After over 50 years, the covenants originally governed by William Levitt and upheld in the LPRD (Levittown Planned Residence District), may now be changed to allow fences in Levittown without a permit.

Levitt's original covenants, established in 1949, included one which stated, "No fence, either fabricated or growing, may be put up without the written consent of County Community Corp." These covenants were set to expire in 1976 but in 1975 thousands of residents requested that the Town of Hempstead extend these and include them in the town's Building Zone Ordinance. Although Levittown remained unincorporated, it thus established its own zoning code, based on Levitt's covenants.

Through the years, the Levittown Property Owners' Association has been among the strongest voices in protecting these covenants. Now, as times are changing, and approximately 80 percent of Levittown homes have fences, either legally or illegally, the LPOA has drafted a proposal which they plan to submit to the Town of Hempstead, requesting a change in the LPRD to allow fences, without requiring a special permit.

At this past month's meeting of the LPOA, the board presented their draft to the membership for approval. Prior to seeking this approval, the board introduced two people from the Town of Hempstead who would be able to answer any questions residents may have.

Charles Kovit, deputy town attorney, noted that the LPOA has credibility with the Town of Hempstead, so any request of this nature made by the organization would be seriously considered.

Ray Schwarz, assistant supervisor of inspection services, explained that what all other unincorporated areas of the town have is Residential B Zoning, which allows 4 ft. fences in the front yards, up to the rear building line of the house and 6 ft. in the rear yard. He also noted that there are other requirements at corners. The regulations for yards that house swimming pools are also different.

What the LPOA proposal says is, "A fence/shrubs, not exceeding six feet in height, shall be permitted on the rear lot line and those linear portions of the side lot lines enclosing a rear yard; provided, however that the six-foot fencing/shrubs and its relationship to the street fronting upon the premises shall not exceed a greater distance frontward to the street than the original front building line of the house in question. For purposes of interpretation, a front building line shall refer only to the principal structure and shall not include patios, porches or other extensions thereto. Fencing for all other lot lines shall not exceed four feet in height and shall be of an open fence variety (i.e. cyclone, split rail, picket, etc.) in order to permit an unobstructed view from both sides of the fence. The good side of the fence shall face outward."

An open fence under the town building code is defined as one where there are open spaces of at least the same size as and between each of the pickets, slats or other material used in its construction.

Although the LPOA proposal is similar to the town's zoning, where a six-foot fence may begin differs. While in the town's code, a six-foot fence begins at the rear house line, in the LPOA's proposal for the change, a six-foot fence can begin at the front wall of the house. Kovit noted that this difference will probably be the only difficulty that the LPOA will have from the town in getting approval for the change. He explained that if they were asking to have it the way the town's code is then it would just be a matter of equalizing the codes between Levittown and the rest of the unincorporated areas of the town but now the request is for a step further than what the town currently allows in the rest of the communities.

Kovit questioned what kind of support the proposal would have in Levittown, noting that it was important for the Town of Hempstead to see that this change has the community's support.

While one resident said he would be grateful in some instances if a neighbor put up a fence and another resident noted that most of the houses in Levittown already have fences anyway, another resident questioned whether this might set a precedent to allow other changes in the LPRD.

Brought up to the membership for a vote, the proposal to submit the draft to the Town of Hempstead as a request for a change, was approved 19-7 with two people abstaining. The decision now lies with the Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals. The town representatives suggested that if residents are in favor of this proposal they might want to contact the board and let them know that this is a plan that the community supports.