They say that good fences make good neighbours.
And that's the case for 25 homeowners on Westwood Plateau who recently banded together to have their adjoining structure upgraded in an effort to beautify the area.
Their journey started in October 2011 when Tom Cox and Lockery Munnion of the Westwood Plateau Community Association asked Coquitlam city council for "leadership" in helping to update the cedar fence, which had fallen into disrepair.
The common amenity was built on private properties as part of a development agreement between the city and Wesbild, which in 1989 bought and serviced the plateau lands. To complicate matters for the association, the fence posts didn't line up with property lines.
The association approached Wesbild for assistance but it was told it wasn't the company's responsibility; and, in June 2012, the city also declined to step in for legal reasons.
That's when some plateau homeowners took matters into their own hands, researched the fencing materials available, had the land engineered and hired a contractor to get the job done.
Lockery Munnion said he spent many late nights with his Bighorn Place neighbours to discuss the pros and cons of having the fence redone - all at once - along their street.
Now, Bighorn as well as Pika and Coyote court homeowners have a uniform, eco-friendly and graffiti-resistant fence with a 25-year warranty. "It's a significant uplift to our property values," Munnion said. "We are very happy with the look and it's certainly more appealing than that rickety old fence."
Added Cox, "We are proud of the neighbours. It's taken a lot of work."
With the new fence up, the pair hopes other plateau homeowners on the animal- and bird-named streets make the same investment.
"I would invite all of Westwood Plateau residents who are facing the same issues to get organized and come see what we've done," Munnion said. "I'm sure they will be just as impressed."
