Nakusp fence rules: permits and height limits
Do I need a permit to build a fence in Nakusp, and how high can it be?
Short answer
In Nakusp, no building permit is needed for a fence, but it must follow the Zoning Bylaw. The limit is 2.13 m (7 ft) in front, side and back yards, and 1 m within the corner sight triangle.
Key facts
| Permit | No building permit is needed for a fence (RDCK brochure). The fence must meet the zoning height limits. The bylaws read name no fence permit.RDCK Building Brochure, March 2024, p. 3 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingFences (fence height must comply with Regional |
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| Height, front yard | 2.13 m (7 ft) maximum. The same limit applies in front, side and back yards, with a 1 m limit within the corner sight triangle.Zoning Bylaw No. 729, 2023, s. 3.3.1 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingNo fence shall exceed 2.13 m (7 ft) in height in an interior side yard, exterior side yard, front yard, and back yard. |
| Height, side and rear yards | 2.13 m (7 ft) maximum in interior side, exterior side and back yards.Zoning Bylaw No. 729, 2023, s. 3.3.1 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingNo fence shall exceed 2.13 m (7 ft) in height in an interior side yard, exterior side yard, front yard, and back yard. |
| Corner lots and sightlines | On corner parcels, fences within the sight triangle may be no higher than 1 m. In all zones no fence, landscaping, retaining wall or other obstruction may be higher than 1.0 m above the centre of the intersection within 6.0 m of the parcel corner.Zoning Bylaw No. 729, 2023, s. 3.3.1, 3.4.1 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingFences on corner Parcels within a sight triangle as described in Section 3.4.1 of this Bylaw shall not exceed 1m in height. no fence, landscaping, retaining wall, or other obstruction shall be erected or permitted at a height greater than 1.0 metre above the established |
| Other rules | Hedges and rows of trees or shrubs count as fences. Retaining walls are not fences, but the part of a retaining wall above the ground it holds counts as screening. Screening and landscape buffers are measured from finished grade. Swimming pools may not be in a front yard or within 3 m of any property line.Zoning Bylaw No. 729, 2023, Definition of FENCE; s. 3.22.3-3.22.4; s. 3.8.4 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingFENCE means a constructed structure, or contiguous barrier composed of trees, shrubs, or Any portion of a retaining wall projecting above the surface of the ground which it supports is considered as a The height of screening and landscape buffers is determined by measurement Swimming pools must not be constructed within any front yard or within 3 m to any |
| Bylaw | Zoning Bylaw No. 729, 2023, s. 3.3 and 3.4 (consolidated November 2024)Zoning Bylaw No. 729, 2023, Title; Zoning Bylaw No. 729, 2023, s. 3.3, 3.4 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingZoning Bylaw No. 729, 2023 Consolidated November 2024 3.3 Height of Fences 3.4 Visibility at Intersections |
How it works
Under the Village's Zoning Bylaw No. 729, a fence may be no higher than 2.13 m (7 ft) in front, interior side, exterior side and back yards. The RDCK brochure says a fence does not need a building permit, but its height must comply with the zoning rules, and the bylaw names no fence permit.
Good to know
- Corner lots: within the sight triangle a fence may be no higher than 1 m. In all zones, nothing (fence, landscaping, retaining wall or other obstruction) may be higher than 1.0 m above the centre of the intersection within 6.0 m of the parcel corner.
- Hedges and rows of trees or shrubs count as fences. A retaining wall is not a fence, but the part above the ground it holds counts as screening.
- Swimming pools may not be in a front yard or within 3 m of any property line. Pool fencing falls under the RDCK Building Bylaw No. 2200.
- A fence over 2.13 m is a $400 bylaw notice.
- The bylaw does not mention barbed wire or electric fences. Ask the Village Office if you plan one.
Official forms and pages
The same question in other places
New Denver · Silverton · Slocan · Kaslo · Revelstoke · Lumby
Sources
- Zoning Bylaw No. 729, 2023, Village of Nakusp (consolidated November 2024) (read 2026-11-08)
- RDCK Building Brochure, March 2024 (PDF) (read 2026-11-08)
- Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw, Village of Nakusp (read 2026-11-08)
Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 6 facts was matched to the official text. How answers are checked.