Crossing the line: Côte Saint-Luc landlord up in arms over city’s request to remove fence

Sorgente admits that he did not inquire about getting a permit before he started to build because he didn't know he would need one.

Giuseppe Sorgente’s new fence around his rental property in Montreal’s Côte Saint-Luc suburb is his pride and joy.

“Well, my brother built the pieces in Ottawa and I had to go pick them up,” he told Global News, so they were a gift.”

He assembled it about a month ago but there’s just one problem. City authorities have told him his fence is illegal.

“Now they’re telling me they want me to move the fence 18 feet (away from the sidewalk).”

According to him, Côte Saint-Luc authorities say that the fence is on city property, but he insists that his certificate of location indicates the fence is on his land. Sorgente admits that he did not inquire about getting a permit before he started to build because he didn’t know he would need one.

One reason that he thought his fence would be fine is that it connects to an older one at the back of the house which existed when he bought the property more than a decade ago, and which he claims the city hasn’t asked him to move.

Further confusing him, he says that city officials told him that a hedge or a brush would be acceptable.

Some neighbours think the fence does add curb appeal and are surprised by the city’s restriction.