La Pêche fence by-laws

The short answer

The by-law contains no "front yard" row. It says "cour adjacente à une rue", a yard adjacent to a street.

The difference is real on a corner lot or a through lot. A yard you would call a side yard, but which borders a street, falls under the 1.2 m rule and under the 1 metre setback. A lot between two streets has two street-adjacent yards.

Commercial and industrial, article 133: 1.2 m along the street, and 3 m in the side and rear yards, higher than residential. The low wall stays at 2 m and the hedge at 3.7 m.

Recreation and public, article 132: the same figures as residential. With one useful exception: around a schoolyard, a playground or a public utility installation the fence may reach 2.5 m, provided it is at least 75% open.

This is where La Pêche genuinely differs, and it is the part that costs money if you learn it after delivery.

Article 135 requires metal fences to be ornamental, designed and finished so as to avoid any injury.

And it prohibits, in EVERY zone including agricultural ones:

• chains
• chicken wire and squared wire mesh
• ropes
• cemented shards
• wire, barbed or not, so plain wire too
• wood panels
• fibreglass
• non-ornamental iron or steel
• sheet metal
• recycled materials designed for something else: tyres, concrete blocks, telephone poles, railway ties
• any unaesthetic material

What is expressly allowed: planed wood that is painted, varnished, stained or treated. Natural wood only for a rustic pole fence. Masonry, brick, concrete, PVC.

The by-law does not name chain link, neither to allow it nor to ban it. So we will not tell you it is prohibited.

But three provisions of article 135 bear on it directly, and you need to know them before ordering: metal fences must be ornamental, non-ornamental iron and steel are prohibited, and squared wire mesh is prohibited.

What that means in practice: in La Pêche, chain link is the one question to settle with the planning department before signing, not after. Everywhere else in the Outaouais it raises no issue at all. This is exactly the kind of detail we confirm during the visit.

Most municipalities have one. La Pêche has two, and the second one surprises everybody.

1. The visibility triangle, article 108. On a corner lot, two sides of 6 metres measured from the intersection of the property lines. Nothing above 60 cm inside it, measured from natural ground level. No vehicle may be parked inside it either.

2. The driveway clearance field, article 107. This one applies to every driveway, not just corner lots. Nothing above 60 cm for a distance of 3 metres on either side of the driveway limits.

In other words: if you have a driveway, you have a 60 cm zone on each side of it, even in the middle of a straight street. It is the most commonly missed rule in La Pêche.

Article 134 makes a fence, hedge or low wall mandatory in two situations:

• an industrial or commercial use on a lot adjoining a residential, institutional, public or community lot;
• an institutional, public or community use on a lot adjoining a residential one.

If your project is commercial and your neighbour is residential, the fence is not optional.

Article 136 is not decorative. A fence must be solidly anchored to the ground, vertically level, and uniformly assembled. Wood and metal must be painted, stained, coated or treated, with no rust, flaking or splitting.

And hedges count: dead or diseased elements must be removed and replaced with a new planting to fill the gap.

This section is longer here than on our other pages, because La Pêche's documents are actively being rewritten. We would rather say so.

• Whether a permit or certificate is required. The zoning by-law does not name fences among the works covered, and the works-declaration regime in by-law 119-2025 was amended in 2026. We will not publish an answer we cannot prove. Call the planning department, or let us do it.
• The zoning by-law's entry-into-force date. No document we consulted publishes it clearly.
• Which of two wordings is right. Article 131 says "hauteurs maximales", maximum heights. Articles 132 and 133 use exactly the same table but say "hauteurs minimale", minimum heights. That is the official text, quoted as it stands. Read literally, article 133 would require a commercial fence of at least 3 m, which makes no sense. We flag the contradiction instead of choosing for you.
• What a fence height is measured from. The by-law specifies it for the visibility triangle, natural ground level, but not for fence height.
• A pool enclosure height. That comes from the provincial regulation, not from La Pêche.

A caution on the version. Two amending by-laws, 113-001 and 113-003, both of 2026, are in force and are not incorporated into the consolidated document we read. Three others, 113-005, 113-006 and 113-007, are drafts that have not been adopted: do not rely on any figure taken from them. Confirm before ordering.

Verified on 18 September 2026 against the documents published by the Municipality of La Pêche.

• Zoning By-law no. 113-2025. Location and setbacks at article 130, heights at articles 131 to 133, mandatory fences at article 134, materials at article 135, maintenance at article 136. Driveway clearance at article 107, visibility triangle at article 108.
• By-law respecting permits and certificates no. 119-2025, and its amendment 119-001, adopted in 2026.

A by-law can be amended, and this one actively is. Confirm with the Municipality, or ask us to do it during the visit.