Couple, lawmaker spar over fence law

DES MOINES (AP) ? A northern Iowa couple is calling for the state?s fence law to be amended, saying the regulations made sense in the 19th century but are archaic today.

The case involves Julie and Brent Kuntz, who have balked at efforts by their neighbor, state Sen. Merlin Bartz, to share the cost of erecting a fence to separate their property near Grafton.

Bartz grazes cattle and wants the fence to keep his livestock contained. The Kuntzes grow corn and soybeans on 1,200 acres and argue they wouldn?t benefit from the fence and shouldn?t have to pay for it.

However, the law seems clear that when one farmer wants to build a fence along a property line, both owners must pay for it.

Although they have taken their dispute to the Union Township trustees, the Kuntzes acknowledged that if Bartz persists in his plans, they will have to pay to build a fence. As of Friday, the trustees had not issued a decision.

Bartz has asked them to pay for half of a 700-foot fence, of which he has already built 350 feet.

Repeated telephone calls to Bartz, a Republican, went unanswered, but he told the Mason City Globe Gazette the grazing system for his cow-calf operation couldn?t be used if it isn?t fenced. He also said he?s been asked by other neighbors to share the cost of fences between his property and theirs.

?So I am one that has to do this, too,? he told the newspaper.

Julie Kuntz argued the state?s fence law, enacted in 1851, is archaic and dates to a time when there were more farmers grazing livestock. Today, with fewer farmers and more livestock being housed in confinement operations, the laws need to be revised, Kuntz said.

The Kuntzes have 20 days to appeal the trustees? decision, and they said they will likely challenge the constitutionality of Iowa?s fence law.

?It should be amended to where both landowners who keep animals and those who don?t would benefit,? Julie Kuntz said. ?The less restrictive way would benefit agriculture without placing an undue burden on those who don?t own livestock.?

Although she argued the Legislature should change the law so it only affect farmers who own livestock, Kuntz noted she likely couldn?t seek help from her senator ? Bartz.

Challenges to the fence law, like the one in Grafton, are rare and there are few disputes about it, said Matt Wilbur, Pottawattamie County attorney and president of the Iowa County Attorneys Association.

He said prosecutors rarely charge anyone with violating the law and property owners usually settle disputes long before they get to court, where they would be dealt with through civil rather than criminal action.

Wilbur said he?s heard of a couple fence disputes in his nine years in office but problems usually revolve around property lines, where a fence should go and how strong the fence should be.

?They usually figure it out on their own,? Wilbur said. ?If they?re fighting over a 6-to-12-inch strip of land, they usually figure it just isn?t worth the cost of going to court and figure it out.?

Worth County Attorney Jeff Greve, who is providing legal guidance to the township trustees, said the Grafton dispute is only the second such case he?s been aware of in his nearly 11 years in office. He said the trustees would issue a decision Monday.