Judge Orders Controversial Fence Torn Down
posted 1:51 pm Fri November 30, 2007 - GAITHERSBURG, Md.
"We're a predominantly black community and they're predominantly white. It divides us," said North Village resident Pariss Minor.
East Village built the six-foot-high black metal fence in August 2006 after complaints about vandalism, loitering and littering by young people from Picton, a neighborhood that has low-income housing. Both communities are in Montgomery Village, a planned development of self-governing neighborhoods connected by walking paths and shared recreation centers.
"The neighborhood over here is a little lower level than over here and some people view that as offensive," said North Village resident Tim Gier.
East Village resident Triana Ouinaksi said, "before it was like a lot of trash that came into our back yard."
At a hearing Wednesday, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David Boynton upheld a county planning board's decision that East Village Homes Corp. did not obtain proper permission to build the 1,600-foot fence along the boundary with Picton.
The judge did not set a date for the removal of the fence. A lawyer for East Village said he expects his clients to fight the order.
Latest Comment on Judge Orders Controversial Fence Torn Down
Diplomat
6:44 pm on 12/02/07
Simple solution...East Village Homes Corp. will obtain proper permission to build the 1,600-foot fence. Everyone has the right to erect a fence on their own property..
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