit dangerous fences in the borough. This measure will be considered for adoption at the March 18 council meeting. The proposed ordinance is the result of concerns expressed by Mayor Frank Bivona and the council about the number of incidents in which deer have impaled themselves on spiked fences and the potential danger to children who might try to climb over such fences. The ordinance would prohibit all types of dangerous fences, but does not address the fences that are currently in existence in the borough. The ordinance supplements a para- graph in Chapter 300 in the borough code under paragraph F entitled “Fences, berms, and walls,” which contains regula- tions governing certain accessory struc- tures and use, with the following text: “Fences constructed on residential properties shall not be constructed in a manner or with materials which endanger the health, safety, or welfare of individu- als or animals. Barbed wire or similar material shall not be utilized. Fences shall not be topped with metal spikes or con- structed of any material or in any manner which creates a serious danger to an animal or individual attempting to scale the fence.” Deer pose a common problem in the winter as they search for food and often eat vegetation on private properties, which leads to their effort to jump fences. When a deer impales itself on a spiked fence, the police are called and a police officer must shoot the deer. The carcass must be removed from the fence and dis- posed of by Tyco Animal Control, the borough’s animal control service. Fences were discussed at several coun- cil work sessions. During those talks, officials noted that there were four recent instances of deer becoming impaled on spiked fences. According to Police Chief Joseph Seltenrich, the borough police department experiences about a half- dozen of these types of incidents annu- ally. The council discussed several ways to eliminate the problem, including the total prohibition of these type fences, prohibit- ing them on newly developed properties, requiring the removal of the spikes when a property is sold, or using the borough’s existing ordinance to look at certain fences and telling the property owners the fences pose a threat to public health and safety. The council was concerned with the legality of retroactively prohibiting spiked fences for health and safety reasons, and decided the ordinance should be prospec- tive, meaning persuasive, in the hope that property owners with these type fences will remove the spikes. As a result, the ordinance would prohibit dangerous fences from being installed in the future, but would not compel residents who already have those types of fences to take them down or replace them. Bivona said, however, that the borough will look to see if any existing fences pose a threat to public health and safety and (continued on page 8)