Some Carson Residents Oppose Proposed Ban On Chain-Link Fences

CARSON (CBSLA.com) — Some Carson residents are against a new city Planning Commission proposal that would prohibit the use of chain-link fences in residential neighborhoods and business areas.

If passed, people would have three years to comply to the new rules.

Residents Penny Subiate and Douglas Chaney are concerned about how people are going to come up with the money to replace their current fences.

"I can understand the beautification that they want to do, but I think they are creating a hardship on some of the residents," Chaney said.

"I'm retired. My husband is retired. There are only so many dollars coming in. Do I have to make a loan I can't afford because the city doesn't like my fence?" Subiate said.

In addition, residents are alarmed because it's easier to tag certain kinds of fences with graffiti.

"We border right up against big-time gangs, and they just love to come and write. They write on the sidewalks, they write on the fences, they write on the side of your house. It's ugly," Subiate said.

Carson Mayor Jim Dear said while he supports the ban on some business fencing, he said there was a mix-up and residential fences were not supposed to be part of the discussion.

"That was not my initiative, it was never part of the initiative from the mayor's office, so there is a little disconnect there," he said.

Subiate and Chaney plan to circulate a petition in opposition of the ban. They will present it to the Planning Commission at a Feb. 11 meeting.