Fence laws in Fort Collins, Colorado
What the Fort Collins municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Fort Collins sets no rule of its own, the Colorado rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Fort Collins, Colorado, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A Fort Collins fence may come no closer than two feet to a public sidewalk, and the answer turns on what the fence is next to and how deep the garage is. The figure is 2 feet, for clearance from a public sidewalk.
- How tall
- Fences and walls are allowed in every Fort Collins zone district, and the height turns on where they stand relative to the building line, and the answer turns on where the fence stands relative to the building line. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in front of the building line.
- Permits
- Where a fence or wall runs along a collector or arterial street in Fort Collins it has to be made visually interesting and avoid creating a tunnel effect, and the code lists ways to get there: brick or stone columns, articulation or openings in the design, varying the alignment or setback, or softening the line with planting, and the answer turns on how long the fence is and what street it faces. The figure is 100 feet, for length that triggers the variation rule.
- 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
- Fort Collins has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Fort Collins states no datum for measuring an ordinary fence in the fence section, so how the height is read comes from the rules of measurement in Article 7 rather than from the fence standards themselves, and the answer turns on whether the fence is a required screen. The figure is 5 feet, for shortest screening fence.
- Corner lots
- A visual clearance triangle free of any structure or landscape element over twenty-four inches has to be maintained at street intersections and driveways in Fort Collins, in conformance with the standards in the Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards, so the shape of the triangle comes from a regional engineering manual rather than from the land use code, and the answer turns on whether the thing at the corner is solid, open or a tree. The figure is 24 inches, for tallest solid object in the triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Fort Collins leaves retaining walls to each board of county commissioners, and separately each city and town, which adopt building codes on their own.
- Materials
- Chain link with or without slats may not be used as a fencing material for screening purposes in Fort Collins, and no barbed wire, other sharp-pointed fence or electrically charged fence may be installed in any zone district except as the code allows, and the answer turns on the district and what the fence is for. The figure is 300 feet, for spacing of electric fence warning signs.
- 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 Fort Collins?
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Fort Collins answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence is next to and how deep the garage is.
A Fort Collins fence may come no closer than two feet to a public sidewalk. Along an alley the distance depends on something most codes never look at, which is how far back the garage door sits. Where an alley-accessed garage door is set back at least twenty feet from the lot line the fence may come within three feet of that line, and where the door is set back less than twenty feet the fence has to stay eight feet off. So a shallow garage buys a deeper fence setback, because a car backing out needs the room. On lots in the low density residential and old town districts the City Engineer may approve a closer location where it is safe. Fences and walls may be located within required setbacks subject to permit approval, provided they meet the fence standards, so the ordinary building setbacks do not otherwise hold a fence back.
o closer than two (2) feet to a public sidewalk
The answer turns on what the fence is next to and how deep the garage is.
- a public sidewalk
- Two feet clear. 2 ft
- an alley with a deep garage
- Three feet from the lot line. 3 ft
- an alley with a shallow garage
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a required setback
- A fence may sit in it with permit approval.
Also on fences on the property line in Fort Collins
- 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 Fort Collins?
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Fort Collins answers this, but the answer changes depending on where the fence stands relative to the building line.
Fences and walls are allowed in every Fort Collins zone district, and the height turns on where they stand relative to the building line. No more than four feet between the front building line and the front property line, and no more than four feet in the front yard or in any required side yard setback area within the front yard, unless a demonstrated unique security purpose requires otherwise. No more than six feet in a required rear yard setback or in a side yard setback within a rear yard. And no more than forty-two inches inside a visual clearance triangle, where anything over thirty-two inches also has to be split rail with at least twelve inches between horizontal members. A screening wall or fence serving a non-residential use is bounded at both ends elsewhere in the code, at not less than five feet and not more than eight.
more than six (6) feet high if located within any required rear yard setback area or within any side yard setback area in a rear yard
The answer turns on where the fence stands relative to the building line.
- between the building line and the front line
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a rear yard setback
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a visual clearance triangle
- Forty-two inches, split rail above thirty-two. 42 in
- a demonstrated unique security purpose
- The four foot front limit gives way.
Also on fence height in Fort Collins
- 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 Fort Collins?
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Fort Collins answers this, but the answer changes depending on how long the fence is and what street it faces.
Where a fence or wall runs along a collector or arterial street in Fort Collins it has to be made visually interesting and avoid creating a tunnel effect, and the code lists ways to get there: brick or stone columns, articulation or openings in the design, varying the alignment or setback, or softening the line with planting. Then it adds a requirement with a number attached, which is what makes it enforceable. To the extent reasonably feasible, a fence or fence section over one hundred feet long has to vary its alignment or setback for at least a third of its length by a minimum of five feet. So a long fence has to physically wander rather than merely change material. Screening walls elsewhere in the code carry a related rule, requiring long expanses to avoid monotony through repeating elements, alternating opaque and transparent sections, or pillars.
If used along collector or arterial streets, such features shall be made visually interesting and shall avoid creating a "tunnel" effect.
The answer turns on how long the fence is and what street it faces.
- a fence over a hundred feet
- A third of it moves five feet. 100 ft
- how far it has to move
- Five feet. 5 ft
- other ways to comply
- Columns, openings or planting.
Also on permits in Fort Collins
- 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 Fort Collins
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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 Fort Collins 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 Fort Collins
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Fort Collins 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 Fort Collins 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 Fort Collins
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Fort Collins answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is a required screen.
Fort Collins states no datum for measuring an ordinary fence in the fence section, so how the height is read comes from the rules of measurement in Article 7 rather than from the fence standards themselves. Where the code does set both a floor and a ceiling is on a screening wall or fence, which has to be at least five feet but not more than eight. Such a fence has to be built of material similar to or compatible with the primary building material and architecture, and the code says in a parenthesis that chain link with or without wood slats or other inserts is not an acceptable screening device. Fencing may not impair traffic safety by obscuring views. And a long expanse of fence or wall surface has to be architecturally designed to avoid monotony, through repeating elements, alternating opaque and transparent sections, or architectural elements including pillars.
Screening walls or fences shall be at least five (5) feet, but not more than eight (8) feet in height.
The answer turns on whether the fence is a required screen.
- a screening fence
- Between five and eight feet. 5 ft
- its material
- Compatible with the building, never chain link.
- a long run of it
- Designed to avoid monotony.
Also on how height is measured in Fort Collins
- 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 Fort Collins
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Fort Collins answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the thing at the corner is solid, open or a tree.
A visual clearance triangle free of any structure or landscape element over twenty-four inches has to be maintained at street intersections and driveways in Fort Collins, in conformance with the standards in the Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards, so the shape of the triangle comes from a regional engineering manual rather than from the land use code. Two exceptions are written into the same paragraph. A fence may reach forty-two inches inside the triangle provided it is of an open design, which is the figure the fence section repeats and tightens by requiring split rail above thirty-two inches. And a deciduous tree may encroach provided its lowest branch is at least six feet from grade. Twenty-four inches for anything solid is one of the lowest figures in this set, and it means an ordinary front yard fence has to stop or open up at the corner.
a visual clearance triangle, free of any structures or landscape elements over twenty- four (24) inches in height, shall be maintained at street intersections and driveways in conformance with the standards contained in the Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards.
The answer turns on whether the thing at the corner is solid, open or a tree.
- anything solid
- Twenty-four inches. 24 in
- an open design fence
- Forty-two inches. 42 in
- a deciduous tree
- Allowed with six feet of clear trunk. 6 ft
- the shape of the triangle
- Set by the county street standards.
Also on corner visibility in Fort Collins
- 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 Fort Collins
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Fort Collins 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 Fort Collins 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 Fort Collins
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Fort Collins answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and what the fence is for.
Chain link with or without slats may not be used as a fencing material for screening purposes in Fort Collins, and no barbed wire, other sharp-pointed fence or electrically charged fence may be installed in any zone district except as the code allows. Two exceptions follow and both are detailed. In the urban estate, rural land and foothills residential districts, barbed wire and portable electric fencing may be used for livestock and pasture management, with the electric fencing only inside permanent fencing, signed every three hundred feet with a marker of at least thirty-six square inches where it runs along a public right-of-way, limited to low impedance commercially available energizers with current about one second on and two seconds off, and capped at two thousand six hundred volts at a five hundred ohm load at seventeen milliamperes. In the employment and industrial districts the Director may grant a revocable use permit, renewed every three years, for security arms and barbed wire on top of a fence.
shall not be used as a fencing material for screening purposes.
The answer turns on the district and what the fence is for.
- chain link as a screen
- Not allowed.
- an electric fence for livestock
- Low impedance, signed every three hundred feet. 300 ft
- barbed wire in an employment or industrial district
- A revocable permit, renewed every three years.
- the lowest strand of that wire
- Ten feet above the ground outside the fence. 10 ft
Also on materials in Fort Collins
- 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 Fort Collins
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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 Fort Collins 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 Fort Collins
- 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
8 documents, of which 2 were published by Fort Collins itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Colorado General AssemblyColorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 35, Article 46, Section 35-46-112
- City of Fort CollinsCity of Fort Collins Land Use Code, Article 4, Use Standards, Section 4.3.5(C), Fences and Walls
- 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
- City of Fort CollinsCity of Fort Collins Land Use Code, Article 5, General Development and Site Design, Section 5.16.1
- 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 Fort Collins 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