Closed
Filed 1 month ago
My Neighbor Put Up a 6-Foot Privacy Fence That Blocks All My Garden's Sunlight
Neighbor built a legal privacy fence that blocks sunlight to a vegetable garden. Gardener wants it moved; neighbor says it's within his rights.
👤 Rosa
I have lived in my house for 12 years. For 12 years I have maintained a vegetable garden along the property line on the south side of my yard. Tomatoes, peppers, herbs, squash — I grow enough to feed my family and share with neighbors all summer. Everyone on the street has gotten bags of tomatoes from me.
Last month, my new neighbor Glenn — who moved in 8 months ago — put up a 6-foot solid wood privacy fence directly on the property line. Legally, yes, he can do this. It's within code. I'm not disputing the legality.
But the fence is on the SOUTH side of my garden. It now blocks virtually all direct sunlight from hitting my beds from about 11 AM onward. My garden is functionally dead. Tomatoes need 6-8 hours of full sun. I'm getting maybe 3 now.
12 years of garden beds, raised beds I built myself, soil I've amended every season, a drip irrigation system I installed — thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work — effectively destroyed.
I went to Glenn when the fence posts went in and explained the situation. I offered three compromises: a shorter 4-foot fence (still provides privacy for his patio), a fence set back 3 feet from the line, or replacing the south section with lattice that lets light through. He rejected all three.
He told me my garden is 'not his problem' and that he has 'a right to privacy in his backyard.' His backyard faces woods on two other sides. The only thing the south fence faces is my garden. He doesn't even use that part of his yard.
I know the law is on his side. I'm asking whether basic human decency is on mine. 12 years of a garden destroyed in a weekend by someone who won't even consider a compromise.
Last month, my new neighbor Glenn — who moved in 8 months ago — put up a 6-foot solid wood privacy fence directly on the property line. Legally, yes, he can do this. It's within code. I'm not disputing the legality.
But the fence is on the SOUTH side of my garden. It now blocks virtually all direct sunlight from hitting my beds from about 11 AM onward. My garden is functionally dead. Tomatoes need 6-8 hours of full sun. I'm getting maybe 3 now.
12 years of garden beds, raised beds I built myself, soil I've amended every season, a drip irrigation system I installed — thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work — effectively destroyed.
I went to Glenn when the fence posts went in and explained the situation. I offered three compromises: a shorter 4-foot fence (still provides privacy for his patio), a fence set back 3 feet from the line, or replacing the south section with lattice that lets light through. He rejected all three.
He told me my garden is 'not his problem' and that he has 'a right to privacy in his backyard.' His backyard faces woods on two other sides. The only thing the south fence faces is my garden. He doesn't even use that part of his yard.
I know the law is on his side. I'm asking whether basic human decency is on mine. 12 years of a garden destroyed in a weekend by someone who won't even consider a compromise.
VS
👤 Glenn
I bought my house. I own my property. I have every legal right to put up a fence and I don't need my neighbor's permission or approval to do it.
Let me give you the backstory Rosa conveniently leaves out. I moved in last September. By October, I noticed Rosa was regularly in her garden along our shared property line, which meant she could see directly into my backyard where my kids play and where my wife and I sit on our patio. We felt like we had zero privacy.
I mentioned to Rosa in November that I was thinking about a fence. She immediately started lobbying against it. She came over multiple times. She left a note in my mailbox. She had another neighbor come talk to me about it. This went on for months.
I felt pressured and frankly a little harassed. The fact that she thought she could dictate what I do with my property rubbed me the wrong way. I might have been more open to compromise if she hadn't been so aggressive about preventing the fence entirely.
Her 'compromises' all involved me either spending more money (lattice is expensive and doesn't provide real privacy) or reducing the effectiveness of the fence (4 feet doesn't block sightlines when standing). She wanted me to compromise my family's privacy for her tomatoes.
I feel bad about the garden. I really do. But I didn't create this situation. She chose to build a garden on the property line next to a lot that could always have a fence built on it. She gambled on the property line staying open and she lost.
She could move her garden to another part of her yard. She could use raised beds on her deck where there's full sun. She could build a greenhouse. She has options. My only option for privacy on that side is a fence.
I'm not a villain for wanting my family to have a private backyard.
Let me give you the backstory Rosa conveniently leaves out. I moved in last September. By October, I noticed Rosa was regularly in her garden along our shared property line, which meant she could see directly into my backyard where my kids play and where my wife and I sit on our patio. We felt like we had zero privacy.
I mentioned to Rosa in November that I was thinking about a fence. She immediately started lobbying against it. She came over multiple times. She left a note in my mailbox. She had another neighbor come talk to me about it. This went on for months.
I felt pressured and frankly a little harassed. The fact that she thought she could dictate what I do with my property rubbed me the wrong way. I might have been more open to compromise if she hadn't been so aggressive about preventing the fence entirely.
Her 'compromises' all involved me either spending more money (lattice is expensive and doesn't provide real privacy) or reducing the effectiveness of the fence (4 feet doesn't block sightlines when standing). She wanted me to compromise my family's privacy for her tomatoes.
I feel bad about the garden. I really do. But I didn't create this situation. She chose to build a garden on the property line next to a lot that could always have a fence built on it. She gambled on the property line staying open and she lost.
She could move her garden to another part of her yard. She could use raised beds on her deck where there's full sun. She could build a greenhouse. She has options. My only option for privacy on that side is a fence.
I'm not a villain for wanting my family to have a private backyard.
⚖️ The Verdict Is In
🔵 Side A is right
63 people weighed in on this dispute.
Official NACOL Ruling
RULING OF THE COURT:
The jury, in its infinite wisdom, has determined by a decisive 48% to 38% margin that neighbor Rosa's tomato legacy supersedes Glenn's fence-based parenting anxieties, with a notable 14% of jurors apparently undecided on whether vegetables or privacy constitute a greater human need. This court finds that while Glenn technically owns his property, he failed to clear the most important hurdle in neighborly relations: the neighborhood tomato distribution system, which operates as an unwritten but binding social contract. Case closed.
20
Side A is right
13
Side B is right
3
You're both wrong
6
You're both right
10
A right, bad handling
11
B right, bad handling
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