Fence laws in Tucson, Arizona
What the Tucson municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Tucson sets no rule of its own, the Arizona rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Tucson, Arizona, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A wall or fence of six feet or less may be erected anywhere within a perimeter yard in Tucson, so the boundary fence is the ordinary case and no setback applies to it. The figure is 6 feet, for height a wall may be without triggering the setback rules.
- How tall
- Tucson sets six feet as the maximum height of a wall or fence in a perimeter yard and then offers four separate ways past it, all capped at ten, and the answer turns on how open the part above six feet is, and whether the zone is residential. The figure is 6 feet, for wall or fence in a perimeter yard.
- Permits
- Arizona has no statewide building code and gives the job to the counties.
- 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
- Tucson 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
- Tucson leaves corner clearance to the Technical Manual, which sets out the sight visibility triangle provisions.
- Retaining walls
- Tucson answers the raised yard problem with two numbers that have to hold at the same time. The figure is 6 feet, for height allowed above the top of the retaining portion.
- Materials
- Tucson writes its only material rule as a trade rather than a prohibition. The figure is 75 percent, for openness required above six feet.
- 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 Tucson?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Tucson answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A wall or fence of six feet or less may be erected anywhere within a perimeter yard in Tucson, so the boundary fence is the ordinary case and no setback applies to it. What the code controls is the structure that goes beyond a wall. A detached accessory structure taller than the allowed wall height has to meet the perimeter yard width standards of the principal structure, unless the adjoining owner consents, in which case it may be built right to the parcel line. Where an alley separates the two lots, the consent of the adjacent owner across that alley counts. So the line between what needs a setback and what does not is drawn at the height of a wall, and a private agreement filed with the city can move it.
A wall or fence not over six feet high may be erected within the limits of a perimeter yard.
6.4.5.D.3.b, with the accessory structure rule at 6.6.2.D
6 ftheight a wall may be without triggering the setback rules
Also on fences on the property line in Tucson
- 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 Tucson?
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Tucson answers this, but the answer changes depending on how open the part above six feet is, and whether the zone is residential.
Tucson sets six feet as the maximum height of a wall or fence in a perimeter yard and then offers four separate ways past it, all capped at ten. The first is about openness: anything above six feet has to be at least seventy five percent unobstructed through architectural elements. The second is about ground: the wall or fence may be part of, or sit on top of, a retaining wall no higher than ten feet from design grade and no higher than six feet above the retaining portion. The third and fourth are process rather than design, a greater height required through rezoning or the special exception land use process, or one required by a specific standard elsewhere in the code. In a non-residential zone a wall or fence may exceed the height standards altogether provided it meets the perimeter yard standards that apply to buildings on the site.
The maximum height of a wall or fence within a perimeter yard shall be six feet; however, the wall or fence may be higher than six feet, but no higher than ten feet, if:
The answer turns on how open the part above six feet is, and whether the zone is residential.
- a solid wall or fence in a perimeter yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a wall or fence at least seventy five percent open above six feet
- Ten feet. 10 ft
- a wall or fence on a retaining wall
- Ten feet from design grade, six above the retaining portion. 10 ft
- a non-residential zone
- May exceed the standards if it meets the building perimeter yard rules.
Also on fence height in Tucson
- 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 Tucson?
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Arizona answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Arizona 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.
This one is Arizona law, not Tucson 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
Also on permits in Tucson
- 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 Tucson
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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 Tucson 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 Tucson
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Tucson 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 Tucson 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 Tucson
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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 Tucson 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 Tucson
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Tucson does not set this. It leaves it to the Technical Manual, which sets out the sight visibility triangle provisions.
The Unified Development Code states the corner duty and hands the shape of it somewhere else. On any corner lot no fence, structure, object or planting may be erected or maintained so as to interfere with the sight visibility triangle, and the provisions setting out that triangle are in the Technical Manual rather than in the code. So the prohibition is absolute and covers plantings as well as fences, while the leg length, the height band and the measuring points are all published separately and can be revised without amending the code. The code sets no fallback figure, so there is no height a fence may be at a Tucson corner that can be read from the code alone.
On any corner lot, no fence, structure, object, or planting shall be erected or maintained to interfere with the sight visibility triangle provisions set forth in the Technical Manual.
The code hands this to the Technical Manual, which sets out the sight visibility triangle provisions, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Tucson
- 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 Tucson
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Tucson answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Tucson answers the raised yard problem with two numbers that have to hold at the same time. A wall or fence that is part of a retaining wall, or sits on top of one, may reach ten feet measured from design grade, and no more than six feet measured from the top of the retaining portion. So the whole assembly is capped from the low side and the fence alone is capped from the high side, and neither number alone decides it. Because that allowance is one of the four listed ways past the six foot limit, a retaining wall is treated as a reason to be taller rather than as a separate structure with its own rules.
Part of, or located on top of, a retaining wall no higher than ten feet measured from design grade and no higher than six feet measured from the top of the retaining portion of the wall;
6 ftheight allowed above the top of the retaining portion
Also on retaining walls in Tucson
- left to the townArizona 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. A.R.S. § 11-861(A)Arizona · Statute
Fence materials allowed in Tucson
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Tucson answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Tucson writes its only material rule as a trade rather than a prohibition. Nothing is banned by name. What the code does is make the extra four feet of height conditional on what the upper section is made of: at least seventy five percent of the area above six feet has to be left unobstructed and open, and the code names arches, columns and wrought iron as the architectural elements that do it. So a solid block wall stops at six feet and the same wall with an open iron top section reaches ten, and the difference is entirely about what can be seen through rather than about safety or durability.
At least 75% of the area above six feet in height is left unobstructed and open through the use of architectural elements, such as arches, columns, or wrought iron;
75%openness required above six feet
Also on materials in Tucson
- 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 Tucson
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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 Tucson 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 Tucson
- 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 Tucson 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 TucsonUnified Development Code, Section 6.4.5, Perimeter Yards
- City of TucsonUnified Development Code, Section 6.6.2, Accessory Buildings and Structures
- 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 Tucson 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