Fence laws in Queen Creek, Arizona
What the Queen Creek municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Queen Creek sets no rule of its own, the Arizona rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Queen Creek, Arizona, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A fence on a Queen Creek side or rear property line is given two limits at once: six feet measured from the highest finished grade next to it and eight feet measured from the lowest. The figure is 150 feet, for interval a street facing fence has to be broken at.
- How tall
- A fence in a required front yard setback in Queen Creek stops at thirty six inches, and gains a foot only by opening up: forty eight inches is allowed where everything above thirty six inches is an open material such as wrought iron or vinyl rail, and the answer turns on the yard, the zoning district, and how open the upper part of the fence is. The figure is 36 inches, for solid fence in a required front yard setback.
- Permits
- Queen Creek asks the fencing details to prove two things before a fence is approved. The figure is 6 feet, for height above which an engineer has to design the fence.
- 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
- Queen Creek has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Queen Creek reads a fence from the ground level at all points upon which it is located, so the measurement is taken along the whole run rather than at one spot, and a fence that clears the limit at the gate can still fail further along.
- Corner lots
- Queen Creek does not draw a sight triangle with fixed legs.
- Retaining walls
- Queen Creek 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
- Queen Creek bans barbed wire, wire mesh and chain link in every zoning district, with metal wire mesh surviving only where two named subsections allow it, and the answer turns on the material, and whether the fence is solid.
- 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 Queen Creek?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Queen Creek answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A fence on a Queen Creek side or rear property line is given two limits at once: six feet measured from the highest finished grade next to it and eight feet measured from the lowest. Any fence over six feet on the low side has to use berming, landscaping, fence offsets or similar work to mask the height difference, and the part above six feet has to be a view fence, which the ordinance illustrates as six feet solid with two feet of view above it. A connecting side yard fence sets back from the front face plane of the house by at least a quarter of the required front yard setback. Every fence visible from an arterial, collector or local street has to carry decorative columns, offsets or undulations of at least two feet every hundred and fifty feet.
A fence constructed on a side or rear property line shall not exceed a height of six feet (6’) from highest finished grade adjacent to the fence, nor more than eight feet (8’) from the lowest grade adjacent to the fence.
150 ftinterval a street facing fence has to be broken at
Also on fences on the property line in Queen Creek
- 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 Queen Creek?
Compare fence height across all 50 states
Queen Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the zoning district, and how open the upper part of the fence is.
A fence in a required front yard setback in Queen Creek stops at thirty six inches, and gains a foot only by opening up: forty eight inches is allowed where everything above thirty six inches is an open material such as wrought iron or vinyl rail. A parcel zoned R1-43 or larger may run six feet in the front, provided the solid part is no more than thirty six inches and stands at least eight feet back from the front property line and creates no visibility conflict. Everywhere else on the lot a fence may be six feet. A storage, dumpster or bulk waste enclosure is a minimum rather than a maximum, six feet of solid construction with locking gates. Height and location may be modified as part of a subdivision, planned area development, special use or conditional use approval.
Fences in the required front yard setback shall not exceed thirty-six inches (36”) in height. Such fences may be increased to forty-eight inches (48”) maximum height if the fencing material extending above the thirty-six inch (36”) height is an open material such as wrought iron or vinyl rail.
The answer turns on the yard, the zoning district, and how open the upper part of the fence is.
- a required front yard setback
- Thirty six inches, or forty eight where the top is open material. 36 in
- an R1-43 or larger parcel in front
- Six feet, with the solid part capped at thirty six inches and set back eight feet. 6 ft
- the rest of the lot
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a storage or dumpster enclosure
- Six feet of solid construction with locking gates, required. 6 ft
Also on fence height in Queen Creek
- 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 Queen Creek?
Compare permits across all 50 states
Queen Creek answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Queen Creek asks the fencing details to prove two things before a fence is approved. The first is structural: the drawings have to show the proposed method of construction and anchoring of the fence, the posts and the gate. The second is spatial: they have to show clearly the distance between the fence and the abutting property lines and the distance to the sight line of a street right of way intersection, and adequate sight distance has to be maintained. On top of that, any fence over six feet has to be designed by an Arizona registered structural engineer and approved by the town, so passing six feet moves the work from a detail drawing to an engineered design.
The fencing details shall show the proposed method of construction and anchoring of the fence, posts, and gate.
6 ftheight above which an engineer has to design the fence
Also on permits in Queen Creek
- 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 Queen Creek
Compare pool barriers across all 50 states
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 Queen Creek 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 Queen Creek
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Queen Creek 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 Queen Creek 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 Queen Creek
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Queen Creek answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Queen Creek reads a fence from the ground level at all points upon which it is located, so the measurement is taken along the whole run rather than at one spot, and a fence that clears the limit at the gate can still fail further along. The town then allows a single adjustment: an increase in height is allowed where spacing for drainage under the fence is needed, so the gap a builder has to leave for water does not eat into the allowance. The other measuring rule in the section is about the two sides of a boundary fence, which is read from the highest finished grade next to it for one limit and from the lowest for the other.
The height of fences shall be determined by measurement from the ground level at all points upon which the fence is located. An increase in height shall be allowed when spacing for drainage under the fence is needed.
Also on how height is measured in Queen Creek
- 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 Queen Creek
Compare corner visibility across all 50 states
Queen Creek answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Queen Creek does not draw a sight triangle with fixed legs. Where a corner lot abuts a key lot, a fence or freestanding wall on the corner lot that is over three feet six inches but no more than six feet has to come back from the street side property line by at least half the depth of the required front yard, so the setback scales with the zoning district rather than being one number for the whole town. The general visibility duty sits in the submittal rules instead: the fencing details have to show the distance to the sight line of a street right of way intersection, and adequate sight distance has to be maintained. On a large lot the six foot front yard allowance is separately conditioned on creating no visibility conflicts as the town determines.
When a corner lot abuts a key lot, the fence or freestanding wall over three feet, six inches (3’ 6”) but not more than six feet (6’) in height on the corner lot shall be set back from the street side property line not less than one-half (1/2) the depth of the required front yard.
5.2.A.9, with the submittal rule at A.11
Also on corner visibility in Queen Creek
- 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 Queen Creek
Compare retaining walls across all 50 states
Queen Creek 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 Queen Creek 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 Queen Creek
Compare materials across all 50 states
Queen Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, and whether the fence is solid.
Queen Creek bans barbed wire, wire mesh and chain link in every zoning district, with metal wire mesh surviving only where two named subsections allow it. What it requires instead is variety. A solid fence design has to use at least three materials, drawn from stone, brick, block and textured block including treated, split face, single score and patterned integrally colored block, with changes in color or texture able to count, and an alternative design may be considered by the Planning Administrator. Fence materials generally have to be durable and consistent with abutting fences, so a new fence is measured against what its neighbors already have as well as against the list.
The use of barbed wire, wire mesh or chain link shall not be used in any zoning district. Metal wire mesh fencing is allowed as provided in Article 5.2 B and C.
The answer turns on the material, and whether the fence is solid.
- barbed wire, wire mesh or chain link
- Not allowed in any zoning district.
- a solid fence design
- At least three materials, with color or texture changes counting.
- any fence
- Durable, and consistent with the fences next door.
Also on materials in Queen Creek
- 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 Queen Creek
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 Queen Creek 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 Queen Creek
- 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 Queen Creek 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
- Town of Queen CreekZoning Ordinance, Article 5, Site Improvement Standards, Section 5.2, Fencing 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 Queen Creek 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