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School, residential property owner feuding over fence

4 years 5 months 1 hour ago Friday, October 18 2019 Oct 18, 2019 October 18, 2019 6:26 PM October 18, 2019 in News
Source: WBRZ

BAKER - There's a feud between neighbors brewing. Residents want a fence built for student safety but the school abutting their property says it's not legally required to do so.

Cherie Brown says she's drawing the line after her two-year-long fight with Impact Charter School to put up a fence between their properties. In that timeframe, the school hasn't budged.

A few years ago, Brown and her family sectioned off the original 24-acre estate into three portions. One of those portions was sold in May 2014 to Highmark School Development, LLC, in Midvale, Utah. With plans to build a charter school, the family says they welcomed the opportunity. During the construction, Brown says a contractor told her brother that the school would be required to build a six-foot fence between the school and their property. Impact Charter School was completed and opened in August 2015, but the fence has not been built.

In the last two years, Brown and her family have been in contact with the school and the mayor's office in hopes of airing her concerns. So far, she hasn't received the assistance she's been hoping for from the City of Baker and continues to worry about children crossing from the school's property onto her land.

"Our fear is that they're going to get hurt," Brown said. "I don't know why they won't do it."

While the school tells 2 On Your Side it's not legally required to build a fence, the City of Baker thinks otherwise.

"We respectfully disagree, as well as the ordinances that are written in black and white," City of Baker attorney Ken Fabre said. "We're forced, unfortunately, to seem to have to file a petition in district court seeking injunctive relief."

Fabre is referencing ordinance section 27-53 which refers to property lines abutting residential areas. It says "where a transition or commercial use abuts residential areas, a six-foot, 95-percent solid fence is required as screening between commercial buildings and residential areas from the building line to the rear of the property."

Brown only wants that ordinance enforced.

This week, 2 On Your Side has reached out to the out-of-state property owner and did not hear back.

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