Ottawa City Council Puts Procedure in Place for Fence Variances

If you live in Ottawa, the city may have just made it easier for you to get some privacy.

The Ottawa City Council approved a change to the city’s fence ordinance last night that will allow you to get a variance for your fence under certain circumstances. The need for the change came last month after the council realized there were no rules in place for variances. That meant, for example, if you had a pool and a corner lot, you could only build a chain-link or picket fence for privacy.

While some on the council had questions about the change, City Engineer David Noble explained it was important to pass it to put the variance process in place.

Even so, you may not see many new fences for a while. The variance process could take upwards of 60 days, depending on the situation.