fence
My homes backyard goes into a ravine, right now there is a 4 foot fence surrounding the backyard (see picture).
I would like to replace the fence with a 3 foot fence or shorter (to better see the ravine, and kinda make a cool open yard that flows into the ravine). I couldn't find anything in my cities regulations about a MIN fence height, only a max.
Questions:
(1) Do most cities have a min fence height?
(2) Any down side to making such a short fence? Animals coming in? etc?
A general rule (not sure if your neighbors abide to it) is to build the fence 1-2 feet inside your property line. You mention that the fence post is presumably in their property so even butting up to it would be in their yard. You best option is to ask them to join your new fence to it and get a simple contract to protect yourself. Either that or put up all four sides in your property.
You may also need to get a permit or permission from city/municipal/HOA depending on your location. Your neighbors could have even blocked you from getting a fence because of easement right between yards, all things to look up before this endeavor.
As for the height difference, it's more personal preference than anything else. Personally I'd recommend one size fence for the front of your preference and one size in the back of your preference which may or may not be the same. Like if you want front privacy but have nature in the back, it allows you to get away with 6ft in the front and only 4ft in the back. I'd mainly recommend the same size in both front sections if your yard is level otherwise it will look off from the street.
In the front you may want to fade the height difference but I wouldn't even bother in the back. Could be a nice design feature if it fades into a gate post or something.
*Adding images:
I had the same situation at my place, I set the post and ran the top rail past it to the house and set elbows to make a hoop to carry the chain link past the post. I did not want to screw anything to the house so I rebent wall brackets to clamp the top and bottom rails to the line post
Best Answer
Check for any "attractive nuisance" laws as well. Even if not specifically present, you could face legal liability if a kid came into your yard, climbed the fence into the ravine, and got hurt. If that happened, having the opposing side able to state that you replaced the existing fence with a shorter one isn't going to look good.
Not a lawyer, but for fencing surrounding something potentially deadly like a ravine, I'd suggest fencing that's tall and not very climbable. Wrought iron or similar could work to create a impassible barrier while not disrupting sight lines.
EDIT: looks like this law probably won't apply, because attractive nuisances have to be artificial in nature. That being said, reducing the chance for a neighbor's kid to die horribly in your yard could be motivation enough.