‘She May Sell It Next Year,’ Neighbors Say After Calling Out Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Over Controversial Fence Plans for Their Ohio Mansion
A 72-page transcript from a village meeting in Bratenahl, Ohio, never mentions Taylor Swift or Travis Kelce by name, according to a Daily Mail report. The pages cover a lakefront estate, a proposed fence, dozens of trees and a century-old pipe, yet the owners go unnamed. At a hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 6, one longtime resident finally said Kelce’s name out loud, and her remarks about the couple’s future in town have been repeated ever since.
Kelce Bought an 1895 Lake Erie Mansion With 11 Bathrooms Months Before the Wedding
Kelce bought the property in March through an LLC, months before he and Swift married at Madison Square Garden in July. The home sits on about 3.5 acres of Lake Erie shoreline in Bratenahl, outside Cleveland. Built in 1895, it has eight bedrooms, 11 bathrooms and a guest house, and cost $5.35 million. The owners’ plans for the grounds first went before the Architectural Review Board on Aug. 11, and the original design was far bigger than neighbors would later debate.
Original Plan Called for an 8-Foot Fence to the Water, Then Shrank to 6 Feet
The first proposal reportedly called for an eight-foot fence running all the way to the water. Village rules limit lakefront fences to 2.5 feet unless at least 75 percent of the structure is see-through, according to NewsBytes. The couple’s team eventually settled on a six-foot, black, powder-coated aluminum fence set about two feet inside the property line. Residents who spoke at the hearings raised concerns that went well beyond height, and the first one involved wildlife.
Neighbor Warns Spiked Railings Could Catch Deer, and a Village Official Says It Happens “Occasionally”
One resident told the board that the fence’s pointed railings could injure deer, which are common in the area. A village official reportedly acknowledged that deer get caught on fences like this “occasionally.” Another neighbor was unhappy about the shrubs and trees already cleared from the property, telling the board, “All the trees are gone.” Those complaints drew attention, but the loudest objection came from the house next door, and it concerned something buried underground.
Next-Door Neighbor Says She Was Quoted $75,000 to Protect a 100-Year-Old Sewer Pipe From 50 Evergreens
Katherine Bolton, who has lived next door for more than 30 years, told the board her property shares a century-old clay sewer pipe with the estate. She warned that planting 50 evergreens roughly ten feet from that line could cause severe root damage and “catastrophic sewage backups.” Bolton said she was quoted $75,000 to line the pipe against roots. Her concerns extended past the pipe, to the owners themselves.
Longtime Neighbor Calls the Couple “Absentee” Owners and Predicts a Sale “Next Year”
Bolton told the board the new owner is an “absentee owner” who will not be around. She said the applicant “may decide to sell her house next year” and move on, leaving her with 50 evergreens along her sewer line. Swift and Kelce already own homes in New York and Los Angeles, and Bolton did not point to any plan by the couple to sell. Representatives for the owners answered the criticism with figures of their own.
Couple’s Team Says It Paid $7,500 to Fix the Shared Sewer Line “Just to Show That We’re Good Neighbors”
A representative for the owners told the board they paid $7,500 to replace a broken section of the shared sewer line and had the pipe jetted and cleaned. He said they covered the cost “just to show that we’re good neighbors.” The team also said it had bent over backwards to keep the peace, including giving neighbors access to part of the property. Another speaker then raised a different question: whether a fence could protect the couple’s privacy at all.
Former Village Council President Says Drones Are a Bigger Threat Than Paparazzi
A former village council president argued that a fence would do little to stop photographers, and that drones pose the greater risk to the couple’s privacy. Kelce’s home was burglarized in 2024, according to BroBible, and Page Six reported that the Ohio property already has voice alarms. One neighbor said a recorded warning played after they got too close to the house. With the arguments heard, the board had to decide what the couple could actually build.
Board Approves the Six-Foot Fence but Holds Off on Shoreline Trees That Would Grow Too Tall
The board unanimously approved the six-foot fence in September, according to the Daily Mail’s account. At the Oct. 6 hearing, members approved the front landscaping and put off a decision on a row of shoreline trees that would grow too tall. That likely sends the couple back before the board a third time with a revised plan. Whether that plan satisfies the board, and the neighbor with the sewer line, remains undecided.
Fence Approved, Front Landscaping Cleared, and a Century-Old Sewer Pipe Still at the Center of the Dispute
The dispute over Swift and Kelce’s Bratenahl estate comes down to a handful of specific items. The six-foot aluminum fence has approval, the front landscaping has approval, and the shoreline trees need a new proposal. The shared sewer line carries the largest dollar figures, at $75,000 by one neighbor’s estimate and $7,500 already paid by the owners toward repairs. Bolton’s prediction of a sale remains speculation, and the board’s decisions are the only rulings on record.