United Rentals recently won a battle with San Diego city officials for the right to install an electric fence to keep thieves away, the San Diego Union Tribune reported. The San Diego Planning Commission voted unanimously to overturn a previous city decision that prohibited the rental company from installing an electric fence because of concerns it could injure nearby residents.
Regulations restrict electrified fences to industrial and agricultural zones, while the United Rentals facility is in a commercial zone next to residential housing. Local citizens had expressed concerns because residents might not understand that the fencing is electric thus risking injury.
The community planning group voted to grant an exemption because United Rentals has suffered a rash of thefts of equipment, tools and raw materials that have created chaos for the business and forced police to repeatedly visit the site. Thieves often take metal from the business and sell it to recycling companies.
An official from Electric Guard Dog said the fence would not face the residential housing and would be surrounded by a separate non-electric fence with a space between the two, and warning signs would be posted in multiple languages at 30-foot intervals.
For more on the story, go to: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/san-diego/story/2019-09-26/equipment-rental-company-finally-wins-long-battle-with-city-for-electrified-security-fence
