How tall can my fence be? Do I need a fence around my pool?
In the City of Peterborough, Ontario, sight triangle: fence within flanking triangle exceeds 0.9 metres in height from grade level; permit required: True; pool enclosure: Enclosure required around entire pool area; min. 1.22 m (≤4-unit dwellings) or 1.83 m (>4 units/commercial); gates self-closing, self-latching with latch on inside or min 3'6" above grade.; prohibited materials: Barbed wire, materials with similar dangerous characteristics, and electric current projection devices prohibited.. Source: By-law 94-64 - To Prescribe the Height and Description of Certain Fences; Municipal Code Chapter 591 - Fences - Swimming Pools, verified 2026-08-29.
By-law 94-64 - To Prescribe the Height and Description of Certain Fences
adopted bylaw
sight triangle
fence within flanking triangle exceeds 0.9 metres in height from grade level
s. 3(b): "any portion of the fence located within a flanking triangle exceeds 0.9 metres in height from grade level"
scout note
Driveway sight-line rule: no fence (including a hedge or row of plants) may obstruct the vision of a driver entering a highway from a driveway. A fence is deemed obstructing if any part of it within the 'flanking triangle' — 3 metres measured along the street line from the driveway and 3 metres along the driveway — exceeds 0.9 metres
s. 591.5.1 — "No person shall excavate for, erect or construction a pool or a fence... unless and until a permit therefore has been issued"
pool enclosure
Enclosure required around entire pool area; min. 1.22 m (≤4-unit dwellings) or 1.83 m (>4 units/commercial); gates self-closing, self-latching with latch on inside or min 3'6" above grade.
s. 591.3.3 (minimum heights); s. 591.4.3 (self-closing and self-latching gates)
prohibited materials
Barbed wire, materials with similar dangerous characteristics, and electric current projection devices prohibited.
s. 591.3.17 — "Barbed wire . electric dangerous - prohibited"
scout note
Requires every privately-owned outdoor swimming pool to be enclosed by a fence extending from grade to a minimum height of 1.22m (4'0") where the pool serves a detached or semi-detached dwelling or a multiple-family development of not more than four dwelling units, and 1.83m (6'0") where it serves a development of more than four units or a commercial development such