Richmond is looking at restricting the height and type of material used for any future fences on farmland.
This proposed amendment follows a public outcry last year over a two-metre-wide, 180-metre-long fence with planter boxes being built on farmland along No. 2 Road.
City staff are recommending the height of fences in farmland be restricted in front of the house; however, the sides and back could be higher to a maximum of 2.4 metres height.
Staff is also recommending that ornate, masonry-style fences be prohibited except in front of house and that any other fences be “agrarian” in style, that is, wooden posts or pickets, or metal.
Any fence with a concrete base would also need a permit.
The fence being built last summer on No. 2 Road, a two-walled planter on top of a concrete slab, was eventually taken down, and currently a new one is being built.
However, this time there is a permit in place and the structure complies with current zoning, according to the city.
It will have a stone veneer base and metal fencing.
But FarmWatch co-chair Laura Gillanders questioned the need for massive, permanent structures along the property lines of farms.
Even the smaller one being constructed on No. 2 Road puzzles her, and she called on the city to tighten up the rules.
“It obviously has nothing to do with farming,” she said.
The proposed amendments to the fencing bylaw will be dealt with at Tuesday’s planning meeting.
