Burnaby’s commercial and industrial landscape is as varied as the city itself. The technology and clean energy companies anchored around SFU and East Burnaby occupy a very different fencing environment than the heavy industrial operations along Big Bend and the Fraser River foreshore. The retail corridors and mixed-use developments reshaping Metrotown, Brentwood, and Lougheed have fencing requirements that differ from the media production facilities that make Burnaby a central hub for Hollywood North. And the institutional campuses of Simon Fraser University and BCIT generate a category of fencing demand that sits between commercial and municipal in its complexity and procurement requirements.
What all of these environments share is a consistent set of professional standards that they hold their contractors to. Security, compliance, durability, project management discipline, and accountability after the job is done are not negotiable in commercial fencing the way they sometimes are in residential work. This guide covers what Burnaby’s commercial and institutional clients need to know before engaging a fencing contractor.
Burnaby’s Commercial Fencing Landscape: Sector by Sector
Understanding the fencing context in Burnaby starts with understanding how different the city’s commercial sectors actually are from each other, because the right fencing solution for a technology campus in East Burnaby is genuinely different from what is right for a warehouse in the Big Bend industrial corridor or a retail development in Metrotown.
The Big Bend and Still Creek Industrial Corridors
Burnaby’s primary industrial zones along the Fraser River foreshore in Big Bend and along Still Creek represent the highest-security, highest-specification fencing environment in the city. Warehouse operations, distribution facilities, heavy manufacturing, and logistics companies in these corridors typically require galvanized chain link perimeter fencing in commercial-grade gauges, automated barrier gates for vehicle access control, barbed wire topping for restricted areas, and bollards for building and equipment protection.
The industrial corridors also present specific installation challenges. Sites in Big Bend frequently have large perimeters requiring significant fence runs, tight timelines driven by operational requirements, and access constraints that require efficient crew coordination. Projects in this environment benefit from a contractor with the commercial project management infrastructure to coordinate around the facility’s operating schedule rather than simply showing up and expecting the site to accommodate them.
Barbed wire and razor wire are permitted in Burnaby’s Employment and Industrial Districts, which covers most of the Big Bend and Still Creek zones. Confirming the specific zoning classification of your property is the first step for any commercial or industrial fencing project in Burnaby where these materials are part of the specification.
The Metrotown, Brentwood, and Lougheed Commercial Corridors
The rapid densification of Burnaby’s four SkyTrain-adjacent town centres is generating substantial commercial fencing demand across a range of property types. Mixed-use developments require garbage enclosures for residential and commercial waste streams. Retail properties need bollards for storefront protection and pedestrian zone management. Parking structures require guardrails, handrails, and vehicle access control systems. And the strata corporations managing the common areas of large multi-unit developments need perimeter fencing, secure entry gates, and amenity area enclosures that meet both the City of Burnaby’s requirements and their own strata bylaws.
For strata corporations managing commercial common areas in these town centres, fencing decisions are typically made through the depreciation report and capital expenditure process rather than on an ad-hoc basis. A fencing contractor who understands the strata context, who can provide the documentation and compliance assurance that a strata council needs before approving a project, and who can coordinate with the property manager rather than requiring the strata council to manage the process directly, is a meaningfully different partner than one who treats commercial strata work the same as a residential job.
Hollywood North: Film and Media Production
Burnaby is a central location for BC’s film and television production industry, with major studio facilities and production support operations throughout the city. Film production fencing is a specialist category that most commercial fencing contractors are not genuinely equipped to handle. It requires custom fabrication to specific scene requirements, rapid deployment and teardown on production schedules that do not accommodate standard contractor timelines, and the ability to work discreetly and efficiently within an active production environment.
Raybern Erectors has an established track record with Hollywood North productions, including major film and television projects shot across Metro Vancouver. If your Burnaby property or facility is involved in film or television production, or if you are a location manager or production coordinator looking for a fencing contractor with genuine on-set experience, our film production fencing page provides a full overview of what we bring to this specific application.
Technology and Corporate Campuses
The technology sector companies concentrated in East Burnaby and around SFU’s research and innovation corridor generate demand for professional commercial fencing that balances security requirements with the visual standards appropriate for a campus environment. Ornamental fencing, automated gate systems with keycard and intercom access control, bollards for parking area management, and custom handrails for elevated walkways and stairways are all common applications in this sector.
For institutional campuses like Simon Fraser University and BCIT, the procurement and compliance requirements are more formal than standard commercial projects and involve institutional purchasing processes, safety compliance documentation, and coordination with facilities management teams. Our work at SFU’s Burnaby campus reflects the level of professional discipline that institutional clients require and that we bring to every project of this type.
Commercial Fencing Compliance in Burnaby: What Businesses Need to Know
Commercial fencing in Burnaby involves a different compliance context than residential fencing, and several specific provisions are worth understanding before a project moves to specification.
Employment and Industrial District permissions. Burnaby’s Employment and Industrial Districts, which cover the Big Bend and Still Creek industrial areas, permit fencing materials and configurations that are not allowed in residential zones. Barbed wire and razor wire topping are permitted in these zones for appropriate commercial and industrial applications. Confirming your property’s specific zoning classification before specifying materials is the right starting point for any commercial fencing project in Burnaby.
Building permits for commercial fencing. Commercial and industrial fencing projects in Burnaby are more likely to require a building permit than standard residential installations, particularly for fences above standard height limits, automated gate systems, and any installation that requires structural engineering input. Your fencing contractor should advise on permit requirements during the consultation and should not be proposing to proceed with work that requires a permit without one in place.
Access control and security system compliance. Automated gate systems for commercial properties typically involve electrical work that requires a separate electrical permit. For properties where automated gates are integrated with broader security systems, cameras, or intercom and access control hardware, coordination with the relevant trades and permits is part of a professional project delivery. A contractor who treats the gate installation as complete without addressing the electrical and access control compliance dimension is leaving you with an incomplete project regardless of how good the gate itself is.
WorkSafeBC and COR certification for commercial sites. Commercial and industrial job sites in Burnaby operate under formal WorkSafeBC requirements that residential sites do not face to the same degree. A COR-certified fencing contractor brings a formal occupational health and safety management system to every commercial job site, which is not only the right practice but is increasingly a procurement requirement for commercial and institutional clients who have their own safety management obligations.
At Raybern Erectors, our COR certification covers every job site we work on, and our project managers are experienced navigating the safety coordination requirements of active commercial sites, including coordination with site supervisors, working around operating facilities, and meeting the documentation requirements of formal commercial procurement.
What Commercial Clients Should Look for in a Fencing Contractor
Commercial fencing projects have higher stakes than residential ones, and the qualities that separate a genuinely professional contractor from an adequate one show up more clearly in commercial work than anywhere else.
Dedicated project management. A commercial fencing project involving significant linear footage, multiple gate types, access control systems, and coordination around an operating facility is not a job that can be managed effectively by an owner-operator dividing their attention between your site and five others simultaneously. Dedicated project management, with a single point of contact who oversees your project from the first site assessment to the final sign-off, is the difference between a project that runs on schedule and one that creates operational disruption you did not expect.
In-house fabrication capability. Commercial and institutional projects frequently involve non-standard requirements: a gate opening that does not correspond to a catalogue size, a bollard specification that requires custom post sleeves, a handrail that needs to be designed around an existing structure. A contractor with an in-house fabrication shop can meet these requirements precisely and quickly. A contractor who outsources all fabrication is at the mercy of a third party’s timeline and quality control on every non-standard component.
Proven commercial project history. Ask specifically for examples of commercial projects similar to yours. A long list of residential installations is not meaningful evidence of commercial capability. A contractor who can point to industrial yard fencing, institutional campus work, strata common area installations, and automated gate projects with named clients and verifiable results is a contractor who has actually done this work.
COR certification. For commercial and institutional projects specifically, COR certification is not just a safety credential. It is increasingly a procurement prerequisite for projects involving municipalities, school boards, strata corporations with professional management, and institutional clients with their own safety management obligations. A contractor who cannot demonstrate COR certification may not be eligible to tender on these projects at all.
A written warranty with defined terms. Every commercial fencing installation should come with a written warranty covering both parts and labour for a defined period. Verbal assurances of standing behind the work are not enforceable and are not the standard that commercial clients should accept.
Commercial Fencing Applications in Burnaby: What We Install
Our commercial fencing work in Burnaby spans the full range of the city’s non-residential environments. The applications we most regularly deliver for Burnaby commercial and institutional clients include:
Perimeter security fencing for industrial yards, warehouse facilities, and commercial properties in Big Bend, Still Creek, and the employment lands throughout the city. Galvanized chain link in commercial gauges with appropriate post specifications, barbed wire or razor wire topping where permitted and required, and automated or manual access gates are the core of this application.
Automated gate systems for commercial facilities requiring controlled vehicle and pedestrian access. Swing, sliding, and cantilever configurations in manual and automated versions, with keypad, remote, intercom, and video-linked access control options depending on the security requirements of the specific site.
Bollards for retail storefronts, parking area perimeter management, building protection, and pedestrian zone definition across Burnaby’s commercial corridors. We supply and install through our partnership with Reliance Foundry and through our own in-house fabrication shop for custom specifications.
Guardrails and handrails for parking structures, loading docks, elevated walkways, commercial building exteriors, and any application requiring CSA-compliant safety infrastructure. Custom fabrication in galvanized steel, stainless steel, and powder-coated finishes.
Garbage enclosures for commercial properties, strata developments, and mixed-use buildings throughout the city. Corrugated metal ProGuard enclosures and galvanized chain link with privacy slats are our most common commercial enclosure solutions, built to meet the City of Burnaby’s sight-obscuring requirements and sized to accommodate the mandatory waste streams.
Ornamental and decorative fencing for corporate campuses, institutional properties, and commercial developments where visual character is as important as function. Custom-fabricated panels and gates from our in-house shop.
Soundproof barrier fencing for commercial properties adjacent to SkyTrain corridors, the Trans-Canada Highway, and other significant noise sources across the city. Acoustifence and Echotrol systems specified based on a site-specific acoustic assessment.
Sports and recreational facility fencing for Burnaby’s extensive parks network and for private athletic facilities. Chain link perimeters, backstops, player shelters, sports netting, and all associated infrastructure delivered through our turnkey sports facility service.
Why Raybern Erectors for Commercial Fencing in Burnaby
We have been installing commercial, industrial, and institutional fencing in Burnaby for over 60 years. Our project history in the city spans SFU’s Burnaby Mountain campus, the Big Bend industrial corridor, commercial privacy fencing installations in Burnaby’s business zones, and the municipal park network including Robert Burnaby Park. That depth of local commercial experience is not something a general fencing contractor without a Burnaby track record can replicate.
Our COR-certified safety program, our dedicated project management team, our in-house fabrication shop, and our established supplier relationships with Reliance Foundry for bollards and Idaho Cedar Sales for cedar products all contribute to a commercial fencing service that is genuinely equipped for the demands of Burnaby’s non-residential market.
Every commercial installation we complete is backed by a 1-year parts and labour warranty, delivered under dedicated project management, and carried out by our own trained employees rather than subcontracted crews.
Contact us today for a free site assessment and estimate on your Burnaby commercial fencing project.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, in Employment and Industrial Districts, which cover most of Burnaby’s industrial zones including Big Bend and Still Creek. These materials are not permitted in residential zones. Confirming your property’s specific zoning classification before specifying these materials is the right starting point for any industrial fencing project in Burnaby.
Commercial fencing projects are more likely to require a building permit than standard residential installations, particularly for fences above standard height limits, automated gate systems, and structurally engineered installations. Your fencing contractor should advise on permit requirements during the consultation stage. Automated gate systems also typically require a separate electrical permit for the wiring and access control components.
COR, or Certificate of Recognition, is a voluntary safety certification in BC that recognizes companies with formal, audited occupational health and safety management systems. For commercial and institutional projects, COR certification is increasingly a procurement prerequisite rather than a differentiator. Municipalities, school boards, strata corporations with professional property management, and institutional clients often require it from fencing contractors before they can be considered for a project.
Yes. Our dedicated project management team is specifically structured to coordinate around the operational requirements of active commercial facilities, including working around operating schedules, meeting formal site safety requirements, and delivering projects on timelines that minimize disruption to your business. Our project history in commercial and industrial environments across Burnaby and the Lower Mainland reflects this capability.
Yes. We work regularly with strata corporations and their property managers on common area fencing projects including perimeter fencing, garbage enclosures, gate systems, and parking area infrastructure. We understand the strata procurement and approval process and can provide the documentation and compliance assurance that strata councils need before approving a project.
Our Burnaby commercial project history includes work at Simon Fraser University, commercial chain link and privacy fencing installations in the city’s business corridors, split rail fencing at Robert Burnaby Park, and projects across Burnaby’s industrial zones. We are happy to discuss specific examples relevant to your project type during a consultation.
Yes. Raybern Erectors has an established track record with BC’s film and television production industry, including major productions shot across Metro Vancouver. We provide custom fabrication, temporary enclosures, and rapid deployment and teardown for production schedules. Our film production fencing page provides a full overview of this service.
Note: Bylaw and zoning information in this article reflects Burnaby’s regulations as understood in 2026. Zoning classifications and bylaw provisions change. Always confirm current requirements with the City of Burnaby’s planning and building departments before proceeding with a commercial fencing project.
Raybern Erectors has been installing commercial, industrial, and institutional fencing across Burnaby and the Lower Mainland since 1964. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation site assessment and estimate.
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