Variance · Planning application

8-foot rear fence approved for home on sloped lot, two feet above usual limit

The city's Planning Director approved a variance on July 10 for the rear fence line only. The fence must be permitted and built within six months and meet building codes. The lot slopes down toward the back, and the neighbor raised their ground level.

ApprovedVAR-00221-2026Filed May 5, 2026West Nampa · 1315 W Hawk Pl

Pin at the reported location; the shaded outline is the primary parcel (Canyon County).

From the filing

The application's description as it appears in City of Nampa's record. See the official record

A homeowner at 1315 W Hawk Place in Nampa asked to build an 8-foot-tall fence along the rear property line instead of the standard 6 feet. The city says the lot slopes down toward the back and the neighbor raised their ground level, so a 6-foot fence does not provide privacy. The Planning Director approved the variance for the rear fence line only.
Request to install 8-foot fence along rear property line to accommodate topographical issues and ground-level height differences between neighbor behind my house--to provide privacy for my home and family. Also to address the height of the fence my backyard neighbor has installed that stand higher than my fence.
Project name on file: 1315 W Hawk Pl Goldston Fence

Timeline

July 10, 2026
9 documents added
July 10, 2026
Assess Fees (Variance)
July 10, 2026
Notice to Area Property Owners
July 10, 2026
Staff Decision
July 10, 2026
Decision: Approved
May 21, 2026
Notice to Agencies/Departments
May 21, 2026
Set Date for Review
May 5, 2026
Plan Intake Passed
May 5, 2026
Application filed
May 5, 2026
Planning Application Review
May 5, 2026
Accepted for review

Documents

Project narrative

The applicant asks for an 8-foot fence to address a grade difference, drainage damage, sightline privacy and headlight glare from a neighbor's lot.
May 5, 2026 · 1 page · 155 KB · Narrative
Download Applicant narrative requesting 8-foot fence variance
City of Nampa planning staff notes from a pre-application inquiry for a variance to fence height standards to install six-foot fences for a project.
May 5, 2026 · 1 page · 325 KB · Pre-App Mtg Notes
Download Pre-application meeting notes for variance request

Decisions

Planning Director decision letter on a request to exceed the fence height limit at the rear property line, citing topographic difference with the neighboring lot.
July 10, 2026 · 22 pages · 6.5 MB · Decision Letter
Download Staff-level variance decision letter for rear yard fence
Recorded permit allowing the rear yard fence to be built up to eight feet instead of six, conditioned on a fence permit and construction within six months.
July 10, 2026 · 2 pages · 182 KB · Recorded Permit #2026-027475
Download Recorded variance permit for rear fence height

Application

City of Nampa master application for a staff-level variance to allow a fence, with applicant, owner and contractor contact details and a project description.
May 5, 2026 · 2 pages · 632 KB · Application
Download Variance staff-level master application

Photos

Photographs of the fence at the property, including a close-up of the back fence and a neighbor add-on fence, with captions and GPS coordinates; the text is garbled by OCR.
May 5, 2026 · 11 pages · 6.3 MB · Photos
Download Site photos of the back fence