JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers REDUCED NOISE AND MORE PRIVACY- A homeowner with a yard that backs up to Erbes Road in Thousand Oaks has built a fence taller than the current code allows. The city has decided to raise the height limit from 6 feet to 9 feet. All over town examples of nonconforming increases in wall height can be seen—but without a complaint or danger to public safety there's nothing the city can do about it.

The result may be ugly, but if it's safe people can pretty much do whatever they want to add height to their walls.

"We don't ignore it, but we're not proactive if no one complains or it's not a safety issue," said senior planner Stephen Kearns.

Still, on Sept. 9, the City Council took up the planning commission's July recommendation and unanimously voted to change the maximum wall/fence height from 6 feet to 9 feet for homes adjacent to a road with four or more lanes.

It's all about noise reduction. Those adding height to their walls/fences no longer have to pay entitlement fees but still must get building permits, Kearns said.

The increased height must be effective for noise reduction, cannot interfere with visibility of pedestrians or vehicles, and must continue to match and be compatible with existing walls or fences.

The city requires that the wall/fence incorporate elements—such as a terraced design with planters and landscaping—to soften the look.

"This action is in part a result to a yearlong ad hoc committee that worked with a group of neighbors in the Lynn Road area addressing a number of issues—one of them is noise and sound pollution," said Councilmember Dennis Gillette.

As it now stands, vehicles proceed down Lynn Road as they go by sidewalks and existing walls that don't protect homes from sound or exhaust fumes caused by trucks, Gillette said. Still, the city doesn't want cement-block, prison-like walls lining the main roads, he said.

"Was citizen input by the city overwhelming in favor of this or not?" asked Councilmember Claudia Bill-de la Peña.

Mayor Jacqui Irwin said she could answer that.

"This was really driven by the citizens that were on the committee. Everybody was in complete support of this; there was no dissension," Irwin said.

The cost could run into thousands of dollars for building permits, depending on the size of the wall, Kearns said. The older the wall, the more it will cost, he said.

But, if it's safe and the neighbors don't complain, the city won't take action against residents for what they do.