Fence laws in Avondale, Arizona
What the Avondale municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Avondale sets no rule of its own, the Arizona rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Avondale, Arizona, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A wall along an arterial or collector street in Avondale that runs more than a hundred and fifty continuous feet has to use a horizontal undulating pattern or an offset at intervals of no more than fifty feet, and that undulation has to be at least three feet deep parallel to the street line. The figure is 50 feet, for interval a long street wall has to undulate at.
- How tall
- A wall or fence in a required front yard building setback in Avondale stops at three feet six inches, single family included, and the answer turns on the yard, what the wall encloses, and whether the zoning administrator has approved more. The figure is 42 inches, for wall in a required front yard setback.
- Permits
- Avondale leaves the fence permit rule to the Single-Family Residential Design Manual for the City of Avondale.
- Pool barriers
- Arizona writes its pool fence rule straight into state law instead of leaving it to a code. The figure is 5 feet, for minimum height of the wall, fence or barrier enclosing a pool, measured on the outside face.
- Spite fences
- Avondale has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Avondale reads a wall or fence from the finished surface grade of the ground, paving or sidewalk where it will actually be located, so the reading follows the wall along its run and does not average or take the higher of two lots. The figure is 6 inches, for minimum finished thickness of a wall.
- Corner lots
- Arizona sets no clear view rule at a corner on a private lot. It reaches a public highway or airport, including a state highway, not a fence standing on private land only.
- Retaining walls
- Avondale leaves retaining walls to county boards of supervisors and city and town councils, each of which adopts a national model building code of its own choosing.
- Materials
- Every wall in Avondale has to use at least two different types of material or treatment, and no more than two without the zoning administrator approving, with color and texture variation counting as a change and a fully veneered wall able to be excluded, and the answer turns on what the wall is, where it stands and what it is made of. The figure is 6 feet, for lowest point temporary barbed wire may sit at.
- Livestock
- Arizona says exactly how to build a lawful fence. The figure is 50 inches, for height of the top wire on a lawful fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Avondale?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Avondale answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A wall along an arterial or collector street in Avondale that runs more than a hundred and fifty continuous feet has to use a horizontal undulating pattern or an offset at intervals of no more than fifty feet, and that undulation has to be at least three feet deep parallel to the street line. Separately the code requires frequent breaks in perimeter walls so people can walk through to adjacent streets and developments, and says those breaks should line up with the adjacent developments, open spaces and pathways where possible. Where a wall is built as an enclosure a gate of equal height is required, opaque and metal and compatible with the buildings. Where an owner wants to extend an existing wall that does not meet the current rules, the zoning administrator may approve a design consistent with the original.
All walls along arterial or collector streets, with a continuous length greater than one hundred fifty (150) feet shall use a horizontal undulating pattern or offset at minimum intervals of fifty (50) feet to provide variety and visual interest. The undulation/offset depth parallel to the street line shall be a minimum of three (3) feet.
28-297(b)(4)(A), (b)(7), (b)(10) and (b)(11)
50 ftinterval a long street wall has to undulate at
Also on fences on the property line in Avondale
- no rule, documents checkedArizona has no law splitting the cost of a fence on a boundary between neighbors. Arizona is an open range state, so the fence law in Title 3 is about keeping livestock out and about what is owed when animals break through. Title 33, the property title, has no fence chapter at all. Two neighbors settle the cost themselves, or a city rule covers it. A.R.S. Title 3Arizona · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Avondale?
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Avondale answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, what the wall encloses, and whether the zoning administrator has approved more.
A wall or fence in a required front yard building setback in Avondale stops at three feet six inches, single family included. The zoning administrator may approve more, capped at six feet, and the owner has to demonstrate that line of sight surveillance to the street will be maintained by incorporating openings, providing transparent materials or varying the height and materials. Two screening walls are minimums rather than maximums. An outdoor storage area for materials, vehicles, trailers, equipment or trash has to be enclosed by masonry or concrete with an opaque metal gate, at least eight feet and no more than ten. Service bays, loading docks, delivery and refuse areas are screened from street view by at least six feet of concrete or masonry unit wall. A vinyl coated chain link fence around a sport court may exceed the height limit in a rear or side yard with the zoning administrator approving.
Walls or fences located in a required front yard building setback, including walls for single-family dwellings, shall be three (3) feet six (6) inches maximum in height. An increase in the maximum height may be permitted subject to review and approval by the zoning administrator or authorized designee. Notwithstanding this authority, the maximum height that may be approved is six (6) feet.
28-297(b)(8), (c)(2), and 28-297(h) and (i)
The answer turns on the yard, what the wall encloses, and whether the zoning administrator has approved more.
- a required front yard building setback
- Three feet six inches. 42 in
- a front yard wall the zoning administrator has approved
- Six feet, with line of sight surveillance to the street kept. 6 ft
- an outdoor storage area
- Between eight and ten feet of masonry with an opaque metal gate. 8 ft
- a service bay, loading dock or refuse area
- At least six feet of concrete or masonry. 6 ft
Also on fence height in Avondale
- no rule, documents checkedArizona sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. City, town or county zoning sets it, and there is no statewide building code behind that. State law has two fence heights and neither is a cap: the five foot pool fence in Title 36, which is about pool safety, and the six foot line in A.R.S. 11-861(G)(2), which only marks when a fence counts as a side structure for a county fire code rule. A.R.S. Title 3Arizona · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Avondale?
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Avondale does not set this. It leaves it to the Single-Family Residential Design Manual for the City of Avondale.
The Avondale zoning ordinance sets height, thickness, material and articulation for walls, and then hands the design of a single family wall to a separate document: every wall and fence for single family residential development has to meet or exceed the guidelines in the Single-Family Residential Design Manual for the City of Avondale. Commercial, employment and multi-family projects are sent to the applicable design manual for their own category in the same way. So the numbers are in the code and the design standards a builder has to satisfy are published and revised outside it, which means the ordinance alone does not answer what a wall in an Avondale subdivision is allowed to look like.
All walls and fences for single-family residential development shall meet or exceed the guidelines set forth in the Single-Family Residential Design Manual for the City of Avondale.
The code hands this to the Single-Family Residential Design Manual for the City of Avondale, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on permits in Avondale
- set in state lawArizona has no statewide building code and gives the job to the counties. In a county that has zoning, the board of supervisors may adopt and enforce a building code for the zoned areas outside any city, and may leave out areas zoned rural or unclassified. The code has to be adopted by reference after notice and hearings before the county planning and zoning commission and the board. The choice is limited too: a building, electrical, plumbing or mechanical code from a national code group, or the one the largest city in the county already uses. A.R.S. § 11-861(A)Arizona · Statute
- set in state lawCities and towns get the same power under a separate law. An Arizona city may adopt an existing code by reference without printing the code itself, as long as the ordinance doing it is published in full. At least three paper copies, or one paper and one electronic copy, stay on file with the city clerk for anyone to look at. So the fence permit rule in Arizona is whichever code the city or town picked. A.R.S. § 9-802Arizona · Statute
- set in state lawArizona law puts a number on an ordinary fence in exactly one place, and it is in the same county statute. A county fire code cannot make a small side building or structure put in fire sprinklers by way of a fire truck access road rule. The list of what counts as one of those side structures names a fence more than six feet high, next to barns, carports, sheds and walls that hold back earth. Six feet is not a cap on fence height. It is the line above which a fence counts as a structure for that one fire code rule. A.R.S. § 11-861(G)(2)Arizona · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Avondale
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Arizona answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Arizona writes its pool fence rule straight into state law instead of leaving it to a code. A pool or other held body of water at least eighteen inches deep and wider than eight feet gets a fence at least five feet high, measured on the outside face of the wall, fence or barrier. Gates close and latch by themselves, the latch sits at least fifty four inches above the ground, and the gate opens away from the pool.
This one is Arizona law, not Avondale law. All Arizona findings
Be entirely enclosed by at least a five foot wall, fence or other barrier as measured on the exterior side of the wall, fence or barrier.
5 ftminimum height of the wall, fence or barrier enclosing a pool, measured on the outside face
Spite fence laws in Avondale
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Avondale law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Arizona has no spite fence law. The fence sections in Title 3 are about livestock and no fence districts, and Title 33 has no fence rules in it. Neither one sets a height that turns a fence into a nuisance, and neither one says anything about a fence put up to annoy a neighbor.
This one is Arizona law, not Avondale law. All Arizona findings
Documents read before writing that:
- A.R.S. Title 3Arizona State Legislature
- A.R.S. Title 33Arizona State Legislature
How fence height is measured in Avondale
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Avondale answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Avondale reads a wall or fence from the finished surface grade of the ground, paving or sidewalk where it will actually be located, so the reading follows the wall along its run and does not average or take the higher of two lots. One wall in the code is measured differently, and it is the one facing the public: an outdoor storage enclosure is measured from the adjacent finished surface grade or the street curb, whichever is higher, which stops a storage yard wall from being built into a dip and reading as eight feet while presenting less than that to the street. The code also sets a dimension almost no other city states, a minimum finished wall thickness of six inches.
The maximum height of any wall or fence shall be measured from the finished surface grade of the ground, paving or sidewalk where the wall or fence will be located.
6 inminimum finished thickness of a wall
Also on how height is measured in Avondale
- set in state lawArizona names a starting point in the one place it gives fence sizes. Section 3-1426 describes a lawful fence on open range and puts the top barbed wire fifty inches above the ground, with the other wires spaced down from it. The ground is the starting point and the law says so. That rule is there to turn livestock, not to size a fence at a house. Section 9-462.01 lets a city set the height of structures, so a fence at a house is a city matter and the city picks the surface to measure from. A.R.S. 3-1426(A)Arizona · Statute
Fence rules for corner lots in Avondale
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Arizona answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Arizona sets no clear view rule at a corner on a private lot. What Title 28, Chapter 20 does is make it a petty offense to place or keep anything blocking a public highway. Section 28-7053 covers a structure or object of any kind placed in, under or over part of the road, which is wide enough to catch a fence. Section 28-7054 sets the notice and removal steps. The rule stops at the edge of the public road. Height and setback on the lot behind it come from city and county zoning under sections 9-462.01 and 11-812.
This one is Arizona law, not Avondale law. All Arizona findings
Places or maintains an encroachment or obstruction on, makes any use of or otherwise occupies a public highway or airport of this state or any of its political subdivisions for any purpose other than for authorized public travel, communication, transportation or transmission, except as otherwise provided in this section.
Retaining wall rules in Avondale
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Avondale does not set this. It leaves it to county boards of supervisors and city and town councils, each of which adopts a national model building code of its own choosing.
Arizona has no statewide building code, so it has no state rule for a wall that holds back earth. Section 11-861 lets a county board of supervisors adopt a building code for the parts of a zoned county outside any city. The choice is limited to a code from a national code writing group, or the code the largest city in that county already uses. The height at which a wall of that kind needs a permit comes from whichever code the county or city picked.
This one is Arizona law, not Avondale law. All Arizona findings
In any county that has adopted zoning pursuant to this chapter, the board of supervisors may adopt and enforce, for the unincorporated areas of the county so zoned, a building code and other related codes to regulate the quality, type of material and workmanship of all aspects of construction of buildings or structures
The code hands this to county boards of supervisors and city and town councils, each of which adopts a national model building code of its own choosing, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Avondale
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Avondale answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the wall is, where it stands and what it is made of.
Every wall in Avondale has to use at least two different types of material or treatment, and no more than two without the zoning administrator approving, with color and texture variation counting as a change and a fully veneered wall able to be excluded. Wall materials are six or eight inch cast in place concrete, precast concrete block, natural stone or similar solid durable material, and they have to complement the primary building. Split faced, scored and similar decorative block may not be stuccoed. Vinyl coated chain link is confined to single family residential lots and recreational sport courts and its coating has to be black, dark brown or dark green. Galvanized chain link is prohibited except on construction sites and at approved seasonal sales. Barbed wire is prohibited except on a temporary construction site at six feet or more above grade, and a certificate of occupancy is withheld if it is still there at final inspection.
The use of vinyl-coated chain-link fencing is restricted to single-family residential lots and recreational sport courts (i.e. tennis, basketball, volleyball, etc.). The height limitation may be exceeded when fencing is built around sports courts along the rear and side yards only and by approval of the zoning administrator or authorized designee. Vinyl coating for fencing shall be black, dark brown or dark green. Galvanized chain-link fencing is prohibited except on construction sites and locations of approved seasonal sales uses.
28-297(b)(4), (b)(8) and (b)(9)
The answer turns on what the wall is, where it stands and what it is made of.
- any wall on a site
- At least two materials or treatments, and no more than two without approval.
- vinyl coated chain link
- Single family lots and sport courts only, in black, dark brown or dark green.
- galvanized chain link
- Prohibited except on a construction site or at approved seasonal sales.
- barbed wire
- Temporary construction only, at six feet or more above grade. 6 ft
Also on materials in Avondale
- set in state lawArizona describes a lawful fence by its wire. It takes solid posts no more than thirty feet apart with at least four tight barbed wires on them. A fence built some other way still counts when it is as strong and turns livestock as well. A.R.S. 3-1426Arizona · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Avondale
Compare agricultural fencing across all 50 states
Arizona answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Arizona says exactly how to build a lawful fence. Posts go in the ground no more than thirty feet apart. At least four barbed wires are stretched tight and tied to those posts. The top wire sits fifty inches above the ground, and the other three sit twelve, twenty two and thirty two inches below it. Posts set more than one rod apart need stays no more than seven and a half feet from each other. Any other fence just as strong and just as good at turning livestock counts too.
This one is Arizona law, not Avondale law. All Arizona findings
A fence shall be deemed a lawful fence when it is constructed and maintained with good and substantial posts firmly placed in the ground at intervals of not more than thirty feet, upon which posts are strung and fastened at least four barbed wires of the usual type tightly stretched and secured to the posts and spaced so that the top wire is fifty inches above the ground
50 inheight of the top wire on a lawful fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Avondale
- set in state lawArizona is a fence out state. The landowner who wants animals kept off builds the fence, not the animal owner, and nothing is owed for a trespassing animal unless the land was already ringed by a lawful fence. A no fence district is the exception. Inside one, Section 3-1424 makes the person in charge of the livestock pay the damage and guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor for letting them run loose. A.R.S. 3-1427Arizona · Statute
Documents behind this page
9 documents, of which 1 was published by Avondale itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Arizona State LegislatureArizona Revised Statutes, Title 3, Agriculture, full title listing
- Arizona State LegislatureArizona Revised Statutes, Title 33, Property, full title listing
- City of AvondaleCode of Ordinances, Chapter 28, Zoning Ordinance, Article 12, Landscape, Walls and Fences, Section 28-297, Walls and fences
- Arizona State LegislatureArizona Revised Statutes, Title 11, Chapter 6, Section 11-861, Adoption of codes by reference
- Arizona State LegislatureArizona Revised Statutes, Title 9, Chapter 6, Section 9-802, Procedure for adoption by reference
- Arizona State LegislatureArizona Revised Statutes, Title 36, Chapter 15, Article 5, Section 36-1681, Pools; enclosures; safety features
- Arizona State LegislatureArizona Revised Statutes, Title 3, Section 3-1426, Lawful fence defined
- Arizona State LegislatureArizona Revised Statutes, Title 28, Chapter 20, Section 28-7053, Misuse of public highway or airport; violation; classification; injunction; definition
- Arizona State LegislatureArizona Revised Statutes, Title 3, Chapter 11, Article 4
What this page does not cover
A city ordinance is not the only rule that reaches a fence. The zoning district a parcel sits in can change the height allowed on it, and so can an overlay district, a recorded easement, a fire hazard severity zone or a coastal zone. A homeowner association can be stricter than the city and nothing in the municipal code will say so. None of those appear here.
The rules above are the ones Avondale publishes, plus the Arizona rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Arizona has the state layer in full.
This is general information drawn from published government documents. It is not legal advice, ordinances are amended, and the date beside each finding is the date the document was read. How findings are made · What the terms mean