Just moved into a new build in NE Ohio; Property is not very big (0.23 acres total) and it's wedge shaped, very narrow in the front/sides of house, widest in the back.

In general, front of house faces south, back of house/backyard faces north; The property has two drainage easements. A 30 foot easement in the back of the house (backyard is a total of 50 feet deep, so that leaves only 20 feet deep without an easement) and a 10 foot deep easement on the east side of the house. The drainage easement in the back of the property flows into a catch basin in the NE corner of the property; the east easement flows under the street to a retention pond across the street.

Will attach a copy of the easement drawings the engineer gave me from the city as well as a copy I colored to visually make it easier to see. Will also post pictures of the back of the house.

Other obstacles - there are rabbits, deer (lots of them) in the area. Neighbors are very close on the side and behind us (our slider aligns perfectly with slider of neighbor behind us). Eventually would like to get a dog - so would prefer to put a fence up and I want as much privacy as possible.

Per the city's website, fences can be as high as 6 feet;

Also, because of these easements, our backyard has to be sloped to allow water to drain (when exiting the house, you are 6.45 feet higher compared to the very back of the property by the chain link fence (chain link belongs to neighbors behind us) and 7.45 feet higher compared to the actual "ditch" that flows into the catch basin a few feet away from the chain link fence - that is the lowest point of the backyard)

Regarding landscape design ideas for the backyard: All I've come up with is I will likely will throw grass seed down. I am responsible for maintaining the easement areas (so for that area, I need something low cost and low maintenance) but I'm also trying to figure out how to maximize my backyard space and have the most privacy.

Ideally, I need things that are deer resistant, low maintenance, prefer perinneals, and would like a mix of things that give privacy in the winter (i.e. evergreens)

1. Any recommended specific plants/shrubbery, etc for the backyard?

2. Ideas to give us max. privacy AND maximize our backyard space. (especially if we need a fence). Will yard look too small if we ran a fence in the back giving us only a total of 20 ft depth from the house to fence?

How likely will city grant a variance and possibly alter the drainage easement in the backyard?? (I am meeting with the city engineer Monday to discuss)

3. Ideas for what to do with the drainage easement area in the rear of the property (low cost)

4.. Any landscape design ideas, period from looking at the photos?

Thank you!

(The neighbors with the chain link fence had the house built in the 1960's so they were already here when this land/lot area was developed). I don't believe they legally have an easement on their property.

The Star in the picture shows a rough estimate where our property ends (it doesn't extend past even though there is no brush in a small section)

This is what I was referring to when I am standing at my slider, I am looking back and can see directly into the neighbor's slider.

Our neighbor put a fence up - between the fence and our house, we share the 20 ft easement - 10 feet on their side, 10 feet on our side. His fence ends just where his 10ft easement begins on the side of the house. As you'll see in the site plans below, our ease easement takes up most of our side yard.

Also, he decided to run the back of his fence at a specific height (not where the drainage easement starts in his backyard) b/c his yard is sloped as well. If he moved the fence closer towards the easement, the yard sloped down and he could see over the fence and wanted more privacy, thus the location of the back part of his fence.

These are views from the 2nd story of the backyard:

The blue is the house and concrete driveway; The orange is the backyard 30ft deep easement and east side 10 foot deep easement.