Fence laws in Surprise, Arizona
What the Surprise municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Surprise sets no rule of its own, the Arizona rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Surprise, Arizona, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Surprise states the general rule and its exception in the same sentence. The figure is 5 feet, for separation required from another structure.
- How tall
- Surprise leaves fence height to the Planning and Engineering Design Standards, referenced in Chapter 107.
- Permits
- Surprise bars any accessory use, building or structure from being built on a lot before the primary building exists, and then names two things that may go up first: open wire fencing on an otherwise undeveloped residential lot in the rural residential district, and retaining walls that are part of site development.
- 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
- Surprise has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Arizona names a starting point in the one place it gives fence sizes. The figure is 50 inches, for top wire of a lawful fence, measured above the ground. It reaches a lawful fence on open range land only.
- 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
- Surprise 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
- Arizona describes a lawful fence by its wire. The figure is 4 strands, for barbed wires in a lawful fence. It reaches lawful fences for livestock only.
- 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 Surprise?
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Surprise answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Surprise states the general rule and its exception in the same sentence. Residential accessory uses, buildings, structures and fencing all have to sit on the same lot as the principal use and stand at least five feet from another structure, or further if the building or fire codes require it, except that fencing used to separate properties in a subdivision may straddle the common property line. That express permission for a shared fence is rare: most cities in this country either require a fence to sit wholly on one lot or say nothing and leave the question to the neighbors. The accessory structure table repeats the point in a note, and a separate rule keeps accessory structures out of any easement or required setback.
All residential accessory uses (including ADUs), buildings, structures, and fencing shall be located on the same lot as the principal or main use and be at least five (5) feet from another structure or as required by the building and/or fire codes, except that fencing used to separate properties in a subdivision may straddle the common property line.
106-10.3.A, with note 5 to Table 106-10b
5 ftseparation required from another structure
Also on fences on the property line in Surprise
- 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 Surprise?
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Surprise does not set this. It leaves it to the Planning and Engineering Design Standards, referenced in Chapter 107.
Chapter 106 tables the dimensional standards for accessory structures, giving shade structures a nine foot ceiling and every other accessory structure the same nine feet at the five foot setback line, rising one foot for every foot further from the property line up to fifteen. It never gives a height for a fence. What it does instead is name another document: the Planning and Engineering Design Standards, referenced in Chapter 107, which govern general site design and development, open space, circulation, landscape and streetscape design, and building form. So the number a Surprise resident needs is published by the engineering side of the city and revised there. The zoning chapter adds that where a zoning district, a use specific standard and the design standards conflict, the more restrictive one applies unless the ordinance clearly says otherwise.
The articles within the PEDS shall apply where applicable, based on the specific zoning and land use, and will govern the general site design and development, open space design, circulation design, landscape and streetscape design, and building form and architecture of a development in addition to those listed below.
106-1.8.A, with the accessory structure table at 106-10.3.J
The code hands this to the Planning and Engineering Design Standards, referenced in Chapter 107, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on fence height in Surprise
- 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 Surprise?
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Surprise answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Surprise bars any accessory use, building or structure from being built on a lot before the primary building exists, and then names two things that may go up first: open wire fencing on an otherwise undeveloped residential lot in the rural residential district, and retaining walls that are part of site development. So a rural landowner may fence a vacant parcel while nobody else may, and grading work that needs a retaining wall is not held up waiting for a house. The city also closes the gap that an exemption usually opens, stating that an accessory structure exempt from the building permit requirement still has to comply with every other provision, code and regulation the city has adopted.
No accessory use, building, or structure shall be constructed or developed on a lot prior to the establishment/construction of the primary uses, building, or structure; except for open-wire fencing on an otherwise undeveloped residential lot in the rural residential (RR) zoning district or retaining walls associated with site development.
Also on permits in Surprise
- 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 Surprise
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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 Surprise 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 Surprise
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Surprise 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 Surprise 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 Surprise
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Arizona answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Arizona 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.
This one is Arizona law, not Surprise 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 intop wire of a lawful fence, measured above the ground
Fence rules for corner lots in Surprise
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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 Surprise 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 Surprise
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Surprise 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 Surprise 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 Surprise
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Arizona answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Arizona 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.
This one is Arizona law, not Surprise 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
4 strandsbarbed wires in a lawful fence
Livestock and boundary fence law in Surprise
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 Surprise 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 Surprise
- 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
10 documents, of which 2 were published by Surprise 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 SurpriseMunicipal Code, Part II, Land Development Ordinance, Chapter 106, Zoning and Use Standards, Section 106-10.3, Accessory uses and structures
- City of SurpriseMunicipal Code, Part II, Land Development Ordinance, Chapter 106, Section 106-1.8, Compliance with other provisions
- 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 Surprise 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