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## BY-LAW NO. 37-17
## OF THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF AYLMER
Being a by-law to exempt the Town of Aylmer from the Line Fences Act, and establishing requirements for the location, construction, and maintenance of fences in the Town of Aylmer. (Division & Privacy Fence By-law)
WHEREAS Section 8 of the Municipal Act 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25, as amended, provides that a municipality has the capacity, rights, powers and privileges of natural person for the purpose of exercising its authority under the Act; anc
WHEREAS Section 9 of the Municipal Act provides that Sections 8 and 11 shall be interpreted broadly so as to confer broad authority on municipalities to (a) enable municipality to govern their affairs as they consider appropriate and, (b) to respond to municipal issues; and
WHEREAS Section 11 of the Municipal Act provides that a lower-tier municipality may pass by-laws respecting matters within the spheres of jurisdiction described in the Municipal Act and subject to certain provisions as outlined in the Municipal Act; and
WHEREAS Subsections 98(1) and (2) of the Municipal Act provide that a by-law may be passed by a municipality stating that the Line Fences Act, R.S.O., c.L. 17 does not apply to all or any parts of the municipality, subject to the continuing applicability of Section 20 of the Line Fences Act;
NOW THEREFORE the Council of the Town of Aylmer enacts as follows:
## 1 DEFINITIONS
In this by-law:
- 1.1 Actual Cost means the total cost of the construction, replacement, maintenance or repair (as applicable) of a division fence, and includes taxes, the value of the material used and the value of the labour performed to complete the work.
- 1.2 Adjoining owner means the person who owns the land adjacent to land of another landowner seeking to build a division fence.
- 1.3 Construct a Fence means to construct, ereçt, build, install, alter, reconstruct or replace a fence, or cause or permit another person to do so.
- 1.4 Designated Official means a By-law Enforcement Officer or Chief Building Official for the Town of Aylmer, or as otherwise determined by the Municipality.
- 1.5 Division Fence means a fence marking the boundary between abutting parcels of land, and which is located on the boundary line and which height shall not exceed 1.8m (6) in a rear or side yard, or 0.9m (3') in a front yard.
- 1.6 Fence means a barrier or partition erected or ground, including shrubs and hedges, which may or may not define the boundary line of a property but shall not include a building or structure as defined in the Ontario Building Code or regulations for the Town of Aylmer's Zoning By-law.
- 1.7 Municipality means the Corporation of the Town of Aylmer.
- 1.8 Owner means an owner, lessee, tenant, mortgagee in possession and the person in charge of any property.
- 1.9 Person shall include a Firm Partnership, Company, Corporation or Contractor or Owner.
- 1.10 Privacy Fence - shall mean a fence located entirely within the limits of a single property which height shall not exceed 1.8m (6) in a rear or side yard, or 0.9m (3) in a front yard, and a privacy fence may be a Division Fence.
- 1.11 Public Highway - "HIGHWAY", "STREET", or "ROAD" means a public way for purposes of vehicular and pedestrian travel, including the entire area within the right-of-way, with or without provision made for curbs, sidewalks, and paved gutters, and owned or maintained by a public authority.
- 1.12 Public Authority - "PUBLIC AUTHORITY" means any school board, public utility commission, transportation commission, public library board, board of parks management, board of health, board of commissioners of police, planning board or other board or commission or committee of local authority established or exercising any power or authority under any general or specific Statue of Ontario with respect to any of the affairs or purposes of a municipality or any portion thereof, and includes any board, commission or committee or local authority established by by-law of the Municipality.
- 1.13 Security Fence - shall mean a fence located entirely within the limits of a single property to provide security for goods or materials stored outdoors.
## 2 PROVISIONS
- 2.1 From and after the date of enactment of this by-law, the provisions of the Line Fences Act, except Section 20 of the Line Fences Act, shall no longer apply to all or any part of the municipality.
- 2.2 The provisions of this by-law do not apply in the following circumstances:
- (a) to any lands that constitute a public highway, including lands abutting a public highway that are held as a reserve by a municipality or other public authority; or to lands being held by a municipality.
- (b) where an owner has initiated proceedings under the Line Fences Act prior to the enactment of this by-law.
- 2.3 An owner of land may construct, replace, repair and maintain a division, Privacy, or Security fence, or a fence as defined in Section 1.6
- 2.4 Where the owners of adjoining lands are in agreement or are able to reach agreement on the details of construction or replacement of a division
fence, each of them shall construct or replace a reasonable proportion of the division fence; or shall bear a reasonable and just proportion of the cost of any work required to do so, in accordance with the agreement reached between the owners, regardless of any provision to the contrary in this by-law.
- 2.5 Where the owners of adjoining lands cannot agree or reach an agreement as referred to in section 2.4 above, an owner desiring to construct or replace a division fence may do so subject to complying with the following requirements:
- (a) The owner must deliver a notice (the "Notice of Intent") to the adjoining owner by registered mail, advising of his or her intent to construct or replace a division fence;
- (b) The Notice of Intent must contain the following minimum information:
- i) a copy of three (3) written quotes for the actual cost or basic cost for the fencing work to be undertaken.
- a paragraph stating that "the construction or replacement of the division fence will commence fourteen days after the mailing of this Notice of Intent and the owner may seek a contributory payment for the work to the division fence from the adjoining owner in accordance with the applicable by-law".
- iii) a further paragraph stating that "the adjoining owner may obtain three (3) additional quotes for presentation to the owner not later that ten business days from the date of mailing of the Notice of Intent: and
- iv) a complete copy of this by-law must be attached to the Notice of Intent.
- 2.6 In cases where the cost of construction or replacement of a division fence is in dispute, the cost shall be apportioned as follows:
- (a) the adjoining owner shall pay fifty percent (50%) of the basic cost or fifty percent (50%) of the actual cost, whichever is the lesser, having considered all the fencing quotes exchanged; and
- (b) the owner shall pay the balance of the actual cost.
- 2.7 Subject to Section 2.8 and 2.9, once a fence has been erected, the cost of repairs or maintenance to a division fence shall be borne equally by the owner and the adjoining owner.
- 2.8 The cost of repairs to a division fence shall be borne:
- (a) by the owner if her or his invitees caused the damage necessitating the repair.
- (b) by the adjoining owner if her or his invitees caused the damage necessitating the repair.
- (c) subject to Section 2.9, equally by the owner and the adjoining owner if the damage necessitating the repair was caused by a natural disaster.
- 2.9 If a tree is thrown down by accident, carelessness, negligence, deliberate intent or otherwise, so as to cause damage to a division fence, the owner of the lands on which the tree stood shall, at his sole expenses, forthwith remove the tree and repair the fence.
- 2.10 Where the municipality is the adjoining owner of lands other than lands described in Subsection 2.2(a), the cost of construction, replacement, repair or maintenance of a division fence shall be assigned as follows:
- (a) the owner shall pay 99% of the cost of the work;
- (b) the municipality shall pay 1% of the cost of the work.
- 2.11 Compliance with this by-law does not exempt an owner or the adjoining owner from the requirement to comply with the Town of Aylmer Pool Fence By-law.
## 3 DESIGN AND MATERIALS
- 3.1 No person shall construct or maintain a fence wholly or partly of Barbed wire or use any device for projecting an electric current through or in conjunction with a fence.
- 3.2 No person shall construct or maintain a wooden privacy or security fence such that the structural members are visible from an adjoining property or the street.
## 4 ADMINISTRATION, ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTY PROVISIONS
- 4.1 The administration and enforcement of the By-law shall be under the authority of the Designated Official.
- 4.2 Every person or owner who contravenes any provision of this By-law is, upon conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction, therefore guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine as provided under the Provincial Offences Act.
- 4.3 In this by-law, where any person is directed to do any matter or thing, and is in default of it being done by the person directed or required to do it, such matter or thing may be done at his or her expense by the Town of Aylmer or its agents and such expense may be recovered by action or in
## 5 TITLE
- 5.1 This by-law shall be cited as the "Division & Privacy Fence By-law".
## 6 EFFECTIVE DATE
- 6.1 This by-law shall come into force upon the date of final passing thereof.
## 7 RESCINDING
At the passing of this By-law, all other By-laws related to fencing are hereby revoked, except By-law 23-17, the Pool Fence By-law.
READ A First and second time this 14th day of August, 2017.
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trench
Mance finnis
READ A third time and finally passed this 11th day of September, 2017.
MAYOR, Greg Curie
Nance Lum
LERK. Nancie J. Irvir