Too-Tall Picket Fence

Never mind falling standardized test scores and math skills among our children. I think we need to focus more on the declining common sense and representation skills of our city and state government employees. Take for example Glendale, where you can’t have a fence over 18 inches tall because the city has decided that you don’t want them--and they also block vast amounts of scenic property (“Couple Fights City Hall Over Bit of Americana,” Jan. 13).

Last time I checked, the national height average was about 5 feet, 9 inches, which puts most people’s eye level far above an 18-inch fence. And why is it OK to keep the fence if it has been undetected by the planning police for over a year? Does that mean that if you’re lucky enough not to get caught for a year, then you win? And just why is it OK to have a 12-foot-tall hedge, but not an 18-inch-tall fence?

Thank God we have people like Sam Engel working for us, who “philosophically disagree with the fence as a solution . . .” to problems like people making U-turns into the frontyard where your children play.

JON MARCUS

Sherman Oaks