BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report

In what could signal the conclusion of a more-than-10-year battle over a fence in the Town of Hudson, the homeowner at the centre of the standoff will be acquiescing to the municipality’s rules and reducing the height of the wooden fence at the front of his property on Côte St. Charles on Friday.

“I am not happy about it,” said homeowner Trevor Smith in an interview with The 1019 Report yesterday.

But one question remains: Will reducing the height of the fence be acceptable to the town?

As of yesterday afternoon, the answer to that question was still not clear.

In an interview yesterday morning, Smith said he notified the town by email that he will have two feet removed from the top of his six-foot wooden fence that runs the width of his property in front of his house on Côte St. Charles. He said he informed the town of his pending actions after being notified that his latest attempt to challenge a court order that allows the town to remove his fence because it contravenes the municipality’s bylaws had failed.

According to the town’s regulations, the height of a fence in front yards of residential properties cannot be more than four feet high.

Last September, council also denied a derogation request by Smith that would permit him to keep his six-foot fence.

But despite Smith’s claim that he notified the town by email of his intention to lower the height of his fence by email, Mayor Chloe Hutchison said yesterday that she was not aware of any correspondence from Smith.

Asked whether reducing the height of the structure would be acceptable to the town, Hutchison said yesterday afternoon that it would be up to municipal officials at town hall to determine. Attempts by The 1019 Report to contact officials with the municipality yesterday failed to solicit a response.

When asked if the move would be acceptable to her, Hutichson did not answer.

After Monday evening’s council meeting the mayor said Smith had been given until Friday to remove the fence.

“We have asked him to remove it,” Hutchison said, stating that the structure will be removed by Friday. “We would like Trevor Smith to remove it himself.”

A source familiar with the situation said the town had arranged to have a contractor remove the fence by the end of the week if necessary, and that the Sûreté du Québec would be on hand to ensure that the removal would be carried out peacefully.

Meanwhile, Smith said he plans to continue with a separate court action against the town to seek damages for what he called “discrimination and malicious intent.”

The ongoing battle, which began shortly after Smith erected the fence in 2014 without obtaining the proper permit and in contravention of the town’s regulations, has been the focus ongoing litigation before the courts and other quasi-judicial bodies, including a complaint filed with the Quebec Municipal Commission last year, in which Smith claimed that when the structure was installed, no permit was required by the town to build a fence.