On Oct 19, 5:53 am, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
On Fri, 19 Oct 2012 06:12:09 -0400, Don Wiss
wrote:

When I was young I learned that fence facing etiquette is to have the
pretty side of the fence facing outward towards your neighbors. My
questions:

(1) Is this a law in places?

Yes. Even if the neighbor *prefers* the other side.

My brother's neighbor put up a stockade fence with the horizontals on
my brother's side. He asked his neighbor if he minded if he minded
if he used those horizontals to hang some plants on the nice
south-facing vertical surface. The neighbor was happy with his
smooth side-- my brother was happy with the easy to use horizontal
slats- and then the building inspector stopped by. He made the guy
take the fence down and switch it around! Luckily it was along a
level spot so the fence was salvageable as-is.

Jim

I can understand the reason for the law. In your case, you brother
didn't mind, but , if and when he sells his house, the new buyer
might. In general, ordinances for appearance are based on
what the property looks like to people who pass by, rather than
the preferences of the owner.
for instance, nobody cares if you paint the inside of the walls
pink with polka dots, but trying that on the outside will probably
result in lawsuits. While the "fence facing" is a minor thing,
it needs to follow the proper considerations for the rest of the
neighborhood, whether the present neighbors care or not.
some of them may care, but decide not to object to keep the
peace. It is for this reason that a municipal ordinance comes
into play, so the matter is settled before the fence, or whatever,
goes up. The city inspector can be the "bad guy", and the
neighbors can breathe a sigh of relief at avoiding a confrontation.