Fence laws in Aurora, Colorado
What the Aurora municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Aurora sets no rule of its own, the Colorado rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Aurora, Colorado, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Aurora writes its boundary rules as setbacks from the sidewalk rather than from the lot line, and then names the case where the line itself governs, and the answer turns on whether the fence is new, replacing an old one, or shared. The figure is 15 feet, for minimum distance from the street flowline.
- How tall
- Aurora holds a residential front yard fence to forty-two inches, and a corner lot to the same forty-two inches, which is lower than most cities allow, and the answer turns on the use, the yard and the class of street. The figure is 42 inches, for fence in a residential front yard.
- Permits
- One of the seven stated purposes of the Aurora section is to avoid the appearance of fence and wall canyons along streets, and several rules carry it out, and the answer turns on the class of street and how long the run of fence is. The figure is 660 feet, for longest unbroken fence plane on an arterial.
- Pool barriers
- A fence around a pool open to the public in Colorado stands at least sixty inches high, with gates that close and latch by themselves and a latch at least fifty four inches up. The figure is 60 inches, for minimum fence height around a public swimming pool.
- Spite fences
- Aurora has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Aurora does not state a datum for fence height in the fence section, so how the number is read comes from elsewhere in the ordinance, and the answer turns on the material and which face is being looked at. The figure is 16 inches, for longest masonry unit.
- Corner lots
- The location and height of every fence and hedge in Aurora has to conform to the sight triangle requirements in the dimensional standards, and the fence section adds a design rule that almost nobody else writes: a corner lot fence has to have a forty-five degree angle if it is located within the thirty foot sight triangle, and the answer turns on whether the fence sits inside the thirty foot triangle. The figure is 30 feet, for size of the sight triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Aurora leaves retaining walls to each board of county commissioners, and separately each city and town, which adopt building codes on their own.
- Materials
- Aurora permits brick, stone and decorative concrete masonry units, wrought iron style and metal picket, pre-cast concrete that convincingly replicates brick, stone, stucco or masonry, closed style wood or stockade with a top rail, chain link with or without weather resistant coating, welded wire, wood or concrete three-rail and split rail, and composite wood, and the answer turns on the district and the shape of the fence top. The figure is 300 feet, for distance from housing that triggers a conditional use.
- Livestock
- A lawful fence in Colorado is a well built three barbed wire fence on strong posts set about twenty feet apart, good enough to turn back ordinary horses and cattle. The figure is 3 strands, for barbed wires in a lawful fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Aurora?
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Aurora answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is new, replacing an old one, or shared.
Aurora writes its boundary rules as setbacks from the sidewalk rather than from the lot line, and then names the case where the line itself governs. Shared fences and walls are placed on lot lines, and where existing homes share a rear yard fence the fence may sit on the line. A new fence is held back: a residential front yard fence at least eighteen inches from the back of sidewalk, a side or rear fence at least four feet where it replaces an existing one, and a new side yard fence on a corner lot at least ten feet from the back of sidewalk and never less than fifteen feet from the street flowline. Fences may not sit in a required lot buffer area but go on the inner edge with the landscaping outside them, except for a decorative low wall or a seat wall. Nothing may be placed within five feet of a fire hydrant or a fire department connection without written approval from the Fire and Life Safety representative.
Shared fences and walls shall be placed on lot lines. b. Fences and walls shall not be located in required lot buffer areas but shall be located on the inner edge or interior buffer line with landscaping located along the exterior of the fence or wall.
146-4.7.9.J.2, with L.1 and C.3
The answer turns on whether the fence is new, replacing an old one, or shared.
- a shared fence
- On the lot line.
- a new corner lot side fence
- Ten feet from the sidewalk, fifteen from the flowline. 15 ft
- a fire hydrant
- Five feet clear. 5 ft
- a required buffer
- On the inner edge, planting outside.
Also on fences on the property line in Aurora
- set in state lawColorado splits the cost of a fence on the line between farm and ranch neighbors. Where farm or grazing land of two or more people touches, each owner builds half of the line fence, and it has to meet the state lawful fence standard. A person who already has a lawful fence on the line is owed half its cash value by the neighbor who moves in next to it. This rule covers farm and grazing land only, not a fence at a house. C.R.S. 35-46-112Colorado · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Aurora?
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Aurora answers this, but the answer changes depending on the use, the yard and the class of street.
Aurora holds a residential front yard fence to forty-two inches, and a corner lot to the same forty-two inches, which is lower than most cities allow. Side and rear yards get six feet, rising to eight where the fence runs along an arterial or collector street. Those standards apply to detached and attached single family, two-family, co-housing and cottage development, and the ordinance says they govern where they conflict with anything else in the section. Non-residential development gets forty-eight inches at the front and six feet at the sides and rear, while industrial gets nine feet in every yard. No fence or wall in an industrial district may exceed nine feet at all, except for oil and gas perimeter screening and sound walls. A fence round a park or open space is limited to four feet, and one round an athletic court or field to nine, with the Parks department able to allow more where the height is needed and creates no traffic hazard.
Front Yards Height Maximum 42 inches. Setback Fence – 18 inches minimum from back of sidewalk, unless larger setback required by another provision of this UDO.
The answer turns on the use, the yard and the class of street.
- a residential front yard
- Forty-two inches. 42 in
- a side or rear yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- along an arterial or collector
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- an industrial lot
- Nine feet. 9 ft
Also on fence height in Aurora
- no rule, documents checkedColorado sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The city sets it. The state fence law only describes a lawful fence for farm and grazing land and gives no top height for a fence at a house, and state law gives cities and towns the power over fences on the line. C.R.S. 35-46-101 to 35-46-115Colorado · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Aurora?
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Aurora answers this, but the answer changes depending on the class of street and how long the run of fence is.
One of the seven stated purposes of the Aurora section is to avoid the appearance of fence and wall canyons along streets, and several rules carry it out. In residential districts an unbroken fence plane may not exceed six hundred and sixty feet along an arterial or three hundred and thirty feet along a collector in one subarea, with slightly larger figures in the others, and in all other development no continuous fence plane may run more than seven hundred feet without an offset in alignment or a change of material or type. A closed style fence over four feet along an arterial is capped at fifteen hundred feet of continuous fence and five hundred feet of unbroken plane. Every fence type along an arterial or collector has to carry masonry columns of at least eighteen by eighteen inches, at corners, transitions and termination points, and at sixty foot spacing next to housing or a hundred and twenty feet in commercial and industrial use.
Maximum length of unbroken fence plane shall not exceed 660 feet along arterial streets and shall not exceed 330 feet along collector streets in Subarea A.
146-4.7.9.F.1, with H.3 and F.3
The answer turns on the class of street and how long the run of fence is.
- an arterial in Subarea A
- Six hundred and sixty feet of unbroken plane. 660 ft
- any other development
- Seven hundred feet, then an offset. 700 ft
- columns next to housing
- Every sixty feet. 60 ft
- the columns themselves
- Eighteen inches square at least. 18 in
Also on permits in Aurora
- no rule, documents checkedWhether a fence needs a permit in Colorado is a county or city question. The state adopts no building code for houses at all, so there is no statewide permit rule and nothing statewide to be exempt from. State law says a board of county commissioners may adopt a building code, which leaves the choice to each county, and cities and towns get their own power over building rules and over fences on the line. C.R.S. 30-28-201Colorado · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Aurora
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Colorado answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A fence around a pool open to the public in Colorado stands at least sixty inches high, with gates that close and latch by themselves and a latch at least fifty four inches up. Section 3.24 of the state swimming pool rule requires the fence so people reach the pool only through controlled ways in, and a building or other structure can do the job of the fence. A stricter local code or ordinance takes the place of this rule.
This one is Colorado law, not Aurora law. All Colorado findings
Every swimming pool in a non-restricted public place shall be fenced to prevent unauthorized access to the pool except through controlled entrances.
60 inminimum fence height around a public swimming pool
Spite fence laws in Aurora
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Aurora law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Colorado has no state law about a fence built to annoy a neighbor. The fence law in Title 35 and the property laws in Title 38 have no spite fence rule and no height that turns a fence into one. A limit of that kind comes from a local ordinance.
This one is Colorado law, not Aurora law. All Colorado findings
Documents read before writing that:
- C.R.S. 35-46-101 to 35-46-115Colorado General Assembly
- C.R.S. Title 38Colorado General Assembly
How fence height is measured in Aurora
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Aurora answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and which face is being looked at.
Aurora does not state a datum for fence height in the fence section, so how the number is read comes from elsewhere in the ordinance. What it does specify in unusual detail is how the fence has to look and be built. All portions and sides of a fence have to be finished with the same quantity and quality of material as the predominant side facing the street, which answers the good side question by requiring both faces to match rather than by choosing one. Fence colors have to be integral to the material and may not be painted or stained with an exterior coating, and all colors have to be earth tones such as tans, browns and traditional red brick tones, with uncolored concrete not permitted. Masonry units may not exceed sixteen inches long by eight inches high, panels have to replicate that, and any masonry unit over four inches high has to carry a decorative split-face texture.
All portions and side of a fence shall be finished with the same quantity and quality of materials as the predominant side facing the street.
The answer turns on the material and which face is being looked at.
- the two faces of a fence
- Finished the same.
- color
- Integral to the material, earth tones only.
- a masonry unit
- Sixteen by eight inches at most. 16 in
- a unit over four inches high
- Split-face texture.
Also on how height is measured in Aurora
- left to the townColorado has no fence height of its own, so it never says where one would be measured from. Section 31-23-301 lets the city council set the height, number of stories and size of buildings and other structures, and it even covers the height of trees. The state fence law describes a lawful fence by its three barbed wires and its posts about twenty feet apart, and gives no height at all. So the city picks the number and the surface it starts from. C.R.S. 31-23-301(1)Colorado · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Aurora
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Aurora answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence sits inside the thirty foot triangle.
The location and height of every fence and hedge in Aurora has to conform to the sight triangle requirements in the dimensional standards, and the fence section adds a design rule that almost nobody else writes: a corner lot fence has to have a forty-five degree angle if it is located within the thirty foot sight triangle. So instead of stopping short of the corner, the fence cuts diagonally across it, which keeps the enclosure continuous and still opens the view. A separate and broader provision sits above everything else in the section: notwithstanding any other provision, no fence, wall or hedge may be located where the city determines it will create a traffic hazard. That gives the city a judgment it can exercise even against a fence that satisfies every measurable rule. The forty-two inch limit on a residential corner lot fence does most of the remaining work.
Sight Triangle. The location and height of all fences and hedges shall conform to the sight triangle requirements of Section 146-4.2.3.I. Corner lot fences shall have a 45 degree angle if located within the 30 foot sight triangle.
The answer turns on whether the fence sits inside the thirty foot triangle.
- the size of the triangle
- Thirty feet. 30 ft
- a fence inside it
- Cut at forty-five degrees. 45 degrees
- anything the city calls a hazard
- Not allowed, whatever else the rules say.
Also on corner visibility in Aurora
- set in state lawNo Colorado law draws a clear view triangle on a corner lot. Counties and towns write that under Titles 30 and 31. The state once had a general rule against blocking the view along a highway, and the legislature repealed it in 1981. What is left is narrower. Section 43-1-411 refuses a permit for an outdoor advertising sign within five hundred feet of the center of an intersection when it would badly cut the view of traffic on the crossing road or of an oncoming train. That is a sign rule on state highways. C.R.S. 43-1-411Colorado · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Aurora
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Aurora does not set this. It leaves it to each board of county commissioners, and separately each city and town, which adopt building codes on their own.
Colorado has no state rule for a wall that holds back earth, because it adopts no building code for houses at all. State law says a board of county commissioners may adopt a building code for the parts of the county outside any city or town, and cities and towns get their own separate power over building rules. So there is no state height at which a wall of that kind needs a permit and no state standard for building one. Each county, city and town sets it.
This one is Colorado law, not Aurora law. All Colorado findings
A board of county commissioners is authorized to adopt ordinances and a building code consistent with the uniform building code, 1988 edition, as promulgated by the international conference of building officials and as revised from time to time, in all or part of the county, and not embraced within the limits of any incorporated city or town.
The code hands this to each board of county commissioners, and separately each city and town, which adopt building codes on their own, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Aurora
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Aurora answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and the shape of the fence top.
Aurora permits brick, stone and decorative concrete masonry units, wrought iron style and metal picket, pre-cast concrete that convincingly replicates brick, stone, stucco or masonry, closed style wood or stockade with a top rail, chain link with or without weather resistant coating, welded wire, wood or concrete three-rail and split rail, and composite wood. The prohibitions include electrically charged fences except battery-operated alarmed ones, barbed wire outside special purpose districts, construction sites and utility installations, concertina wire except at government facilities the Planning Director approves on security grounds, and a list of things never meant to be fences running chicken wire, corrugated metal, fabric, fiberboard, garage door panels, plywood, snow fencing and rope. One prohibition is about shape rather than substance: any sharp pointed fence is barred in residential districts, and a picket fence under six feet six inches has to have its picket tops sawed or rounded to a blunt end.
Any sharp pointed fence of any material erected or maintained in Residential districts Picket fences less than six feet six inches in height shall have the top of pickets sawed or rounded to provide a blunt end.
The answer turns on the district and the shape of the fence top.
- a picket under six feet six inches
- Blunt tops, sawed or rounded.
- barbed wire
- Special purpose districts, sites and utilities only.
- a battery-operated alarmed electric fence
- Allowed, with a conditional use near housing. 300 ft
- chicken wire, plywood or garage panels
- Prohibited.
Also on materials in Aurora
- set in state lawColorado defines a lawful fence as a well built three barbed wire fence on solid posts about twenty feet apart, good enough to turn ordinary horses and cattle, with gates as good as the fence. Any other fence that works as well counts the same. C.R.S. 35-46-101Colorado · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Aurora
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Colorado answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A lawful fence in Colorado is a well built three barbed wire fence on strong posts set about twenty feet apart, good enough to turn back ordinary horses and cattle. Every gate has to be as good as the fence. Any other fence that works just as well counts the same.
This one is Colorado law, not Aurora law. All Colorado findings
"Lawful fence" is a well-constructed three barbed wire fence with substantial posts set at a distance of approximately twenty feet apart, and sufficient to turn ordinary horses and cattle, with all gates equally as good as the fence, or any other fence of like efficiency.
3 strandsbarbed wires in a lawful fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Aurora
- set in state lawColorado is a fence out state. The landowner who wants livestock kept off builds the fence, not the animal owner. Money for a livestock trespass goes only to a person whose crops were behind a lawful fence at the time, kept in good repair, and whose fence the animals broke through. Without that fence, nothing is owed. C.R.S. 35-46-102Colorado · Statute
Documents behind this page
7 documents, of which 1 was published by Aurora itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Colorado General AssemblyColorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 35, Article 46, Section 35-46-112
- City of AuroraAurora Unified Development Ordinance, Section 146-4.7.9, Fence and Wall Regulations
- Colorado General AssemblyColorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 31, Article 15, Part 6, Building and Fire Regulations
- Colorado General AssemblyColorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 30, Article 28, Part 2, Building Codes
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Water Quality Control DivisionCode of Colorado Regulations, Swimming Pools and Mineral Baths, Section 3.24, effective December 15, 2020
- Colorado General AssemblyColorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 38, Property, Real and Personal
- Colorado General Assembly, Office of Legislative Legal ServicesColorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 43, Transportation
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 Aurora publishes, plus the Colorado rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Colorado 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