Radium Hot Springs fence rules: permits and height limits
Do I need a permit to build a fence in Radium Hot Springs, and how high can it be?
Short answer
In Radium Hot Springs a fence can be 1.3 m high in a front yard and 2.0 m elsewhere on the parcel (most zones). The Village's Building Permit Guide lists fences as not needing a building permit, but zoning rules still apply. Barbed wire and razor wire are banned in most zones.
Key facts
| Permit | No building permit is needed for a fence (the Village's Building Permit Guide lists "Landscaping, sidewalks, fences" as exemptions). Retaining walls over 1.5 m (5 ft) need a permit. Zoning height limits still apply.Building Permit Guide, When do you need a building permit? Exemptions · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingLandscaping, sidewalks, fences. Construct retaining walls over 5 ft in height. |
|---|---|
| Height, front yard | 1.3 m (a fence, screen, wall or similar structure in a front yard). Applies in all zones except M1 and M2.Zoning Bylaw No. 528, 2026, s. 3.8.1 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingthe height of a Fence or Screen, wall, or similar Structure located in a front Yard shall not exceed 1.3 m in height |
| Height, side and rear yards | 2.0 m for a fence, screen or wall elsewhere on the parcel (all zones except M1 and M2). In industrial zones, 2.0 m anywhere on the parcel. Exception: where a rear and side parcel line meet in a residential zone, the front-yard part of the fence along the rear line is limited to 1.3 m.Zoning Bylaw No. 528, 2026, s. 3.8.1, 3.8.3 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingand the height of any Fence or Screen, wall or similar Structure elsewhere on the Parcel shall not exceed 2.0 m. shall not exceed 1.3m in height. |
| Corner lots and sightlines | On corner parcels (all zones except C1), nothing may block visibility by more than 60 cm in height within a triangle formed by the two parcel lines along the streets and a line joining points 6.0 m from where the lines meet. No parking area may be in the sight triangle.Zoning Bylaw No. 528, 2026, s. 3.15 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingno person shall obstruct the visibility at any intersection on corner Parcels by any means greater than 60 horizontal centimetres at a distance of 6.0 m from their point of intersection |
| Other rules | Barbed wire and razor wire are banned as fence or screen material in commercial, mixed-use, residential and public zones. A commercial or industrial parcel next to a residential zone needs an opaque fence or screen on the shared line. Fences and retaining walls may sit in a setback. Retaining structures over 1.5 m high need a building permit.Zoning Bylaw No. 528, 2026, s. 3.8.6, 3.8.5; Zoning Bylaw No. 528, 2026, Table 1; Building Permits · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingThe use of barbed wire or razor wire as a Fence or Screen material, and any related hardware, is prohibited the Parcel Line must include an opaque Fence or Screen around the f) Fence or Screen, and retaining walls Retaining structures over 1.5 metres in height |
| Bylaw | Village of Radium Hot Springs Zoning Bylaw No. 528, 2026, s. 3.8 (Fencing and Screening) and s. 3.15 (Visibility at Intersections).Zoning Bylaw No. 528, 2026, s. 3.8, 3.15 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wording3.8 Fencing and Screening 3.15 Visibility at Intersections |
How it works
Fence heights are set in s. 3.8 of the Zoning Bylaw No. 528. The limits apply in all zones except M1 and M2:
- Front yard: 1.3 m for a fence, screen, wall or similar structure.
- Elsewhere on the parcel: 2.0 m. In industrial zones, 2.0 m anywhere on the parcel.
- Exception: where a rear and a side parcel line meet in a residential zone, the front-yard part of the fence along the rear line is limited to 1.3 m.
The Village's Building Permit Guide lists "landscaping, sidewalks, fences" as work that does not need a building permit. Retaining walls over 1.5 m (5 ft) do need one. The zoning height limits still apply.
Steps
- Find your zone and parcel lines. See the zoning-lookup answer.
- Keep the fence within the height limits above.
- On a corner lot, check the visibility rule below.
- If the fence includes a retaining wall over 1.5 m, apply for a building permit. See the building-permit answer.
Good to know
- Corner lots (all zones except C1): nothing may block visibility by more than 60 cm in height within a triangle formed by the two parcel lines along the streets and a line joining points 6.0 m from where the lines meet. No parking area may be in the sight triangle.
- Barbed wire and razor wire are banned as fence or screen material in commercial, mixed-use, residential and public zones.
- A commercial or industrial parcel next to a residential zone needs an opaque fence or screen on the shared line.
- Fences and retaining walls may sit in a setback.
- No Village page or bylaw we read says in plain words that a fence needs, or does not need, a building permit; the Guide's list is the only statement. The bylaws we read do not set a method for measuring height or rules for pool fences. Ask Building and Development Services to confirm.
Official forms and pages
The same question in other places
Invermere · Canal Flats · Golden · Kaslo · Elkford · Kimberley
Sources
- Zoning Bylaw No. 528, 2026 (PDF) (read 2026-11-08)
- Building Permit Guide, Village of Radium Hot Springs (PDF) (read 2026-11-08)
- Building Permits, Village of Radium Hot Springs (read 2026-11-08)
- Building and Plumbing Bylaw No. 392, 2013 (PDF) (read 2026-11-08)
- Building and Development Services, Village of Radium Hot Springs (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.