HOUSTON – The saying ‘good fences make good neighbors,’ is keenly on the minds of a Third Ward family currently in a property dispute with neighboring property developers. The problem stems over the installation of a new fence.
The Pattersons purchased their home in 2006. The home not too far from where Frankie Patterson, the mother of three, grew up.
“This is where I raised my children and grandchildren. And it is very sentimental to me because I want to keep it,” Frankie Patterson said.
The family and the developer, New Signature Homes LLC, initially agreed to remove the previous fence. But when it was time to build the new fence, the Pattersons claim, the developers moved the fence line closer to their home.
Patterson, who is nearing retirement, voiced her concerns about the developers’ actions, “those developers are coming out here, you know, just doing what they want to do, and they feel, you know, we’re not going to say anything,” she said. “We’re not going to bite, you know. And me and my daughter and my husband, that’s all we’re doing trying to fight for what’s ours.”
When the family questioned why the developers moved the fence line came new problems.
Instead of speaking with the developers, as the previously did, they received an eviction notice for their own home.
“Should you and your fence still be remaining at the property three days from the day this letter is delivered, New Signature will commence forcible entry and detainer proceedings against you,” reads the eviction notice the Patterson shared with KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun.
Patterson’s daughter, Danielle, took it upon herself to further look into the eviction notice. She visited the county clerk’s office, searched for eviction filings, and didn’t find anything in her parents’ names or New Signature Homes LLC.
“We feel it was a bully tactic and we didn’t want to play or assume it was a bully tactic,” Danielle said. “We went straight to the courts.”
In response to the eviction notice, the Patterson’s filed a lawsuit and spent a morning in civil court. During the court session, a judge issued a temporary restraining order to block any new fence installation for two weeks, hoping to provide time for the two parties to reach a resolution outside of court.
Balogun spoke with the developer’s attorney Nicholas Martinez after the hearing. He did not have a comment.
“I don’t want to go to court, you know. But this is where we are now,” said Frankie Patterson.
A city spokesperson clarified that while there is no specific code dictating fence placement for developers, any new installation must not pose a life safety issue with the existing property.
City of Houston statement on fence lines:
“Contractors have the right to place a fence on the property line. When building a fence, it cannot cause a life safety issue with the existing property. We generally use three feet as a guidance for emergency escapes. A fence could be built closer to the property if no emergency escape or rescue windows are on the side where the fence is being built. Fences cannot block access to a meter box or meter can. As mentioned on the phone, there is no specific ordinance requiring a fence to be three feet from a home.”