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Rashaverik t1_j51rxxs wrote

Former Covenant Advisor here.

I can tell you there is no master guideline, but most of the 10 villages have similar guidelines, and exceptions to the guidelines are made on case by case basis at each village. Each village has it's own application process.

That being said, you will rarely find a fence higher than 48" on a single family home for any of the villages. Town homes and small sections of SFH (privacy fence) can have a 6' fence, but not an entire yard. There are a few exceptions to this, as there are older villages that had some builder installed concrete walls between homes that measured 6'. These homes typically have the remainder of the yard enclosed with a similar height 'shadow box' style fence.

There's about 3 or 4 styles typically approved for your 48" fences. Estate and Paddock are usually the style most people with big dogs go with. Again, this varies between villages.

Also remember, if you buy a home and an adjacent neighbor that has an existing fence, you will likely be made to match that style of fence. Whether the residential architectural committee for the village will make you match the height, I don't know. (some homes have 36" fences)

I've seen people with similar situations as you, having large dogs, plead for higher fences and they have been denied. I've even seen homeowners pay for the replacement of a neighbor's fence so that they would match and be of a more secure type.

Whatever village in Columbia you end up being interested in, make sure to check the Covenants prior to buying. Also check with the Covenant Advisor, they're there to help you.

Each village has a website and the Covenants are usually on there as a PDF.

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Also...you can't apply for a new fence until you are officially the new homeowner. This has been a issue in the case of someone wanting to buy a home and be sure they can get what they're looking for approved.

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kris10185 OP t1_j51zomj wrote

This is incredibly helpful, thank you! Do you know offhand of any of the villages that allow 6ft fences? I would not want to chance buying a home and not being able to build a secure fence. I don't want to bother touring homes in communities where we wouldn't be likely to get approval.

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Rashaverik t1_j52goew wrote

Like I said. 48" is the standard height allowed in all the villages that I'm aware of. A 6' fence rarely exists. If it does, it's possibly long grandfathered in due to other circumstances. If you're buying a home that is CA assessed, DO NOT expect to be able to get a 6' fence.

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kris10185 OP t1_j52pawn wrote

Thank you! That's both very helpful and very disappointing. We may be looking for a "unicorn" that doesn't exist then, and that's very good to know. We love Columbia and all the trails, lakes, and restaurants but I'm not sure what we are looking for in a home exists there :(. Is there not a lot of pushback from homeowners about this? I can't imagine in a huge town that there aren't other homeowners with dogs that hope for fences higher than 48". I know if my dogs saw a deer they could clear one of those split rail 48" fences without missing a beat!

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inline4addict t1_j54zhfu wrote

I hate to scare you, but people I know don’t mess with the HOA. I’m told not to get on their bad side or else they’ll look for things to fine you about. There’s just no way to get a fence that tall.

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Liakada t1_j52k55q wrote

You could buy outside of Columbia Association. If it’s a county parcel, 6ft fences are allowed. At least that’s what everybody has in my neighborhood.

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Sure_Comparison6978 t1_j52t7b2 wrote

Yes and not that unusual. There are a lot more neighborhoods in Columbia that aren’t part of the CA than many realize. And you can easily find this out when you’re looking as these homes will proudly state “NO HOA!!” In their listing description.

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sinofmercy t1_j53j7j9 wrote

Yep my parents home is in one of the neighborhoods. Or I guess technically their house was built first so there was no HOA in place in the late 80s and it stayed that way.

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TwinPeaksNFootball t1_j550a4z wrote

It’s really easy when you are shopping for homes. If the houses next to the one you are interested in doesn’t have a 6 foot fence, then you will not be allowed to either.

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