Street walls and front fences under the R-Codes

Which part of the R-Codes applies

Clause 5.2.4 sits in Part B, which covers every single house with an R-Code of R40 or lower, grouped dwellings at R25 or lower, and multiple dwellings where the coding is between R10 and R25. Part C covers single houses at R50 or higher, grouped dwellings where the coding is R30 or higher, and multiple dwellings coded between R30 and R60, and it has its own provision for street walls and fences, C3.6.7: a fence or wall in the primary street setback area no higher than 1.8 m, and visually permeable above 1.2 m, each height taken from natural ground level on the fence’s primary street side; Table 2.10a lowers street fences to 900 mm for housing on lots under 100 m² coded R100-SL.

Each element of the Codes offers two pathways. The deemed-to-comply provisions are the straightforward way to show a proposal meets the Codes’ objectives and design principles. Where a proposal does not meet one, the design principle pathway is a merit-based alternative, and the applicant should justify how the design principle is met. A proposal that is deemed-to-comply does not need to be advertised to adjoining owners and occupiers.

Clause 5.2.4, part by part

Design principle P4

Front fences kept low, or limited in height, so that they allow passive surveillance (clause 5.2.3) and enhance the streetscape (clause 5.1.2). The principle gives appropriate consideration to two needs, both where the street is designated a primary or district distributor or integrator arterial: reducing traffic impacts, and necessary privacy or noise screening for outdoor living areas.

Deemed-to-comply C4.1

A front fence in the primary street setback area meets C4.1 if, above a height of 1.2 m taken from natural ground level on its primary street side, it is visually permeable.

Deemed-to-comply C4.2

Solid pillars that form part of a front fence, no more than 1.8 m above natural ground level, provided each is no more than 400 mm by 400 mm across and visually permeable fencing that meets C4.1 runs between them.

1. The 1.2 m line, taken from natural ground level on the fence’s primary street side: above it the fence is visually permeable (C4.1).
2. Solid pillars no more than 1.8 m above natural ground level (C4.2).
3. Each pillar no more than 400 mm by 400 mm across (C4.2).
4. Visually permeable fencing between the pillars, in line with C4.1 (C4.2).
5. Natural ground level, which C4.1 measures from the primary street side of the fence.

The words that decide it

Visually permeable

For a wall, gate, door, screen or fence, a vertical surface that, seen straight on from the street or another public space, has continuous vertical or horizontal gaps 50 mm or wider making up at least a third of the total surface area; or continuous gaps narrower than 50 mm making up at least half of it in total; or a surface that blocks the view no more than either.

Natural ground level

The levels on a site before the proposed development, leaving out any site works unless the decision-maker approved them or they were set when the land was subdivided before development.

Street setback area

The ground between the street boundary and a building, up to the street setback line; a retaining wall does not count as the building.

Primary street

Unless the local government designates another, the only or main public road giving access to the major entry, the front door, of the dwelling or building.

Sightlines at the driveway

The next clause, 5.2.5, asks for clear sightlines at vehicle access points, so that footpaths, crossovers, streets, rights-of-way, communal streets and vehicle access ways stay safe and visible. Its deemed-to-comply provision has walls, fences and other structures cut back or lowered to no higher than 0.75 m within 1.5 m of where they meet a driveway crossing a street, right-of-way or communal street; a right-of-way or communal street meeting a public street; and the corner where two streets meet.

Councils’ own street-setback rules

Some Perth councils’ fencing local laws also speak to fences near the street. Each rule is its own council’s:

• Shire of Kalamunda, 2016 (clause 3.1): no one may put up, without the Shire’s approval, “a fence greater than 1800mm in height, or a fence that is not visually permeable for a minimum height of 1.2m” in the street setback area of a Residential Lot. The Shire may approve a fence over 1800 mm there only if it is angled into the lot on each side of the driveway, at least 1500 mm each way, to give drivers splayed lines of sight, unless the fence is open enough not to block their view or does not adjoin a footpath.
• City of Armadale, 2011 (clause 3.1): on a Residential Lot a fence in the street setback area must be visually permeable above 1200 mm and no higher than 1800 mm, and every fence must be cut back or lowered to no more than 750 mm within 1500 mm of the point where a driveway joins a public street and of a corner where two streets meet, unless it is visually permeable and does not block a driver’s view.
• City of Canning, 2021 (Schedule 2): a sufficient fence on a residential lot may be no higher than 1200 mm in the front setback area without the City’s written approval. Canning’s law also says that where it and a local planning scheme are inconsistent, the scheme prevails.

A development application is needed where a local planning scheme requires one, and a local planning scheme can call for development approval of a single house even where the R-Codes would not. Whether a front fence also needs a building permit is a separate question, taken up on the building permit sheet; each council’s sufficient fence is compared on the council fencing local laws sheet.