Despite mounting fines woman won't remove screen put up to block view of neighbor's home

A woman from Thetford, Vermont, erected a 60-foot by 24-foot barrier obstructing her view of her neighbor's new home. Ruth Dwyer has lived on her 200-plus acre farm in for more than 40 years. For almost all of that time, Dwyer said she and her 150 animals had most of the surrounding area to themselves. That changed two years ago with the construction of a new home across the street, overlooking her farm. “Everything that goes on over there is taking place in a way that it distracts the livestock because of the location of all the activity, and it's very close. There never used to be any activity there. It's all normal activity for a house. It's just not normal for my livestock,” Dwyer said, adding she has no ill will towards her neighbors.

Dwyer recalled one instance when she was loading one of her horses onto a van and it was spooked by a child who had come outside to play basketball in her neighbor's driveway, which she said was clearly visible from her barn. “I knew it was going to be a problem,” Dwyer said. So she planted cedar trees on her property line, but said they’ll take years to grow tall enough to block the view of her neighbors’ activity. In November, she built what she described as a ‘temporary screen’ to shield her view. “I had a friend who's a contractor and he said, ‘You know, I could put up a piece of fabric between some telephone poles and we'll brace it and that's it,’” Dwyer said. Once the structure was up, town officials took notice.
Thetford zoning director Mary Ellen Parkman said she notified Dwyer in November that she needed to apply for a building permit for the structure. Under Thetford zoning laws, any wall or fence more than 10 feet tall requires a building permit. Dwyer said her structure doesn’t fall into those categories, therefore it does not violate any rules. “It’s not a wall, it’s not a fence, it’s a screen for livestock control,” Dwyer said. Parkman said Dwyer applied for a building permit in December, which was denied in February because “it did not fit the character of the neighborhood.” Parkman said at that point, the ‘screen’ became an ‘illegal structure.’ Dwyer said she considered other options, like installing a solar array or building a more permanent fixture, like a barn. However, she said those options aren’t economically feasible for her, and she didn’t want something to stay there long-term.

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"That’s why I built a temporary structure,” Dwyer said. In early March, Parkman sent Dwyer a violation notice, fining her $200 each day that her structure remains on her property. Those fines have now accumulated to more than $15,000. Regardless of what the structure is categorized as, her neighbor, Patrick Perry, who lives across the road, said it’s an unpleasant sight. “I think it's one of those things when you first see it, you're sort of struck by the size of it,” Perry said. Perry moved into the neighborhood about 18 months ago. He said Dwyer’s screen doesn’t make him feel at home. “I think 'unwelcoming' is probably the best way to describe how it feels being on this side of the wall,” Perry said. Despite the daily fine and her neighbor's concerns, Dwyer said the screen isn’t going anywhere any time soon. She said she’s going to keep fighting to keep the structure up until her cedar trees grow tall enough to block the view of her neighbors’ activities.