Residents In Small N.J. Borough Have Big Problem With How One Homeowner Is Dealing With Wayward Golf Balls
BRIELLE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- For many living in a small central New Jersey borough, they may be able to look through a fence, but they still see a big problem.
As CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported Monday, it's the size of it that has many teed off.
The number of complaints coming in are just as lofty as the 65-foot net barrier many living in the borough want gone.
"It's unsightly, it's unsafe and it's unpermitted," resident Tony Mascia said.
Residents in Brielle said a homeowner on Riverview Drive built the net fence to block golf balls from coming into his yard last August. It's right up against the Manasquan River Golf Course.
"We bought here knowing we were going to get golf balls in our yard. That's just the way it is. He should have known the same thing," resident Robin Hackett said.
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The house was built in 1920, around the same time the course was built. But neighbors say the homeowner bought the house less than five years ago, ripping down already existing trees to build the 65-foot tall fence by his pool house, a barrier that's almost as tall as the White House.
"There's a lot of concerns, the visual as well as the safety," resident Patricia Housen said.
Housen can see the fence from her backyard. She started a petition to remove the fence.
"That's a commercial type of structure, nothing I would ever imagine a homeowner would ever put on a residential property," Housen said.
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Neighbors said they're concerned mostly because of the safety. They fear a massive storm could bring the poles down, especially since they say they weren't properly installed. They say the poles are only 10 feet in the ground and were never approved first by the area's planning board, Sanchez reported.
"If that's not in properly, or up to code, that could just turn into a massive problem," resident Barbara Buckelew said.
The planning board attorney wouldn't comment on camera, but said the homeowner exceeded the borough's 6-foot rule for fences.
"You can't just do what you want to do. There are laws for that and obviously they weren't followed," Mascia said.
CBS2 tried to talk to the homeowners to get their side of the story, but they didn't want to share it.
The matter will be discussed at the next planning board meeting, on Sept. 10.
