I just love the vintage style and old-fashioned look of my new crimped wire fence . . . installed last week . . . once the rains stop and the wood dries out the fence will be painted the light beige that matches the trim on the house. Can't wait! And then it's some gardening to put a garden right inside the front side . . . have the wisteria and butterfly bushes ready to plant. :-) I will attempt to post photos now and then after the painting/planting.

The Bronze Loquat (non-fruiting type), Eriobotrya deflexa, makes a good small shade tree, evergreen. It does help to have a skilled arborist shape it in its youngest years for the most beautiful multi-stemmed form, but at small sizes it is not a great expense. A neighbor has two trios of them, all multi-stemmed. They look beautiful year round and provide good shade. Citrus is also a good idea as they are beautiful trees, quite apart from the fruit. There is a lot of climate variation in the Bay Area, check to see what Citrus is appropriate for your specific area. Avocado produces very dense shade and have the potential to get quite large 30-40', however they take very harsh pruning. Root system is sensitive and should be shaded and not compacted by being walked on. Look also at the Sunset Western Garden book section on "patio trees". Most any library in California has that book if you don't want to buy a copy. A medium or large shrub can be limbed up as a small shade tree as well, so don't think you have to limit yourself to the "tree" section of the garden center.

Remove the fence entirely and use the existing roses as the foundation of a natural hedge divider between your property and the street. Nothing weird about them and you can fill in (behind?) with other shrubs to add more seasonal interest. Have to wonder at the suggestion of chain link........here, when needed for security for pets, etc., hogwire fencing is used in place of chain link. A far better look aesthetically. But if you do not need the fence to contain pets or for privacy, then get rid of it altogether.

I think it's the case that you're as easily able to create good aesthetics without the fence, as you are with it. Adding it means paying attention to another set of design considerations. People do things all the time thinking that they are creating more beauty, when in fact, they are creating more ugliness, and sometimes an expensive clean-up process. Not saying that would be the case here, but just noting that it's always a possibility, since we can't know how you'd do every detail, and ultimately that's what would matter. Having dogs that spend time in the yard is a commonplace situation. Mostly, they are either relegated to the back yard where the tall fencing is permitted, or they are able to be kept in the front yard by 4' fencing. I don't think the city or the neighborhood in general, will agree that having a special breed of dogs that can't be contained in the front yard by 4' height fencing, is worth granting a variance for. Security for the occupants of the house is a separate matter. Not having any idea of the crime trends of your neighborhood, can't begin to predict if you can make a good enough case for additional security fencing. But maybe you can. Every so often, general ways of doing things change and it all starts with a single case that sets precedent. In the early 70s, it was not common for fathers to be allowed in the delivery room while their child was being born. That they are allowed and expected to be there is now the rule. Even if you end up not being able to get a variance for fencing, there are other ways of addressing the privacy issue. Governments as a rule don't seem to have any objection to your creating privacy with plants, thus the use of tall trimmed hedges where someone doesn't want the outside world looking. You probably already know that there is a non-refundable fee assessed for seeking a variance and a hearing. Check to see what it is in order to figure out if it would be worth it to you if the variance was not granted. I've acquired a few variances along the way, every one for which I applied, but in each case they were based on need such that the homeowner would either needlessly suffer a hardship if the variance wasn't granted, and/or they would inadvertently cause other people (neighbors) problems if forced to comply with the regular rules. The variances were for front yard parking.