Fence laws in Longmont, Colorado
What the Longmont municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Longmont sets no rule of its own, the Colorado rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Longmont, Colorado, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Longmont sets no general distance between a fence and a lot line, and instead writes rules about what the fence faces and what it blocks, and the answer turns on what the fence faces and what is behind it. The figure is 3 feet, for clear radius around a fire hydrant.
- How tall
- The general limit in Longmont is six feet on residential property and eight feet for mixed-use and nonresidential property, with residential lots whose side and rear yards abut an arterial street also getting eight, and the answer turns on the property type and where on the lot the fence stands. The figure is 6 feet, for fence on residential property.
- Permits
- Longmont requires a permit for every fence and writes no exemption at all.
- 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
- Longmont has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Longmont measures a fence from the highest side.
- Corner lots
- On a corner lot or reverse corner lot in a residential zone Longmont expressly allows a privacy fence along the street side portion of the side yard and the rear yard, which many cities do not, and then attaches four safety conditions, and the answer turns on the traffic at the intersection. The figure is 1 foot, for setback from a sidewalk on the street side.
- Retaining walls
- Longmont leaves retaining walls to each board of county commissioners, and separately each city and town, which adopt building codes on their own.
- Materials
- Longmont regulates the color of a fence as well as what it is made of, which almost no other city in this set does, and the answer turns on the material, the color and the district. The figure is 6 feet, for height barbed wire has to start at.
- 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 Longmont?
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Longmont answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence faces and what is behind it.
Longmont sets no general distance between a fence and a lot line, and instead writes rules about what the fence faces and what it blocks. The finished, smooth side of a fence has to face any public right-of-way, common area or other public area, and the same requirement is repeated for perimeter wood privacy fences, which additionally have to be painted in neutral colors compatible with the neighborhood design. Three clearances apply regardless of the boundary. No fence may hinder access to a fire hydrant or encroach within a radius of three feet of one, and the director may require gates in a fence for fire protection, meter reading, or the use and maintenance of an easement. No fence may obstruct access to any utility. And where a landscape buffer is required, the landscaping goes on the outside of the fence rather than behind it, so the planting is what the street sees.
No fence or wall shall be constructed that hinders or obstructs access to any fire hydrant or that encroaches within a radius of three feet from any fire hydrant.
15.05.100(I), with (D)(1) and (E)(1)(b)
The answer turns on what the fence faces and what is behind it.
- a fire hydrant
- Three feet of clear radius. 3 ft
- the finished side
- Faces the street or the common area.
- an easement
- The director may require a gate.
- a landscape buffer
- Planted on the outside of the fence.
Also on fences on the property line in Longmont
- 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 Longmont?
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Longmont answers this, but the answer changes depending on the property type and where on the lot the fence stands.
The general limit in Longmont is six feet on residential property and eight feet for mixed-use and nonresidential property, with residential lots whose side and rear yards abut an arterial street also getting eight. The director may allow a higher fence on a mixed-use or nonresidential property where it is needed for screening or buffering. The front yard is handled separately and more tightly. Nothing may be placed between the front lot line and any part of the front facade of the building unless it is at least fifty percent transparent and no more than forty-two inches high, so a solid privacy fence across the front is not available at any height. One more figure sits in the perimeter rules: a perimeter fence between a pocket park or common area and an adjacent arterial or collector street may not exceed forty-eight inches unless the decision-making body finds a taller fence is needed for safety or buffering.
Except as otherwise stated or limited in this section or chapter, the maximum height for fences and walls shall be six feet for fences/walls located on residential property and eight feet for mixed-use and nonresidential properties and residential properties with side and rear yards abutting arterial streets, unless the director determines that a higher fence or wall is necessary on a mixed-use or nonresidential property to provide adequate screening or buffering.
The answer turns on the property type and where on the lot the fence stands.
- a house lot
- Six feet. 6 ft
- across the front of the house
- Forty-two inches, half transparent. 42 in
- a mixed-use or nonresidential lot
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a side or rear yard on an arterial
- Eight feet on a house lot too.
Also on fence height in Longmont
- 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 Longmont?
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Longmont answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Longmont requires a permit for every fence and writes no exemption at all. No fence or wall may be constructed until a plan has been presented and a permit issued in the manner provided for building permits. Most cities carve out a short fence, a repair, or a rear yard fence under a certain height; Longmont carves out nothing, so a four foot picket fence across a front yard is on the same footing as an eight foot masonry wall. The plan requirement is the operative part, because it is what lets the city check the color palette, the transparency at the front and the clearance from hydrants before anything is built rather than after. Review and administrative procedures for building and construction permits are in Section 15.02.120. Perimeter fence and wall designs are approved separately, with the subdivision plat or the site plan, so in a new development the standard is fixed before any individual lot is sold.
No fence or wall shall be constructed until a plan has been presented and a permit has been issued in the manner provided for the issuance of building permits.
Also on permits in Longmont
- 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 Longmont
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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 Longmont 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 Longmont
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Longmont 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 Longmont 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 Longmont
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Longmont answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Longmont measures a fence from the highest side. The height is the vertical distance between finished grade on the highest side of the fence to the top of the fence or wall. That is the stricter of the two ways a code can read a fence on sloping ground, and it is the opposite of what several other Colorado cities do. Reading from the high side means the owner on the upper part of a slope gets no extra height from the drop, and a fence that would stand six feet on the low side has to come down so it measures six from the top of the bank. It also removes the incentive to build up the ground on one side before setting posts, because raising the high side raises the point the measurement starts from. The sentence sits at the end of the height paragraph rather than in a definitions section, so it applies to every height figure in the fence rules.
The height of a fence or wall is measured as the vertical distance between finished grade on the highest side of the fence to the top of the fence or wall.
Also on how height is measured in Longmont
- 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 Longmont
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Longmont answers this, but the answer changes depending on the traffic at the intersection.
On a corner lot or reverse corner lot in a residential zone Longmont expressly allows a privacy fence along the street side portion of the side yard and the rear yard, which many cities do not, and then attaches four safety conditions. The fence has to sit outside the right-of-way and at least one foot back from any sidewalk along the street. Gates in it have to open toward the yard rather than toward the sidewalk, so a swinging gate never crosses a pedestrian path. The fence has to comply with city sight distance requirements. And an unobstructed view has to be maintained to preserve sight distance, with the requirements themselves living in the city standards rather than in the code, and the city able to require greater distances at high-volume or high-speed intersections. So the corner rule is a standard plus a delegation rather than a stated triangle.
In order to preserve sight distance, an unobstructed view shall be maintained. Sight distance requirements are addressed in the city standards. The city may require greater distances in certain high-volume or high-speed traffic intersections.
The answer turns on the traffic at the intersection.
- a corner lot
- A privacy fence is allowed on the street side.
- a sidewalk
- One foot of clearance. 1 ft
- a gate
- Opens into the yard.
- a fast or busy intersection
- The city may require more room.
Also on corner visibility in Longmont
- 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 Longmont
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Longmont 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 Longmont 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 Longmont
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Longmont answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, the color and the district.
Longmont regulates the color of a fence as well as what it is made of, which almost no other city in this set does. A fence has to be built of materials customarily sold commercially for fencing, with decorative masonry excluding smooth face, stone, brick, iron, steel, vinyl, wood and wood composite named, and then limited to white, green, brown and gray earth-tone palettes. Anything outside that needs an administrative modification from the director. Barbed wire, tin and sheet metal are prohibited, and partly built of those materials counts as well. Barbed wire returns only as a topping on a woven wire industrial fence in an industrial district, only where the director finds extraordinary and unusual circumstances requiring it for public safety, and then no closer than six feet to the ground and not tilted outward from the plane of the fence. Any fence capable of being charged with electricity is a violation, apart from a low-voltage invisible fence for pets.
Fences and walls shall be limited to white, green, brown and gray earth-tone color palettes. Other materials and colors are prohibited unless specifically allowed in this development code or the director approves an administrative modification under section 15.02.080.B for an alternate design that meets the purposes of these fence and wall standards.
The answer turns on the material, the color and the district.
- color
- White, green, brown or gray earth tones.
- barbed wire
- Industrial only, above six feet, never tilted out. 6 ft
- an electric fence
- A violation, except a low-voltage pet fence.
- chain link at the front
- Prohibited on a residential lot.
Also on materials in Longmont
- 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 Longmont
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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 Longmont 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 Longmont
- 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 Longmont itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Colorado General AssemblyColorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 35, Article 46, Section 35-46-112
- City of LongmontLongmont Code of Ordinances, Title 15, Land Development Code, Section 15.05.100, 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
- 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 Longmont 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