Fence laws in Casa Grande, Arizona
What the Casa Grande municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Casa Grande sets no rule of its own, the Arizona rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Casa Grande, Arizona, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A fence, wall or hedge in a Casa Grande side yard that runs parallel or roughly parallel to the front line of the building or mobile home has to come back at least five feet from that front line, so the side yard fence starts behind the face of the house rather than level with it. The figure is 5 feet, for setback from the front line of the house.
- How tall
- Casa Grande caps a residential fence or wall at six feet anywhere in the city zoned residential, and the answer turns on the district, the yard, and what the lot next door presents. The figure is 6 feet, for fence on residential land.
- Permits
- Casa Grande does not set a general fence permit in its fence article.
- 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
- Casa Grande has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Casa Grande gives three different measuring rules and lets the last one be chosen by agreement, and the answer turns on which yard the fence is in, and whether the two owners have agreed in writing.
- Corner lots
- Casa Grande measures its corner triangle from the projected curbing lines rather than from the property lines, running forty feet along one curb line and forty along the other, and nothing over thirty inches above the street center line grade may stand inside it, and the answer turns on whether the fence stands at a street corner or at a driveway or alley. The figure is 40 feet, for triangle leg measured along the curb line.
- Retaining walls
- Casa Grande 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
- Casa Grande sets two conditions on wire fencing wherever it is permitted: the barbed ends may not be at the top, except in the industrial districts, and the wire has to be at least 11 gauge or comparable, and the answer turns on the material and the zoning district.
- 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 Casa Grande?
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Casa Grande answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A fence, wall or hedge in a Casa Grande side yard that runs parallel or roughly parallel to the front line of the building or mobile home has to come back at least five feet from that front line, so the side yard fence starts behind the face of the house rather than level with it. The code also requires a way through. Where a fence encloses a lot so that the front yard cannot be reached from the rear, a gate, an identifiable collapsible section of fence, or another recognizable means of entry has to be installed, kept unobstructed and made at least three feet wide, and it may go anywhere along the line parallel to the front lot line between the side property line and the principal structure. A fence may sit on the division line itself only where the adjoining owner agrees in writing.
Fences, walls, or hedges which are erected in any side yard and which run parallel or approximately parallel to the front line of a building or mobile home shall be set back from the front line of the building or mobile home a minimum of five feet;
17.52.140 and 17.52.160.B and D
5 ftsetback from the front line of the house
Also on fences on the property line in Casa Grande
- 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 Casa Grande?
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Casa Grande answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the yard, and what the lot next door presents.
Casa Grande caps a residential fence or wall at six feet anywhere in the city zoned residential. The front yard is handled by the posts rather than by the panel: no fence or wall is allowed in a required residential front yard that has any supporting member measuring more than thirty six inches, so the frame sets the limit. A corner side yard may carry six feet, except where that yard is next to a neighbor front yard, in which case no fence may be built there at all. Business and industrial districts reach ten feet, dropping to six on a boundary line abutting a residential district. A fence differing in construction, height or length may be permitted in any district by conditional use permit.
Fences in all business and industrial districts shall not exceed ten feet in height except that boundary-line fences abutting residential districts shall not be greater than six feet in height.
The answer turns on the district, the yard, and what the lot next door presents.
- a residential lot
- Six feet, with no front yard supporting member over thirty six inches. 6 ft
- a corner side yard facing a neighbor front yard
- No fence at all.
- a business or industrial district
- Ten feet. 10 ft
- a business boundary line abutting residential land
- Six feet. 6 ft
Also on fence height in Casa Grande
- 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 Casa Grande?
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Casa Grande answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Casa Grande does not set a general fence permit in its fence article. What it sets instead is a route for anything the article does not already allow: a fence for a special purpose, or one differing in construction, height or length, may be permitted in any district by a conditional use permit from the planning and zoning commission. The commission has to make two findings before granting it, that the fence is necessary to protect, buffer or improve the premises it is intended for, and that it will not detrimentally affect adjacent property. Separately, the zoning administrator carries a standing duty to begin abatement proceedings against any fence that has become dangerous to public safety, health or welfare, or unsightly through improper maintenance or neglect.
Fences for special purposes and fences differing in construction, height or length may be permitted in any district by issuance of conditional use permit approved by the planning and zoning commission.
17.52.180, with the maintenance duty at 17.52.150.A.1
Also on permits in Casa Grande
- 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 Casa Grande
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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 Casa Grande 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 Casa Grande
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Casa Grande 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 Casa Grande 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 Casa Grande
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Casa Grande answers this, but the answer changes depending on which yard the fence is in, and whether the two owners have agreed in writing.
Casa Grande gives three different measuring rules and lets the last one be chosen by agreement. In a required yard abutting a street the height is the total effective height measured from the finished grade on the side nearest the street, so the public side governs. In any other required yard it is measured from the finished grade on the side nearest the abutting property, so the neighbor side governs. And on a property line itself the height may be measured from the finished grade of either side, provided the abutting owners are in joint agreement and that agreement is submitted to the city in writing. In every case the height is calculated to the uppermost points of the fence.
On property lines, the height may be measured from the finished grade of either side when the abutting property owners are in joint agreements, with the agreement submitted in writing.
The answer turns on which yard the fence is in, and whether the two owners have agreed in writing.
- a required yard abutting a street
- Measured from the finished grade on the street side.
- any other required yard
- Measured from the finished grade on the side nearest the neighbor.
- a fence on the property line with both owners agreeing
- Measured from either side, with the agreement filed in writing.
Also on how height is measured in Casa Grande
- 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 Casa Grande
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Casa Grande answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence stands at a street corner or at a driveway or alley.
Casa Grande measures its corner triangle from the projected curbing lines rather than from the property lines, running forty feet along one curb line and forty along the other, and nothing over thirty inches above the street center line grade may stand inside it. The same rule covers plantings as well as fences, and it applies in all districts rather than only in residential ones. A second and smaller triangle covers every driveway and alley where it meets a street: two points on the right of way line fifteen feet either side of the center of the driveway, and a third point on that center line ten feet outside the right of way. Both figures are repeated word for word in the business and industrial section, so the city applies one standard everywhere.
On corner lots in all districts, no fence or planting in excess of thirty inches above the street center line grade shall be permitted within a triangular area defined as follows: beginning at the intersection of the projected curbing lines of two intersecting streets, thence forty feet along one curb line, thence diagonally to a point forty feet from the point of beginning on the other curb lines, then to the point of beginning
The answer turns on whether the fence stands at a street corner or at a driveway or alley.
- a street corner
- Forty feet along each curb line, nothing over thirty inches. 40 ft
- a driveway or alley meeting a street
- Fifteen feet either side of the center line, and ten feet out from the right of way. 15 ft
Also on corner visibility in Casa Grande
- set in state lawArizona 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. A.R.S. 28-7053Arizona · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Casa Grande
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Casa Grande 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 Casa Grande 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 Casa Grande
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Casa Grande answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and the zoning district.
Casa Grande sets two conditions on wire fencing wherever it is permitted: the barbed ends may not be at the top, except in the industrial districts, and the wire has to be at least 11 gauge or comparable. Electrical and barbed wire fences are prohibited across the city except in the B-4, I-1 and I-2 districts. Beyond that the article sets no list of permitted materials and no opacity requirement, holding every fence instead to a general standard: built in a substantial, workmanlike manner of substantial material reasonably suited to the purpose, and kept in reasonable repair. A fence with only one finished elevation, meaning one side without its supporting members significantly visible, has to face that side at the adjacent property.
Link or wire fences, wherever permitted, shall be constructed in such a manner that no barbed ends shall be at the top, except in industrial districts and shall be constructed of at least 11 gauge wire or its comparable.
The answer turns on the material and the zoning district.
- a link or wire fence
- At least 11 gauge, with no barbed ends at the top outside industry.
- an electrical or barbed wire fence
- Prohibited except in the B-4, I-1 and I-2 districts.
- a fence finished on one side only
- The finished side faces the adjacent property.
Also on materials in Casa Grande
- 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 Casa Grande
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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 Casa Grande 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 Casa Grande
- 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 Casa Grande 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 Casa GrandeZoning Code, Chapter 17.52, General Building and Development Standards, Article III, Fences and Walls
- 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 Casa Grande 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