Back yard animal (cat) control vs. Residential Fencing Regulation - Thunder Bay, ON

Proposed Amendment to Residential Fencing Regulation (PROPERTY MAINTENANCE Chapter 820 Article 3) By Wayne Schulz, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

I would like to recommend to city council an amendment to city residential zone fencing regulation where as the fence height/type is specified. The reason for this amendment is to allow the residents of Thunder Bay on option of animal control for their back yards. Currently the regulation states that all residential back yard fencing is not to exceed 6 feet (1.828 meter) excluding some special provisions (tennis court, next to commercial property, etc.).

My recommendations are as follows:

To keep small animals (ex: a cat) from climbing and jumping over, allow for a ten foot (3.048 meter) chain-link fencing or woven/welded 16/14/12 gauge galvanized wire fencing in the back yard or a maximum of six foot wood fence with woven/welded 16/14/12 gauge galvanized four foot (1.219 meter) wire fence extension, the fence in its entirety not to exceed ten feet (3.048 meter) in total.

By continuing to limit wooden fences to 6 feet (1.828 meter) yet allowing wire/chain-link fences up to ten feet (3.048 meter) would allow the intent of keeping unwanted animals out of an owner's back yard without being defeated by existing or future wood fencing. Also allowing for woven/welded (16/14/12 gauge) wire fence extension up to 4 feet (1.219 meter) to existing wood fences would allow for those property owners the option of animal control for their back yards.

I believe this amendment should have little or no impact on what I would guess are the existing reasons that there is a six foot (1.828 meter) limit on residential back yard fences. Chain-link/wire fences do not screen/hinder sunlight or visibility, and they are sturdy and durable. Galvanized/rust resistant wire fencing tends to be lightweight making it ideal for a safe extension of a wooden fence.

Background:

There has been a concern/issue raised last year about the fence/netting I had erected around my back yard to contain my cats and keep other cats out. Because I have neighboring properties that already have erected a six foot (1.828 meter) wood fence on one side and a four foot (1.219 meter) wood fence on the other, I erected a ten foot (3.048 meter) net around my back yard.

Because this was viewed to be contrary to the current city by-law on residential fencing, I was forced to take down my netting to six feet (1.828 meter) which defeated the whole intent/purpose of the barrier in the first place.

It was first suggested that I just merely keep my cats indoors, which would be fine for some pet owners, however I feel that my animals deserve fresh air and outdoor play. By doing this allows for an active healthy animal that can do there natural habits outside instead of inside the house where those habits are considered unwanted.

Then it was suggested that I leash my cats; however cats climb over, through and around everything and would be caught-up/tangled in no time. Also leashing animals in the yard does not protect them from other stray animals.

Third suggestion was to build a 'cat run' essentially a large cage in the middle of my yard. That suggestion was turned down for the fact that having a small back yard it would disallow me to use my yard for anything else and that I would have to transport my cats between the cage and my house risking escape of the animals.

Yet another suggestion was that I could go a little higher with my fence/netting if I set my 'fence' in from the property line four feet (1.219 meter). This was also unacceptable as it would make it impossible for me to maintain my lawn between mine and the neighbor's fence and would take away too much usable property as my yard was already small for an average yard.

Later that season, a compromise was suggested by the by-law enforcement manager to extend my fence at the top horizontally at a low up angle into my property. I have taken the suggestion and made the modifications to my 'fence' netting. At first it had proven to be effective in keeping my cats in my back yard. However it soon became evident that there were certain flaws in the idea.

The first flaw was that even though it kept my cats in it did not prevent other cats from coming into our yard; they would simply climb the neighbor's fence and jump in. The second flaw was it became a hazard to birds; as birds encounter the barrier they instinctively flew up to go over and encountered the overhang and could not get out. The third flaw was gravity, after the winter season the fence overhang is now sagging badly between posts and looks awful.

Please Vote/Comment on this Issue - http://fence.opendiscussion.ca/#comment

Wayne Schulz Resident of Thunder Bay, ON, Canada.

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