A local fence maker told council last night that he is tired of cutting boards to make his material fit code.
Bill Mainwaring of Fantastic Fencing said that hardware stores sell wiring and wood in lengths that come in 1.2 and 1.88 metre heights.
But a zoning bylaw here in Terrace specifies that front fences are to be no taller than 1 metre and rear fences must stay below 1.8 metres.
A contractor who prides himself in sticking precisely to code, Mainwaring has to constantly shorten supporting sections and wire by mere inches, something which he said is a hassle.
He recommended to council that they amend zoning bylaw No.1431-1995 to raise the heights and save fence builders' labour costs.
Council commended Mainwaring on his well-voiced presentation and voted to move his recommendation into the formal amendment process after councillor Lynne Christiansen made a motion to amend that was seconded by councillor Stacey Tyers.
While several councillors wanted to accept the recommendation outright, Brian Downie said that, “It's not very good business for us to react spontaneously and change bylaws.”
Director of development services David Block told council that many of the city zoning bylaws are being revised in the coming year, a series of changes effective next spring, and he said he would consider the fence issue during the larger overhaul.
However several council members wanted this recommendation acted on more swiftly, and voted to move the matter directly to the development services department for them to create a formal recommendation that will be resubmitted through the committee of the whole in a coming council meeting.
Block said he may or may not resubmit the recommendation exactly as it was presented by Mainwaring.