Fence laws in Centennial, Colorado
What the Centennial municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Centennial sets no rule of its own, the Colorado rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Centennial, Colorado, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- The same table that sets the heights sets the setbacks, and in every yard the minimum distance from the property line is zero, and the answer turns on whether a sidewalk runs along that side. The figure is 0 feet, for minimum setback from the property line.
- How tall
- Centennial puts its residential heights in a single table, and the answer turns on the yard, and what the fence encloses. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- The Centennial fence permit is written about change, not about construction as such, and the answer turns on whether the work changes material, position or height.
- 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
- Centennial has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Centennial measures a fence from the outside. The figure is 12 inches, for how far a post may rise above the fence.
- Corner lots
- Centennial leaves corner clearance to the Roadway Design and Construction Standards Manual, adopted by reference.
- Retaining walls
- Centennial leaves retaining walls to each board of county commissioners, and separately each city and town, which adopt building codes on their own.
- Materials
- Centennial writes a short list of what a residential fence may be made of and a longer one of what it may not, and the answer turns on the material and which yard the fence stands in. The figure is 50 percent, for maximum opacity at the front.
- 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 Centennial?
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Centennial answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether a sidewalk runs along that side.
The same table that sets the heights sets the setbacks, and in every yard the minimum distance from the property line is zero. A fence may sit on the boundary. What the table adds is a clearance rather than a setback: in the front, street side and rear yards the fence has to stand at least six inches from a sidewalk where one is present, and five feet from the street where there is none. The interior side yard has no such clearance because no sidewalk runs along it. Centennial does answer the orientation question that most codes leave out, requiring the finished side of a fence to face out toward any trail, open space, park or adjacent right-of-way, so the posts and rails face the owner. Nothing in the section divides the cost of a shared fence or asks for the consent of the adjoining owner.
0 ft., but at least 6 in. from sidewalk, if present; 5 ft. from streets, if no sidewalk.
The answer turns on whether a sidewalk runs along that side.
- the lot line itself
- A fence may sit on it. 0 ft
- a sidewalk
- Six inches of clearance. 6 in
- a street with no sidewalk
- Five feet. 5 ft
- the finished side
- Faces the trail, park or street.
Also on fences on the property line in Centennial
- 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 Centennial?
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Centennial answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, and what the fence encloses.
Centennial puts its residential heights in a single table. A fence or garden wall may reach four feet in a front yard and eight feet in an interior side yard, a street side yard or a rear yard. Eight feet is a foot taller than most Colorado cities allow, and the street side yard gets the full eight rather than being pulled back to the front yard figure, which is the opposite of the usual pattern. A hedge in a front yard is held to the same four feet as a fence. Two exceptions run higher. A fence around an outdoor recreation facility such as a basketball or tennis court may reach twelve feet where it is chain link with a non-metallic coating, sits in a side or rear yard in a residential district, and stands twenty-five feet back from residential property lines. A baseball backstop or golf driving range netting may go over twelve feet at the discretion of the Director.
Maximum Height* 4 ft. 8 ft. 8 ft. 8 ft.
The answer turns on the yard, and what the fence encloses.
- a front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a side, street side or rear yard
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a tennis or basketball court
- Twelve feet, set twenty-five feet back. 12 ft
- a hedge at the front
- Four feet, same as a fence.
Also on fence height in Centennial
- 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 Centennial?
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Centennial answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the work changes material, position or height.
The Centennial fence permit is written about change, not about construction as such. It is an administrative permit used to authorize the construction and repair of fences or garden walls where any part is replaced with different materials, where the fence is reconfigured in any way, or where its height is increased. Replacing a wood fence with masonry is named as the example of different materials. So a like for like repair in the same place at the same height falls outside all three triggers, while moving the line of an existing fence falls inside the second one. The permit sits beside zoning clearance, an administrative procedure in which the Director verifies that an application complies with the land development code, and both may be issued at the same time as a building permit. Enforcement is separate: the Director may order an owner to repair or remove at the owner expense a fence that is a public hazard or nuisance through inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence or abandonment.
Fence permits are administrative permits that are used to authorize the construction and repair of fences or garden walls when any of the following activities are involved: 1. Any part of the fence or garden wall is replaced with different materials (e.g., wood is replaced with masonry); or 2. The fence or garden wall is reconfigured in any way; or 3. The height of the fence or garden wall is increased.
The answer turns on whether the work changes material, position or height.
- a change of material
- A fence permit.
- a reconfiguration
- A fence permit.
- added height
- A fence permit.
- a like for like repair
- None of the three triggers.
Also on permits in Centennial
- 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 Centennial
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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 Centennial 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 Centennial
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Centennial 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 Centennial 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 Centennial
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Centennial answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Centennial measures a fence from the outside. The height is the vertical distance from the average finished grade on the outside of the enclosed area, or the side closest to the property line where the fence encloses nothing, to the top of the fence, taken at six-foot intervals as appropriate to the topography. Two things are settled by that sentence. The neighbor side governs on sloping ground, so an owner cannot gain height by building up the inside. And the averaging happens along the run rather than across the whole fence, which is what the six-foot interval is for: a fence crossing a dip is judged panel by panel rather than end to end. Fence posts are then allowed to exceed the highest connected portion of the fence by up to twelve inches, so a decorative post cap does not put a conforming fence over the limit.
The height of fences and garden walls is calculated by measuring the vertical distance from the average finished grade on the outside of the enclosed area (or the side closest to the property line if the fence does not enclose anything) to the top of the fence, at six-foot intervals as appropriate to topography. Fence posts may exceed the height of the highest connected portion of the fence by up to twelve (12) inches.
12 inhow far a post may rise above the fence
Also on how height is measured in Centennial
- 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 Centennial
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Centennial does not set this. It leaves it to the Roadway Design and Construction Standards Manual, adopted by reference.
The Centennial code states no corner triangle of its own. The fence section says twice that fences and garden walls may not be located within required sight triangles and sight distances as required by Section 12-11-208, and the hedge paragraph repeats it for planting, but Section 12-11-208 is a single sentence that hands the whole question to the Roadway Design and Construction Standards Manual. So the dimensions sit in an engineering document adopted by reference rather than in the code, and the manual can be revised without an ordinance. One related duty is codified. An owner whose property abuts a public right-of-way has to maintain the landscaping between the edge of pavement or the inside of the curb and the property line, including providing for continuing compliance with the sight triangle and sight distance restrictions, so the obligation is ongoing rather than a one time check at installation.
Development within the City shall be subject to the sight triangle and sight distance requirements in the Roadway Design & Construction Standards Manual.
The code hands this to the Roadway Design and Construction Standards Manual, adopted by reference, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Centennial
- 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 Centennial
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Centennial 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 Centennial 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 Centennial
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Centennial answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and which yard the fence stands in.
Centennial writes a short list of what a residential fence may be made of and a longer one of what it may not. Permitted materials are wood that will last, meaning a weather resistant species, a split rail design, wood treated with preservatives approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, or wood that is painted or stained and sealed; ornamental wrought iron or powder-coated aluminum; vinyl; composite materials; and masonry, named as brick, finished concrete, split face concrete masonry units or stone. Chain link is permitted only in an interior side yard or a rear yard that is not also a street yard. Scrap lumber, plywood, tree branches, tree trunks, sheet metal, plastic or fiberglass sheets, barbed wire, spikes, nails and comparable sharp points, and fabric or mesh as a primary component, are all out. Barbed wire cradles facing inward are allowed on a fence around a utility building or where the Director finds a demonstrated security interest. A fence in a front yard also has to be no more than fifty percent opaque.
The following materials are not allowed as Fence or Garden Wall components: scrap lumber, plywood, tree branches, tree trunks, sheet metal, plastic or fiberglass sheets, barbed wire (except as provided in subsection C.3, above), spikes, nails, or other comparable sharp points, or fabric and/or mesh as a primary fence component.
The answer turns on the material and which yard the fence stands in.
- a front yard fence
- No more than half opaque. 50%
- chain link
- Interior side and rear yards only.
- barbed wire
- Inward cradles on a utility fence, or a demonstrated security need.
- sheet metal or plywood
- Never.
Also on materials in Centennial
- 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 Centennial
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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 Centennial 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 Centennial
- 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
10 documents, of which 4 were published by Centennial itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Colorado General AssemblyColorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 35, Article 46, Section 35-46-112
- City of CentennialCentennial Municipal Code, Chapter 12, Land Development Code, Section 12-3-602, Fences, Garden Walls, and Hedges
- 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
- City of CentennialCentennial Municipal Code, Chapter 12, Land Development Code, Section 12-14-501, Zoning Clearance; Fence Permits; and Sign Permits
- 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
- City of CentennialCentennial Municipal Code, Chapter 12, Land Development Code, Section 12-3-204, Height
- Colorado General Assembly, Office of Legislative Legal ServicesColorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 43, Transportation
- City of CentennialCentennial Municipal Code, Chapter 12, Land Development Code, Section 12-11-208, Sight Triangle and Sight Distance Requirements
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 Centennial 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