Adherence to approved building plans?

[supafamous]

Will be giving the city a call but thought I would ask here as well.

Wife and I just bought a house that's in it's last month of construction. As part of the deal the seller agreed to put in a 4' cedar fence instead of a 6' fence for the north side (the side of our house that faces the street) but now he's saying he can't do that b/c the plans that were approved by the city specify a 6' fence. He showed us the plans which call this out.

Is he:
1) Just being difficult?
2) Required to stick with the city plans?
3) Can put in the 4' but has to go back to the city for approval which is a PITA?

thanks,

[Selanne_200]

I'm not so sure how much you have to stick with the approved building plans especially on something that's more on an aesthetic basis. If you wanted fences taller than 6' that would be a different story.

At the end of the day, I think it all comes down to the inspector and how closely they compare the house to your building plan. If he doesn't care, then all is good, and if he gives you shit, the worst he can tell you to do is to update the building plan with the city

[Hondaracer]

I've never run into an inspector who is going to reference plans on aesthetic items like this. They are only there to inspect the vital portions of the house as they are being completed. You could essentially have your final inspection long before any type of fencing is installed, as long as the building permit is still valid. And with somthing like a fence, really you could install it without a permit

[Soundy]

Best bet: phone the city planning department and get a definitive answer. Chances are the others are right and they won't care, but then you'll know for sure (have a call recorder app on your phone tho, just in case).