Fence laws in Denver, Colorado
What the Denver municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Denver sets no rule of its own, the Colorado rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Denver, Colorado, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Fences and walls in Denver may encroach into any setback area any distance, so the building setbacks do not hold a fence back from a lot line and nothing in the division states a separate distance, and the answer turns on whether the setback is an ordinary one or a parkway.
- How tall
- Denver draws its line at the primary street facing facade of the house rather than at a yard boundary, and the answer turns on the district and which side of the house facade the fence is on. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in front of the house facade.
- Permits
- The Zoning Administrator may permit a fence or wall above the maximum height, on application in a specific case, through a zoning permit review with informational notice, and the code lists five standards that all have to be met, and the answer turns on whether all five standards are satisfied. The figure is 4 feet, for length the solidity test is applied over.
- 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
- Denver has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Denver leaves the measuring rule to the governing body of each municipality.
- Corner lots
- Denver leaves corner clearance to Public Works, which approves anything inside a corner sight triangle.
- Retaining walls
- A retaining wall in the primary street setback in Denver may be built to a maximum of four feet, and successive walls may be built provided they are separated by at least four feet, so a deeper cut at the front of a lot becomes a terrace, and the answer turns on whether the wall is in the primary street setback. The figure is 4 feet, for retaining wall in the primary street setback.
- Materials
- A Denver fence has to be built of wood, composite materials, brick, masonry, ornamental metal or iron bars, textured or aggregate concrete, or chain link or wire mesh, with corrugated and sheet metal, salvaged doors, tires, car doors and other discarded materials prohibited outright, and the answer turns on the material and the district.
- 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 Denver?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Denver answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the setback is an ordinary one or a parkway.
Fences and walls in Denver may encroach into any setback area any distance, so the building setbacks do not hold a fence back from a lot line and nothing in the division states a separate distance. The one exception is a Parkway Setback established in Chapter 49 of the municipal code, which protects the city historic parkway system and keeps fences out. That exception recurs in the over-height permit standards, which say a taller fence may not sit in any primary street setback area next to a designated parkway. Nothing asks for consent from the adjoining owner, nothing states which side the finished face or the posts point toward, and nothing divides the cost of a shared fence. Maintenance is placed on the owner of the property and on their successors, heirs and assignees, and required fences and walls have to be continuously maintained, damaged materials included.
Setback Encroachment Allowed Fences and walls may encroach into any setback area any distance, unless within a Parkway Setback established in D.R.M.C. Chapter 49.
The answer turns on whether the setback is an ordinary one or a parkway.
- an ordinary setback
- A fence may go any distance into it.
- a designated parkway
- The encroachment is not allowed.
- maintenance
- The owner and their successors.
Also on fences on the property line in Denver
- 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 Denver?
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Denver answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and which side of the house facade the fence is on.
Denver draws its line at the primary street facing facade of the house rather than at a yard boundary. In every residential zone district, and for any single-unit or two-unit development anywhere, the maximum height forward of that facade is four feet and at or behind it six. The mixed use commercial districts and two open space districts use the same two numbers measured from any street facing facade. The industrial districts work differently again, with seven feet inside the setback area and ten feet outside it, and the seven foot fence inside the setback has to be an open wall, chain link or wire mesh. In the master planned context, where a house faces a publicly accessible open space rather than the street, the numbers swap: six feet toward the street and four toward the open space. An elementary or secondary school, a city park, or an open space, recreation or conservation use may have open-mesh fencing of no maximum height anywhere on the lot.
The maximum height when forward of any Primary street facing Primary Structure Facade shall be 4 feet and when located at or behind any Primary street facing Pri- mary Structure Facade shall be 6 feet.
The answer turns on the district and which side of the house facade the fence is on.
- forward of the house facade
- Four feet. 4 ft
- at or behind it
- Six feet. 6 ft
- an industrial setback
- Seven feet, and open. 7 ft
- an industrial lot outside the setback
- Ten feet. 10 ft
Also on fence height in Denver
- 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 Denver?
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Denver answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether all five standards are satisfied.
The Zoning Administrator may permit a fence or wall above the maximum height, on application in a specific case, through a zoning permit review with informational notice, and the code lists five standards that all have to be met. The fence may not adversely affect traffic safety or the appropriate use of adjacent property. Any four foot linear section of an over-height fence in the primary street setback has to be less than fifty percent solid over its whole area, so a taller fence at the front has to be mostly see-through. The fence has to be necessary for security, privacy or protection from traffic impacts such as noise or lights. It may not detract from the safety or pedestrian character of the right-of-way. And it may not sit in any primary street setback next to a designated parkway. Read together, the second and third conditions mean the extra height is granted for a reason and paid for with transparency.
Any 4-feet linear section of an over-height fence or wall in the Primary Street setback shall be less than 50 percent solid over its entire area.
The answer turns on whether all five standards are satisfied.
- a taller fence at the front
- Less than half solid in any four foot run. 4 ft
- the reason for it
- Security, privacy, noise or lights.
- a designated parkway
- No over-height fence at all.
Also on permits in Denver
- 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 Denver
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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 Denver 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 Denver
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Denver 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 Denver 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 Denver
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Denver 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 Denver 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.
Fence rules for corner lots in Denver
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Denver does not set this. It leaves it to Public Works, which approves anything inside a corner sight triangle.
Denver describes its corner sight triangles rather than dimensioning them. They are areas at the intersection corners of streets, driveways or alleys where the height of landscaping, fences, walls and screening may be limited to preserve clear vehicle sight lines to oncoming vehicle and pedestrian traffic, and any landscaping, fence, wall or screening inside one has to be approved by Public Works. No leg length and no protected band of heights appears anywhere in the division, so an owner cannot check a corner against the zoning code and the answer comes from a department rather than from a rule. The fence section points at it twice, once to say a shorter height may be required to assure the triangles, and again through the over-height permit standard about traffic safety. What the zoning code does supply at a corner is the four foot limit in front of the house facade.
Any landscaping, fence, or wall, or screening within a corner sight triangle shall be approved by Public Works.
The code hands this to Public Works, which approves anything inside a corner sight triangle, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Denver
- 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 Denver
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Denver answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the wall is in the primary street setback.
A retaining wall in the primary street setback in Denver may be built to a maximum of four feet, and successive walls may be built provided they are separated by at least four feet, so a deeper cut at the front of a lot becomes a terrace. That limit does not apply where one or more retaining walls form an integral part of a below-grade window well or other basement egress area that the code already allows to encroach into the setback. Anywhere else on the zone lot a retaining wall may be built to any height at all, which is unusually permissive and reflects a city where the regulated view is the one from the street. A fence on top of a retaining wall in the primary street setback has to be fifty percent or more open for any part of it standing more than four feet above the lowest grade at the base of the wall, so the combined structure stays see-through where it matters.
When provided, Retaining Walls in the Primary Street Setback area shall be built to a maximum height of 4 feet and successive walls may be built provided that they are separated by at least 4 feet.
The answer turns on whether the wall is in the primary street setback.
- the primary street setback
- Four feet, terraced four feet apart. 4 ft
- anywhere else on the lot
- Any height.
- a fence on top of one at the street
- Half open above four feet. 50%
- a window well or basement egress
- The four foot limit does not apply.
Also on retaining walls in Denver
- left to the townColorado 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. C.R.S. 30-28-201(1)Colorado · Statute
Fence materials allowed in Denver
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Denver answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and the district.
A Denver fence has to be built of wood, composite materials, brick, masonry, ornamental metal or iron bars, textured or aggregate concrete, or chain link or wire mesh, with corrugated and sheet metal, salvaged doors, tires, car doors and other discarded materials prohibited outright. Barbed and razor wire are available only in the three industrial districts and only if the Fire Department approves. Anything of similar quality not on the list may be used if the Zoning Administrator approves it. The hard part is what happens to an existing fence. Notwithstanding the nonconforming structure provisions in Article 12, an existing fence built of prohibited materials may not be maintained, and has to be immediately reconstructed of approved materials or removed. So the usual protection an older structure gets is switched off for a fence made of the wrong thing, and the only exception is where some other part of the municipal code required the fence in the first place.
In all zone districts, notwithstanding the Nonconforming Structure provisions in Article 12, Zoning Procedures and Enforcement, existing fences and walls that have been con- structed of prohibited materials or other materials not approved by the Zoning Admin- istrator may not be maintained, and any such fences and walls shall be immediately reconstructed of approved materials or removed;
The answer turns on the material and the district.
- the permitted list
- Seven materials, plus what the administrator allows.
- tires, car doors or salvaged doors
- Prohibited.
- barbed or razor wire
- Industrial districts, with the Fire Department.
- an existing fence of a banned material
- Rebuilt or removed, with no grandfathering.
Also on materials in Denver
- 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 Denver
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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 Denver 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 Denver
- 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 Denver itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Colorado General AssemblyColorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 35, Article 46, Section 35-46-112
- City and County of DenverDenver Zoning Code, Article 10, Division 10.5, Landscaping, Fences, Walls and Screening
- 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 Denver 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