Can I put a gate across my driveway in Kanata?

Yes, you can put a gate across your driveway in Kanata, but the height and placement rules depend on where the gate sits relative to the street.

The City of Ottawa Fence By-law, as published on ottawa.ca, sets the height limit for a fence in a front yard at 1 m. A gate is part of the fence, so if your driveway gate sits in the front yard, meaning between the street and the nearest point of your house, it must stay within that 1 m limit. The 30 cm gate allowance that lets a gate exceed the fence height by up to 30 cm applies in side and rear yards only. A front-yard driveway gate does not get that extra 30 cm.

If the gate is set back far enough to be in a side yard rather than the front yard, the fence height limit rises to 213 cm (about 7 feet), and the gate may then reach up to 30 cm above that, with an archway forming part of the entrance allowed up to 250 cm.

There is also a visibility triangle to keep in mind on every lot, regardless of whether it is a corner. The Fence By-law says no fence or gate may exceed 75 cm within the triangle formed by measuring 2 m along the lot line and 2 m along the driveway from where the driveway meets the lot line at the street.

A few things to confirm before work starts:

• Where exactly your front lot line sits. The City's Landscaping Education Guide notes the road allowance can be wider than it looks, and geoOttawa shows approximate property lines. A gate must not be on City property.
• Whether your property is on a corner lot, which adds a second triangle under the Fence By-law (75 cm within 3 m of the corner) and a zoning sight triangle under Zoning By-law 2008-250, section 57 (solid obstructions over 0.75 m within 6 m of the corner). On a corner lot, confirm the layout with the City.

Published 2025-26 Ontario installer pricing puts a driveway gate at roughly $800 to $2,200, priced on top of the fence run itself. Ask for the gate width, material and posts to be listed in the quote.

When you get a written quote, ask the installer to show the gate, its posts and all hardware as a separate line item, so you can see exactly what the gate portion costs before you agree to anything.