Fence laws in Castle Rock, Colorado
What the Castle Rock municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Castle Rock sets no rule of its own, the Colorado rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Castle Rock, Colorado, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Colorado splits the cost of a fence on the line between farm and ranch neighbors. The figure is 50 percent, for share of a boundary fence each adjoining owner has a duty to build.
- How tall
- Castle Rock states its height in inches rather than feet and covers the whole town in one sentence, and the answer turns on whether the fence stands inside the front yard setback. The figure is 72 inches, for fence outside the front yard setback.
- Permits
- The International Residential Code exempts fences not over seven feet from needing a building permit, and Castle Rock amended that line. The figure is 6 feet, for height above which a building permit is required.
- 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
- Castle Rock has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Castle Rock leaves the measuring rule to the governing body of each municipality.
- Corner lots
- Castle Rock leaves corner clearance to the Transportation Design Criteria Manual, which carries every dimension.
- Retaining walls
- Castle Rock leaves retaining walls to each board of county commissioners, and separately each city and town, which adopt building codes on their own.
- Materials
- Two of the three sentences in the Castle Rock fence section are about materials, and both are bans, and the answer turns on the material and the zoning district. The figure is 4 strands, for barbed wire on an industrial security fence.
- 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 Castle Rock?
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Colorado answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Colorado 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.
This one is Colorado law, not Castle Rock law. All Colorado findings
Where the agriculture or grazing lands of two or more persons adjoin, whether or not such lands are farmed or grazed, it is the duty of the owner of each tract to build one-half of the line fence, such fence to be a lawful fence as described in section 35-46-101.
50%share of a boundary fence each adjoining owner has a duty to build
Also on fences on the property line in Castle Rock
- no rule, documents checkedNothing in the Castle Rock fence rules addresses the boundary. The section permits a fence anywhere on the zone lot outside the front yard setback and stops there, so no minimum distance from a lot line is stated, no clearance from a sidewalk, no rule about building across a line, and no requirement to get the agreement of the adjoining owner. The two questions neighbors argue about most are both unanswered: which side the finished face and the posts point toward, and how the cost of a fence on a shared line is divided. Both are common in other Colorado codes and neither appears here. The one place the town does reach a boundary is the buffer requirement, where a commercial or industrial use abutting a conforming residential use in a residential zone has to provide an opaque fence, wall or coniferous landscape screen, and that is about screening rather than about placement. 17.52.130Castle Rock · Zoning code
How tall can a fence be in Castle Rock?
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Castle Rock answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence stands inside the front yard setback.
Castle Rock states its height in inches rather than feet and covers the whole town in one sentence. A fence up to seventy-two inches is permitted anywhere on the zone lot except within the front yard setback, where the maximum is forty-eight inches. The phrase that carries the weight is the front yard setback rather than the front yard, so the line the fence has to drop at is the building setback line for that zoning district and not the face of the house. Six feet and four feet are ordinary figures; what is unusual is that nothing else modifies them. There is no separate street side yard rule, no allowance for a taller fence around a tennis court or a pool, no extra height for a lot backing onto an arterial, and no route to a variance written into the fence section itself. Two overlay districts carry their own numbers, with a ten foot opaque screening wall allowed in the Downtown and Front Street overlays.
Fences up to seventy-two inches in height are permitted anywhere on the zone lot except within the front yard setback, in which case the maximum allowable height is forty-eight inches.
The answer turns on whether the fence stands inside the front yard setback.
- anywhere outside the front setback
- Seventy-two inches. 72 in
- inside the front yard setback
- Forty-eight inches. 48 in
- the Downtown or Front Street overlay
- A ten foot opaque screening wall.
Also on fence height in Castle Rock
- 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 Castle Rock?
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Castle Rock answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The International Residential Code exempts fences not over seven feet from needing a building permit, and Castle Rock amended that line. Section R105.2, Item 2 is amended to read: fences not over six feet high. So the exemption in this town stops a foot lower than the model code sets it. The amendment lines up exactly with the zoning cap, because seventy-two inches is six feet, which means a residential fence built to the maximum height the zoning code allows is still inside the permit exemption, and anything taller has already broken the zoning rule before it reaches the building counter. The practical effect is narrow but real: the gap the model code leaves between six and seven feet, where a fence needs no permit but would be over the zoning limit, does not exist here. A fence over six feet needs a building permit and a reason the zoning code allows it to be that tall.
Fences not over 6-feet (1829 mm) high.
6 ftheight above which a building permit is required
Also on permits in Castle Rock
- 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 Castle Rock
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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 Castle Rock 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 Castle Rock
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Castle Rock 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 Castle Rock 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 Castle Rock
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Castle Rock does not set this. It leaves it to the governing body of each municipality.
Colorado 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.
This one is Colorado law, not Castle Rock law. All Colorado findings
the governing body of each municipality is empowered to regulate and restrict the height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures, the percentage of lot that may be occupied, the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces, the density of population, the height and location of trees and other vegetation
The code hands this to the governing body of each municipality, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on how height is measured in Castle Rock
- no rule, documents checkedThe code gives two fence heights and never says how to measure them. There is no sentence about which grade the measurement starts from, so on sloping ground it is not stated whether the seventy-two inches is read from the high side or the low side. A fence on a berm is not mentioned, a fence on top of a retaining wall is not mentioned, and raising the ground to gain height is not prohibited the way Boulder prohibits it. Post caps and decorative tops are not carved out either, so a post that rises above the highest rail has no stated allowance. Cities that write these rules usually do so because a dispute forced them to, and their absence here means the answer on a sloping lot comes from whoever is reading the application rather than from the ordinance. 17.52.130Castle Rock · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Castle Rock
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Castle Rock does not set this. It leaves it to the Transportation Design Criteria Manual, which carries every dimension.
Castle Rock devotes an entire numbered section to visibility at intersections and puts one sentence in it: the sight visibility triangle shall be applied as defined in the Transportation Design Criteria Manual. No dimension appears in the code, no height band is stated, and the fence section three lines further down never mentions corners at all. So the rule that decides whether a six foot fence may run to the corner of a lot sits in an engineering manual the town can revise without passing an ordinance. The same manual is referenced from other parts of the zoning code, including the outdoor display rules, which have to not obstruct or otherwise interfere with visibility at intersections as required by that section. Anyone working out what a corner lot allows has to read the manual rather than the code.
Sight Visibility Triangle shall be applied as defined in the Transportation Design Criteria Manual.
The code hands this to the Transportation Design Criteria Manual, which carries every dimension, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Castle Rock
- 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 Castle Rock
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Castle Rock 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 Castle Rock 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 Castle Rock
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Castle Rock answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and the zoning district.
Two of the three sentences in the Castle Rock fence section are about materials, and both are bans. Barbed wire is not allowed in any zone district in the town, except that up to four strands may sit on top of security fencing in an industrial zoning district. Counting the strands rather than setting a height is unusual; most codes say how far above the ground the wire has to start and leave the number of strands alone, while Castle Rock does the reverse. Electrified fences are not allowed in any zoning district at all, with no agricultural or livestock exception of the kind nearly every other Colorado city writes in. Nothing else is named. The code does not list permitted materials, does not ban sheet metal or plywood, does not regulate color, and does not require a finished side to face out, so anything that is not barbed or charged is left to the building code and to whatever a covenant says.
Barbed wire fencing is not allowed to be used within any zone district within the Town, except that up to four strands may be allowed on the top of security fencing in Industrial Zoning Districts.
The answer turns on the material and the zoning district.
- barbed wire in town
- Not allowed.
- industrial security fencing
- Up to four strands on top. 4 strands
- an electric fence
- Not allowed anywhere, with no exception.
- everything else
- The code names no material.
Also on materials in Castle Rock
- 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 Castle Rock
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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 Castle Rock 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 Castle Rock
- 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
9 documents, of which 3 were published by Castle Rock itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Colorado General AssemblyColorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 35, Article 46, Section 35-46-112
- Town of Castle RockCastle Rock Municipal Code, Title 17, Zoning, Section 17.52.130, Fences
- Town of Castle RockCastle Rock Municipal Code, Title 17, Zoning, Section 17.52.120, Visibility at intersections
- 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
- Town of Castle RockCastle Rock Municipal Code, Title 15, Buildings, Section 15.06.030, Amendments to the International Residential Code
- 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 Castle Rock 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