Be prepared to give your shrubbery a hair cut.
City hall staff are recommending shrubs and hedges at corners or at the end of driveways be chopped to just under three feet.
Councillors are considering the changes under the city’s fence bylaw.
The bylaw would also outlaw tall fences in the site lines of a corner or driveway.
Shrubs planted before 2008 have been OK up until now, as they were grandfathered in, but the new proposal would change that allowance.
There are many hedges all over the city that wouldn’t be in compliance.
Orest Katolyk, the city’s manager of bylaw enforcement, said fines for fence bylaw violations are rare.
He said safety is always key when enforcing bylaws.
“For the purposes of health and safety, cut it down to two to three feet. That way, when you’re backing out of your driveway, you’ll see the children on the sidewalk,” Katolyk says.
Homeowners could face a fine of $175 if their hedges aren’t short enough.
