Dear ann110-ga;
Ok, since you asked for a guess I?ll do what I can for you. Here goes:
You admittedly state the following:
?The by-laws for my complex states "no Fences"
"?all architectural changes must be approved"
?I have put up a fence, did not ask for permission to put it up?
Based on this alone it seems you have little chance of winning your
case should the matter come to litigation.
However, it would depend largely on what your bylaws define as a
?fence?. Since we don?t have your bylaws handy, let?s consider how
other similarly situated regulations in your state define the
structure:
?FENCE - A barrier of vegetative growth or of other natural or
fabricated materials placed or arranged as a line of demarcation
between lots or to enclose a lot or a part of a lot.?
HFCA ADMINSTRATIVE CODE
http://66.218.71.225/search/cache?p=pennsylvania+bylaws+fence&ei=UTF-8&n=20&fl=0&u=www.hfca.com/admincod.html&w=pennsylvania+bylaws+fence&d=6D87AEDEE5&c=543&yc=50262&icp=1
?FENCE: A constructed barrier of any natural or man-made material or
combination of materials erected to enclose or screen an area of land,
but not including a retaining wall.?
JOINT ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE BOROUGHS OF CRAFTON, ROSSLYN FARMS, AND
THORNBURG PENNSYLVANIA
http://www.crafton.org/djzo.html
Now for the textbook definition:
?A structure serving as an enclosure, a barrier, or a boundary,
usually made of posts or stakes joined together by boards, wire, or
rails.?
DICTIONARY.COM
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?db=*&q=fence
Having examined the various definitions from a number of sources from
which your geographic area generally accepts as the definition of
?fence?, it certainly appears that you have erected one, even thought
it does not encompass the entirety of the property and is well hidden.
It appears that the commonly understood definition for a ?fence? is
?any fence?, whether it is wood, wire or hedge and whether it encloses
your entire lawn or only 3 square feet.
Now let?s examine case law, (that is similar to yours somewhat) in
which the party who built the fence insisted that he followed the
rules of the bylaws to the letter and made a request for architectural
approval as required by the property bylaws, but claimed his request
was unnecessarily delayed so he built his fence anyway.
WRIGHTSTOWN HUNT COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC. v. LEVESQUE et al.
http://www.bucksbar.org/0523opn.pdf
Even though THIS GUY COMPLIED with the published ruled to some degree
the fence builder STILL not only lost his case in court, but ALSO was
ordered to pay the plaintiff?s legal fees for dragging him into court
for building the fence in the first place; something the bylaws
clearly prohibited.
So, since you asked for an educated guess, given the general
definition of ?fence? and the fact that you knew in advance what you
were doing was contrary to the agreed upon bylaws, AND the fact that
there is a legal precedent in which a guy who did much more to comply
with the rules than you did and still lost his case, my guess (and I
feel REAL comfortable with it) would be that you don?t stand a chance
at winning your case in the event that you are sued for satisfaction.
For your sake and peice of mind I wish I could have told you something
different, but honesty is our policy even when the pill is a bitter
one to swallow - and I don?t think you came here expecting any less
than that.
I wish you luck.
Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions
about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating
the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final comments
and I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank
you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher
INFORMATION SOURCES
Defined above
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINES USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
UNIFORMED CONDOMINIUM ACT
PENNSYLVANIA
BY LAWS
FENCE
DEFINITION
CASE LAW
LEGAL
ORDINANCE
REGULATIONS
RULES |
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