HomeMy WebLinkAboutBy-law No. 2012-093 - Amend c630 - Fences
BY-LAW NUMBER ~p[a _ ~`~3
OF THE
CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF KITCHENER
(Being a by-law to amend Chapter 630 of The City of
Kitchener Municipal Code with respect to Fences.)
WHEREAS it is deemed expedient to amend Chapter 630 of The City of
Kitchener Municipal Code as adopted by By-law 88-100;
NOW THEREFORE the Council of the Corporation of the City of Kitchener
enacts as follows:
1. Section 630.1.1 is hereby amended by adding the following sentence to the end of
that section thereto:
"A building shall also include any lawfully erected gazebo or pergola."
2. Section 630.1.6 is hereby deleted in its entirety and the following is substituted
therefor:
"630.1.6
"exterior side lot line" shall mean a lot line other than a rear lot fine abutting a street
on the side that does not include the front lot line."
3. Section 630.1.8 is hereby deleted in its entirety and the following is substituted
therefor:
"630.1.8
"front yard" means a yard that extending across the full width of a lot between the
front lo# line of the lot and the nearest part of the main building on the lot."
4. Section 630.1.9 is hereby deleted in its entirety and the following is substituted
therefor:
"630.1.9
"height" shall mean, for the purposes of measuring the height of a fence, the
measurement of the distance between:
(a} the grade at the base of any point along the fence or privacy screen; and
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{b) the highest point of the fence or privacy screen directly above the position
where the measurement of grade is taken."
5. Section 630.1.16 is hereby deleted in its entirety and the following is substituted
therefor:
"630.1.16
"rear yard" means a yard extending across the full width of the lot between the rear
lot line of the lot and the nearest part of the main building on the lot."
6. Section 630.1.18 is hereby deleted in its entirety and the following is substituted
therefor:
"630.1.18
"yard" means that part of a lot extending from a lot fine into a lot to the nearest part
of the main building on the lot and measured at right angles to the lot line."
7. Article 1 is hereby amended by inserting the following definitions thereto and
renumbering all defiinitions accordingly:
""fully enclose{d}" shall mean surrounded by walls or screens on all sides and
covered by a roof or roof-like barrier.
"fence" means a barrier, including one far noise attenuation, or any structure
except a structural part of a building, that wholly or partially screens from view,
encloses or divides a yard or other land or any portion thereof, prevents access
by people or animals, or marks or substantially marks the boundary between
adjoining land. A fence shall include:
(a) every post, door, gate, or closure that adjoins, abuts, or attaches thereto;
{b) a railing, guard, or structure joined to, or directly around or on a deck or porch
provided that such material does not form a component of a fully enclosed
deck or fully enclosed porch; and
{c) any component or element that physically or visually combines with or
appears to contribute to the use or purpose of the fence whether attached
thereto or self-supported.
Notwithstanding any other portion of this definition, a fence shall not include self-
supported hedges, trees, or other vegetation or a privacy screen erected in
compliance with the provisions of this Chapter.
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"front lot line" means the shortest lot line abutting a street except in the case of a
corner lot where any one lot line abutting a street may be treated as the front lot
line for the sole purpose of determining the maximum fence height requirements
of this Chapter.
"grade" shall mean:
{a) the finished grade at the base of the fence or privacy screen measured from
the side of the fence or privacy screen where such finished grade is the
highest and shall not take into account the height of any retaining wall on
which the fence or privacy screen is placed;
(b) in the case of a fence enclosing a pool, "grade" shall mean the finished grade
level at the base of the fence measured from outside of the pool enclosure for
the purpose of permit issuance; however, once a pool enclosure permit has
been obtained, "grade" shall, at the option of the pool owner, mean the
finished grade level at the base of the fence measured from the inside of the
pool enclosure provided the fence and grade remain substantially the same
from the inside of the poo! enclosure as shown in the issued pool enclosure
permit; and
{c) in the case of a fence br privacy screen joined to or directly around or on a
deck or porch, grade shall be measured from the finished grade of the ground
underneath the fence or privacy screen where the deck ar porch is two feet or
less above ground or, where the walking surface of the deck ar porch is mare
than twa feet above ground shall be measured from that walking surface.
"interior side lot line" means a lot line other than a front lot line, rear lot line, or
exterior side lot line.
"privacy screen" means a visual barrier used #o shield any park of a yard from
view from any adjacent parcel of land or highway. Notwithstanding any other
portion of this definition, a privacy screen shall not include:
(a) self-supported hedges, trees, or other vegetation;
{b} a building, trellis, arbor, pergola, arch, gazebo, ar obelisk; or
(c} anything 8 feet (2.44 metres} or less in height from grade unless such thing is
a component ar element that physically or visually combines with or appears
to contribute to the use or purposes of the privacy screen whether attached
thereto or self-supported.
"rear lot line" means the lot line farthest from and opposite to the front lot line ar
in the case of a triangular lot, shall be that point formed by the intersection of the
side lot lines."
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8. Section 630.2.2 is hereby amended by correcting the spelling of the word
"remian" to "remain".
9. Article 2 is hereby amended by adding the following sections thereto:
"630.2.3
No person shall erect, construct, maintain, have, own, allow to remain, fail to
remove, or permit or cause to be erected, maintained, or constructed any fence
that has:
(a) been constructed or partially constructed of materials that are not suitable or
sufficient for the purpose for which they have been used;
(b) been constructed with poor workmanship, or
(c) not been maintained in a safe manner.
630.2.4
Notwithstanding the maximum fence heights set out in sections 630.4.1, fi30.5.1,
and 630.6.1, fence posts andlor fence post caps may exceed those maximum
heights by an additional 4 inches (0.10 metres) provided they are not within a
corner visibility triangle or driveway visibility triangle.
630.2.5
Notwithstanding the maximum fence heights set out in sections 630.4.1, fi30.5.1,
and 630.6.1, a fence built on, around, or in conjunction with a deck or porch may
exceed these maximum heights to the extent required by the Ontario Building
Code, Ontario Regulation 350/0fi or any other legislation."
10. Section 630.11.4(a) is hereby deleted in its entirety and the following is
substituted therefor:
"(a} except as set out in section 630.11.4(b}, the fence does not facilitate easy
access to the swimming pool and meets the following requirements to render
it less climbable:
(i) the space between the bottom of the fence and the grade does not exceed
4 inches (0.10 metres);
(ii) either the vertical distance between any struc#ural components of the
fence that run horizontally throughout the fence shall be at least 3 feet
(0.91 metres} apart or the space between any structural components of
the fence that run vertically shall not be more than 1.5 inches {0.04
metres) apart; and
(iii) the fence is situated at least 1 metre (3.28 feet) away from any fence that
does not meet the provisions of section 630.11.4(a)(i} and {ii} or, where
loca#ed within 1 metre (3.28 feet) of a fence that does not meet those
provisions, the fence is 8 feet (2.44 metres) in height. Far the purposes of
this section 630.11.4(a)(iii) only, a fence may range between 7 feet 10
inches (2.39 metres} and 8 feet (2.44 metres} in height and still have the
benefit of being counted as 8 feet (2.44 metres) in height."
11. Section 630.11.6 is hereby amended by deleting the following words therefrom:
"No person shall fill a swimming pool with water unless and until it has been
enclosed in accordance with the provisions herein."
12. Article 11 is hereby amended by adding the following sections thereto:
"630.11.9
Every fence enclosing a swimming pool shall be constructed so as not to
facilitate easy access into the enclosed area from any pre-existing structure or
fixture on neighbouring property.
630.11.10
No person shat! place or lean any moveable abjec# against or near the ex#erior of
a fence enclosing a swimming pool in a manner that facilitates the climbing of
such fence.
630.11.11
No property owner shall place water or permit water to be placed or to
accumulate in a swimming pool on their property unless:
(a} they have applied for and obtained a pool enclosure permit; and
(b) the pool is enclosed as required herein.
630.11.12
Notwithstanding section 630.11.11, provided a pool enclosure permit has been
applied for, a person may place up to 35 inches (0.89 metres) of water in a pool
for the purpose of setting the pool liner for a reasonable amount of time until final
inspections for the pool enclosure permit have been completed and signed aff.
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630.11.13
Section 630.11.11 {a} shall not apply in situations where an owner can show that
a pool was installed or set up before June 25, 2012."
13. Article 12 is hereby deleted in its entirety and the following is substituted therefor:
"Article 12
630.12.1
No person shall erect, construct, maintain, have, own, allow to remain, fail to
remove, or permit or cause to be erected, maintained, or constructed a privacy
screen on any land if it does no# comply with all of the provisions contained in
section 630.12.2.
630.12.2
A privacy screen shall comply with the following regulations:
(a) the privacy screen shall be placed on land that is zoned and being lawfully
used for residential or commercial purposes;
(b} the privacy screen shall be located in a side yard or a rear yard;
(c) the privacy screen shall be located a minimum of 5.7 metres (18.70 feet) from
an exterior side lot line;
{d) the privacy screen shall be located a minimum of 1.2 metres (3.94 feet) from
an interior side lot fine;
(e) the privacy screen shall be located a minimum of 1.2 metres (3.94 feet) from the
rear lot line;
(f) where the area of a lot is less than 0.33 acres {0.13 hectares}, the total length of
a privacy screen or where more than one privacy screen is installed the total
combined length of all privacy screens on the lot shall not exceed 40 feet (12.19
metres) in length;
(g) where the area of a lot equals or exceeds 0.33 acres {0.13 hectares}, the total
length of a privacy screen or where more than one privacy screen is installed
the total combined length of all privacy screens on the lot shall not exceed 80
feet (24.38 metres) in length;
(h) no portion of the privacy screen shall exceed 10 feet (3.05 metres) in height
above grade;
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of
(i) the privacy screen steal! not be constructed within a corner visibility triangle or a
driveway visibility triangle;
(j) any necessary building permit for the privacy screen shall be applied for and
obtained in a timely manner;
{k) the privacy screen chalk be constructed of materials that are suitable and
sufficient for the purpose for which they have been used;
(I) the privacy screen shall be constructed with good workmanship; and
{m)the privacy screen shall be maintained in a safe manner."
Article 15 is hereby deleted in its entirety and the following is substituted therefor:
"Article 15
630.15.1
Notwithstanding any other provision herein, a fence or privacy screen which is
required and approved as a condition of development or redevelopment of land, or
required by another by-law or any law, statute, or regulation of a regional,
provincial, ar federal authority having jurisdiction shall be deemed to be in
conformance with the provisions of this Chapter to the extent that any conflict with
the provisions of this Chapter is necessary for compliance with such requirements."
PASSED at the Council Chambers in the City of Kitchener this ~ ~ "" day
A. D. 2012.
Mayor
Clerk