Drake has been granted permission to have fences twice as high as otherwise permitted on the grounds of his still under construction Bridle Path mansion.

The city’s bylaws dictate that no residential fence can exceed two metres in height but on Monday the North York community council signed off on an exemption that will allow the rap superstar to have fences of up to 4.4 metres on his property.

In arguing for the change, a representative for Drake said that people are attempting to get into the property on a “daily and nightly” basis due to his client’s high profile.

He said that security concerns justify the above-guideline height.

“Everyone knows where he eats, where he sleeps, and that has really freaked him out,” Brad Rafauli, vice-president of the Ferris Rafauli Architectural Design Build Group, said. “Security is really, really high on the list.”

According to a staff report, the fence height along Drake’s front yard ranges from three metres to 4.2 metres while a 11.2 metre long “barrier wall” at the rear of the property reaches a height of 4.4 metres.

A lawyer for one of Drake’s neighbours did ask North York community council to turn down the application for the rear wall exemption on the grounds that it was a “eyesore” that could be “observed from almost every single room” of her client’s residence.

Community council, however, ultimately chose to grant the exemptions.

Following the meeting, Ward 15 Coun. Jaye Robinson told CTV News Toronto that any concerns about the fence heights were largely offset by the planting of 20-feet high cedar trees along the fence line.

“There was very little opposition,” she said. “There’s nothing lovelier than a whole row of beautiful trees, so we’re very impressed with the actual investment in trees on this particular property.”