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to the foot traffic thru our property. (Her fence is positioned a few feet inside her property, so we would need to encroach on her land to join up the 2 fences.) She asks if there is something she needs to sign and Tim brings her an application for a fence permit. Tim made it out and told her we would pay the fee. I explain this to Meagan at City Hall and tell her that that neighbor may not have filed it yet. Meagan tells me that even if the permit isn't filed that is OK, but we would be building at our own risk and if that neighbor changes her mind we would have to remove the portion of the fence on her property. Tom Polzine, a family friend for five years, and the father of one of my flute students agrees to help Tim build the fence. Tim's schedule becomes too busy during the fall at the U of Minnesota to permit him to take any time off to tackle the fence project, so Tom asks his friend Jim to help and they build the fence without Tim. Tom suggests a fence design that is the same on both sides, so there would be no "good" or "bad" sides. We order precut cedar lumber from a fence company. An all -cedar fence will be maintenance -free, avoiding any need to stain or maintain on the neighbor's side, where permission to go would presumably not be forthcoming. Cedar will last maintenance -free for decades. As soon as the post holes are being dug, we start getting calls from Meagan at city hall. She says the neighbor is calling every few hours and has requested them to put a halt on construction. She refuses to halt construction, saying we have the requisite permit. Discussions begin over the height of the fence. Tom speaks to Meagan. "I am a family friend of the Maloneys and am building the fence." The fence sections (precut 6 feet) cannot follow the exact contour of the land, which falls 6 feet from the east line to the west line of the property, but will be fully horizontal at all times and will need to be "stepped." Due to the falling contour of the land, the space below the fence will be greater at some spots. Staff mentions that Minneapolis allows for this land irregularity, and a six foot fence can rise to 6 feet, 6 inches. Meagan gives us the go-ahead to continue building because we are building within the spirit of the law. Discussions begin about encroaching on the Schneiders' property. Inspectors arrive and determine that the wet concrete has come close to the Schneider property at four different posts. Meagan asks that we have this cleaned up, which Tom takes care of the next morning. Tom has ensured that the fence sits back on our property by a minimum of 6 inches, and no concrete or fence material ends up encroaching on the Schneider's property. Building inspector visits site. Because of the incline and the height question, Tom decides to cut off one foot of all the remaining panels before attaching them. Inspector says this will show our effort to co-operate. No other action until December Early December. Tim asks Tom to extend the fence all the way to Pam's fence (have permission already) because he had left a gap of about 3 feet so as not to destroy tree roots in drilling a posthole there, but it was evident that we still were having foot traffic through that opening. Tom digs one post hole and Mr. Schneider and an inspector arrive while Tom is still working. Meagan calls the next week to say Mr. Schneider has filed an application to overturn all the staffs decisions relating to the fence. Nancy & Timothy Maloney December 28, 2009