After a 2-to-1 vote of the city’s board of adjustments, Enhanced 911 is on schedule to build an eight-foot fence around its communications center.

The vote occurred after the board heard from an E-911 representative and a resident opposed to the fence. A city ordinance limits fences to three feet in height. Anyone who wants to build a fence higher than three feet must gain an exemption from the board of adjustments.

The center, located at 311 Dallas Ave., sits in one of Selma’s historic districts. It moved to Dallas Avenue in October 2003, though some members of the Selma City Council opposed the move.

Richard Bean, administrative coordinator with E-911, requested the exemption on Tuesday. “You have to be assured that they’re secure,” Bean said of E-911 center employees. “We filled out a bunch of paperwork and they approved it.”

Board member Velma Brewer, however, opposed the fence. “We have different sets of rules for different sets of people,” Brewer said. “I feel that that’s wrong.”

According to Brewer, the board has declined exemptions for people wanting fences in the past. “We need to have the same opinion about fences,” she said.

Board members Charles McCall and Thomas Moss said they abstained from voting because they didn’t have enough information. Members Hazel Ware and Evelyn Speed declined to comment.

Both Ware and Speed voted in favor of the fence.

Elizabeth Driggers, head of the city’s community development office, said any exterior changes that occur in a historic district must come before the city’s historical development commission. “E-911 knows they have to come before the commission,” she added.

Bean said he planned on appearing before the historical commission at its Thursday meeting. “If we get approval on Thursday, we hope to start on the fence ASAP,” Bean said. “There’s going to be some things we have to do.”

Besides the construction of the fence, electrical wiring will be installed underground.