Gardeners in Okotoks are being given options to protect their plants for 2021.
After hearing from members of the Okotoks Garden Club and Urban Deer Task Force, Town council has agreed to launch a pilot program that will permit fence extensions to deter deer from private yards.
The pilot program will permit residents to construct easily removable extensions to existing fences up to a height of 2.3 metres, using materials such as animal netting, twine or fishing line strung between metal posts such as rebar pieces, or garden edging provided it does not have spikes on the top that could cause injury to the deer.
Chris Mills, who represents both the garden club and the deer task force, spoke in favour of such allowances at the April 12 council meeting.
“The issue of allowing effective deer-proof fencing is one of the single most important elements of any long-term management regime dealing with the deer in Okotoks,” said Mills. “The ability to create effective deer-proof fencing is relatively uncontroversial, it’s not going to cost the Town very much.”
He said permitting fence extensions allow gardeners to protect their hard work, and is a simple solution that could reduce some of the animosity between those who love or despise the town’s four-legged creatures.
There is also an impact on the amount of food deer can access, he said.
“If you can reduce the access that the deer have to what is basically an artificial food supply, the food that’s available from people, and force them back to their natural food supply, it’s one of the most effective ways of limiting the deer numbers,” said Mills.
He suggested the pilot program could potentially influence some of the recommendations that come out of the task force’s final report, expected this spring. Outcomes from allowing temporary fence extensions will be taken into consideration, he said.
It has already been successful for some people in Okotoks, though to-date the lines strung between rebar to essentially raise the height of their four-foot chain link fence are illegally mounted because they contravene the land-use bylaw and restrictive covenants of the Town, he said.
Colin Gainer, senior planner for the Town of Okotoks, said currently the height limit for backyard fences is two metres, and front yards are limited to one metre.
“The intent there is generally to allow the privacy of the rear yard and have more of an open, semi-private feel to the frontyard,” said Gainer.
To maintain sightlines at intersections, fencing on corner lots has a maximum of 0.75 metres, he said.
However, those backing onto open spaces or adjacent to pathways are required to have 1.2-metre, or four-foot, chain link fencing. The practice has been in place since 1998, he said.
“The idea was that you have fences that would define the backyard and declare what’s private property, but have that kind of open feel to the corridor,” said Gainer.
Restrictive covenants were registered to new neighbourhoods through the subdivision process, he said, with a caveat that prevents any parallel fence from being restricted or modifications to the existing chain link fencing, with the exception of gates being permitted in some cases.
“That was really put in place at a time when there wasn’t a concern with the deer,” said Gainer.
He said the pilot program would mean non-enforcement of the land-use bylaw and restrictive covenants during the 2021 growing season.
Coun. Ed Sands said he was pleased to see the Town taking a step toward mitigating concerns with deer in private yards.
“This has been a hot-button issue for many, many years and I think we’re working toward a solution here,” he said. “This is not a deer cull or anything like that, and it allows individuals to protect their yards if they wish.
“It’s certainly a good thing we’re moving ahead on something and folks who want to protect their yards from deer and want to have exotic plants that are generally deer food, they are offered some protection.”
