Built Privacy Screens
For members who want privacy from the street or their next-door neighbor or simply need to block an unsightly view, current rules are outlined on these pages of the Member Handbook, now only accessed via the Member log-in on the home page.  (Then click the “documents” icon in the upper right corner of the screen to find the handbook.)

What’s been updated but not covered in that link is the recent clarification that the allowed 48 square feet of screening (per screen; two screens are allowed) may be configured in various ways. Most common is 6′ tall by 8′ long, but also allowed is, say, 12′ long but only 4′ tall (mounting it 2 feet above the surface). That works in the many situations where screening isn’t really needed close to the ground. For more than 48 sf, an exception needs to be applied for and granted.

Here’s an example, along the sidewalk at the end of my back garden:

The need for screening can also be reduced by bringing the screen close to where it’s most needed – near a patio, for example.

Scroll down for a slide show of different types of attractive screening. Tall screens surrounding entire back yards (so common in back yards of townhouses) are not included here, as they’re unlikely to ever be approved by GHI.

Trellis or Lattice

Lattices that provide screening are considered privacy screens and need approval under the screening rules. Permission is not required to install lattices up against a unit or shed – because in those situations they don’t screen. Click here for examples of approved lattice and trellis types and costs, including some that are movable (and require no permit.)

This blog post covers why simple lines (in privacy screens and lattices) are required under GHI rules, in order for them to complement, not clash with, GHI’s architecture.