Fence laws in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
What the Coeur d'Alene municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Coeur d'Alene sets no rule of its own, the Idaho rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- The fencing regulations open by saying fences, walls and hedges are permitted in required yards, and then place them precisely: on or within all rear and side yard property lines, and on or within all front yard setback lines. The figure is 0 feet, for setback stated from a rear or side yard property line.
- How tall
- For a residential use in any district, a fence, wall or hedge up to six feet is permitted on or within all rear and side yard property lines and on or within all front yard setback lines, and the answer turns on the use, the district and what the fence abuts. The figure is 6 feet, for fence, wall or hedge on a rear or side yard property line at a residential use.
- Permits
- The fencing article names no permit for an ordinary fence at or below the stated heights, and the answer turns on how tall the fence is and what it abuts.
- Pool barriers
- Idaho sets the pool barrier height by the size of the pool, which almost no other state does, and the answer turns on the surface area of the pool. The figure is 4 feet, for barrier around a public pool under 1,800 square feet. It reaches public pools, not a pool serving a single home only.
- Spite fences
- Coeur d'Alene has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Coeur d'Alene writes one of the most complete measuring rules in this project and it answers three questions.
- Corner lots
- Coeur d'Alene leaves corner clearance to Section 12.36.425 of the Coeur d'Alene Municipal Code, the vision triangle regulations.
- Retaining walls
- Coeur d'Alene leaves retaining walls to the 2018 International Residential Code, adopted by the Idaho building code board. It reaches one and two family homes only.
- Materials
- The general rule is permissive and short: fences and walls may be of any material commonly used in construction, provided the fence or wall meets whatever criteria for sturdiness and construction other city regulations establish, and the answer turns on what the fence encloses. The figure is 90 percent, for light a game area fence over six feet has to admit.
- Livestock
- Idaho is an open range state.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Coeur d'Alene?
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Coeur d'Alene answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The fencing regulations open by saying fences, walls and hedges are permitted in required yards, and then place them precisely: on or within all rear and side yard property lines, and on or within all front yard setback lines. For a non-residential use in a residential district the same sentence adds the street side yard setback line. So the code gives express permission to build on the boundary rather than leaving it to be inferred from an absent setback, and a hedge is placed by the same words as a fence. No distance from a neighbor is stated anywhere in the article. The one limit on position rather than height is the vision triangle, which the article incorporates by reference in each subsection rather than restating.
Fences, walls, and hedges shall be permitted in required yards in accordance with the following regulations:
0 ftsetback stated from a rear or side yard property line
Also on fences on the property line in Coeur d'Alene
- set in state lawWhen two Idaho neighbors share one enclosure and one of them needs a partition fence, the other has to build half of it once told in writing. The fence goes on the property line or as near it as practical. If the notified party does not finish that half within six months of the notice, the party who gave notice may build the whole fence, collect half the cost by law, and hold a lien on the other tract. A lien is a claim against the land that stays until the money is paid. Idaho Code 35-103Idaho · Statute
- set in state lawIdaho splits a line fence by a plain rule. Standing on his own land and facing the neighbor, each owner takes the half on his left, builds it and keeps it in repair. The two may agree to a different split. An owner who leaves his land unfenced is not held to the duty. A party who makes the fence stronger on his own pays that extra cost alone, unless the neighbor later pastures hogs, sheep or goats against it. Idaho Code 35-104Idaho · Statute
- set in state lawNeighbors who cannot agree on the split go to court. Either party may ask a magistrate judge, on five days notice, to appoint three viewers. The viewers may question witnesses under oath and look at the property, then set the split in writing. That written decision is filed with the county recorder and binds both sides. Idaho Code 35-106Idaho · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Coeur d'Alene?
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Coeur d'Alene answers this, but the answer changes depending on the use, the district and what the fence abuts.
For a residential use in any district, a fence, wall or hedge up to six feet is permitted on or within all rear and side yard property lines and on or within all front yard setback lines. In a required front yard the limit is four feet. Ten feet is available by special use permit in two situations, where the abutting property is used for a commercial or manufacturing activity and where the residential property abuts an interstate freeway, and any fence over six feet has to meet the adopted building code. A fence over six feet enclosing a tennis court or other game area outside the buildable area also takes a special use permit. On non-residential land in a non-residential district the rule is looser still: no height restriction at all on a side or rear line, except six feet where it abuts a residential use.
Fences, walls, and hedges not greater than six feet (6') in height shall be permitted on or within all rear and side yard property lines and on or within all front yard setback lines
The answer turns on the use, the district and what the fence abuts.
- a rear or side line at a house
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a required front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- next to industry or a freeway
- Ten feet by special use permit. 10 ft
- non-residential land away from houses
- No height restriction.
Also on fence height in Coeur d'Alene
- no rule, documents checkedIdaho sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The heights that do appear in state law are floors for a lawful fence in livestock country, not caps on a yard fence. Section 35-101 sets a floor of four and one half feet, and section 35-102 gives board, rail and wire heights for each kind of fence. A limit on a yard fence comes from city and county zoning. Idaho Code 35-101Idaho · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Coeur d'Alene?
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Coeur d'Alene answers this, but the answer changes depending on how tall the fence is and what it abuts.
The fencing article names no permit for an ordinary fence at or below the stated heights. Above six feet two things happen at once. A fence taller than six feet has to conform to the currently adopted building code and the other applicable provisions of the code, which is where an engineering and inspection obligation comes from. And the route to ten feet runs through the special use permit procedures in Section 17.09.205, available where the abutting property is commercial or manufacturing, where a residential property abuts an interstate freeway, or in the reverse case where non-residential land abuts residential use. A fence over six feet around a tennis court or other game area outside the buildable area takes the same special use permit, and comes with the ninety percent light requirement attached.
All fences and walls greater than six feet (6') in height shall conform to the currently adopted building code and other applicable provisions of this code.
The answer turns on how tall the fence is and what it abuts.
- six feet or under
- No permit named.
- over six feet
- The building code applies.
- ten feet
- A special use permit.
- a game area fence
- A special use permit and a light test.
Also on permits in Coeur d'Alene
- set in state lawIdaho runs a real statewide residential code. Section 39-4109 makes the version of the International Residential Code picked by the Idaho building code board, plus that board's own changes, the Idaho residential code. The board moves to a newer version through negotiated rulemaking, and the version already picked stays in force until it does. Idaho Code 39-4109Idaho · Building code
- set in state lawIdaho keeps farm buildings outside the building code. Barns, livestock shelters, poultry buildings, greenhouses, grain silos, stables and like storage buildings are exempt. Places people live in, plants where farm products get processed, and buildings open to public use are not. A county may still issue a farm building permit, but only to check road setbacks and utility easements, and only at what it actually costs. Idaho Code 39-4116Idaho · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Coeur d'Alene
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Idaho answers this, but the answer changes depending on the surface area of the pool.
Idaho sets the pool barrier height by the size of the pool, which almost no other state does. A public pool under one thousand eight hundred square feet needs a four foot barrier around it. A public pool that size or bigger needs eight feet, the tallest figure in this record. Both rules reach public pools only, so a pool behind a house is outside them and falls to the local building code instead.
This one is Idaho law, not Coeur d'Alene law. All Idaho findings
A fence or barrier a minimum of eight (8) feet high to exclude unauthorized persons from the pool area must enclose each public pool with one thousand eight hundred (1,800) square feet of surface area, or greater.
The answer turns on the surface area of the pool.
- a public pool with less than 1,800 square feet of surface area
- The barrier around it stands at least four feet high and keeps people out of the pool area. 4 ft
- a public pool with 1,800 square feet of surface area or more
- The barrier doubles to at least eight feet, the tallest pool barrier figure in this record. 8 ft
Spite fence laws in Coeur d'Alene
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Coeur d'Alene law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Idaho has no spite fence law. The fences chapter runs from section 35-101 through 35-112 and covers lawful fence specs, partition fences, cost splits, viewers, surveys and gates, with nothing about spite and no height that sets anything off. The general nuisance chapter defines public and private nuisance without naming fences at all.
This one is Idaho law, not Coeur d'Alene law. All Idaho findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Idaho Code tit. 35, ch. 1Idaho State Legislature
- Idaho Code tit. 52, ch. 1Idaho State Legislature
- Idaho Code 52-101Idaho State Legislature
How fence height is measured in Coeur d'Alene
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Coeur d'Alene answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Coeur d'Alene writes one of the most complete measuring rules in this project and it answers three questions. Height runs from the top of the fence at its highest point to the finished grade of the lot adjacent to the fence, so the ground beside the fence is the reference and the highest point of the fence is the number. Where the fence is built on a mound, or otherwise sits above the average finished grade of the lot, the height of the mound is included in the overall height, which closes the berm loophole outright. And where a parking, loading or similar area is built next to the fence above the finished grade of the parcel, the height is measured from the top of that paved surface instead, which stops a raised lot being used to make a screening fence look taller than it is.
If the fence or wall is built on a mound or is otherwise constructed on a level above the average finished grade of the parcel or lot, the height of the mound shall be included in the overall height of the fence or wall.
Also on how height is measured in Coeur d'Alene
- set in state lawIdaho names the ground in its lawful fence section. A lawful fence has to be at least four and one half feet high, and the bottom board, rail, pole or wire has to sit no more than twenty inches above the ground. The bottom of the fence is tied to the ground in plain words. The four and one half feet is still a bare number, so a fence running down a slope is left open. That section is about keeping stock in. A yard fence is sized under the Local Land Use Planning Act, where section 67-6511 lets the local governing board set height rules district by district. Idaho Code 35-101Idaho · Statute
Fence rules for corner lots in Coeur d'Alene
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Coeur d'Alene does not set this. It leaves it to Section 12.36.425 of the Coeur d'Alene Municipal Code, the vision triangle regulations.
Every height allowance in the fencing regulations carries the same rider: the fence is subject to Section 12.36.425, vision triangle regulations, of the code. Section 12.36.425 sits in Title 12, which is the streets and sidewalks title, so the corner rule belongs to the street code rather than to the zoning code, and the fencing article never states a leg length, a band of protected height, or an exception for an open fence. The rider is repeated in the residential subsection, in the non-residential use in a residential district subsection, and again in the non-residential district subsection, which is a sign that the drafters expected the triangle to be the thing that actually limits a fence near a corner rather than the six foot and four foot figures.
and will be subject to section 12.36.425, vision triangle regulations, of this code.
The code hands this to Section 12.36.425 of the Coeur d'Alene Municipal Code, the vision triangle regulations, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Coeur d'Alene
- set in state lawIdaho names fences by name, but only where they cross onto the road. Title 40, chapter 23 lets a county or highway district order the removal of anything pushing onto a highway or public right of way, and it lists gates, fences and buildings as examples. If the thing actually blocks the road or makes it unsafe, the district may take it out with no notice at all. Nothing in the chapter measures a wedge at an intersection or caps a fence height near a corner, so the triangle itself comes from city and county ordinances under Title 67, chapter 65. Idaho Code 40-2319Idaho · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Coeur d'Alene
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Coeur d'Alene does not set this. It leaves it to the 2018 International Residential Code, adopted by the Idaho building code board.
Idaho prints no retaining wall rule in its own text. The state building code rules adopt Parts I, II, III and IX of the 2018 International Residential Code for one and two family homes, then list every change Idaho makes to it. Those changes reach the pool depth line and add flag poles to the list of work that needs no permit. They leave the model code's retaining wall line alone, so the answer for a wall that holds back earth is whatever the model code says.
This one is Idaho law, not Coeur d'Alene law. All Idaho findings
International Residential Code, 2018 Edition. Parts I, II, III, and IX of the 2018 Edition for one (1)- and two (2)- family dwellings, with the following amendments:
The code hands this to the 2018 International Residential Code, adopted by the Idaho building code board, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Coeur d'Alene
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Coeur d'Alene answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence encloses.
The general rule is permissive and short: fences and walls may be of any material commonly used in construction, provided the fence or wall meets whatever criteria for sturdiness and construction other city regulations establish. No material is prohibited by name, so barbed wire, razor wire and electric fencing are neither allowed nor barred by this article. The one material specification in the article belongs to a game area, and it is written as a physical test rather than a list: a fence over six feet enclosing a tennis court or other game area has to be composed of wire mesh capable of admitting at least ninety percent of light, as measured on a reputable light meter. A swimming pool enclosure is sent to the building code as adopted and to the other applicable provisions of the municipal code.
Fences and walls may be of any material commonly used in construction, provided that said fence or wall meets any criteria for sturdiness and construction as established in other city regulations.
The answer turns on what the fence encloses.
- an ordinary fence
- Any common construction material.
- a tall tennis court fence
- Wire mesh, ninety percent light. 90%
- a pool enclosure
- The building code governs.
- barbed, razor or electric wire
- Not named either way.
Also on materials in Coeur d'Alene
- set in state lawIdaho gives barbed wire its own chapter inside the fence title, and what it controls is loose wire rather than whether a fence may use it. Leaving barbed wire down or strewn on the ground where livestock can be hurt on it is against the law. Idaho Code 35-301Idaho · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Coeur d'Alene
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Idaho answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Idaho is an open range state. A person who owns or controls a farm animal grazing on open range has no duty to keep it off a highway crossing that range, and does not pay when a vehicle hits it. Open range means unfenced land outside cities, villages and herd districts where livestock graze by custom, license, lease or permit. So keeping livestock out falls to the neighboring land rather than to the stock owner.
This one is Idaho law, not Coeur d'Alene law. All Idaho findings
No person owning, or controlling the possession of, any domestic animal running on open range, shall have the duty to keep such animal off any highway on such range, and shall not be liable for damage to any vehicle or for injury to any person riding therein, caused by a collision between the vehicle and the animal.
Also on agricultural fencing in Coeur d'Alene
- set in state lawIdaho defines the lawful fence that the open range and herd district rules lean on. It has to stand at least four and one half feet high. The bottom board, rail, pole or wire sits no more than twenty inches off the ground, and the space between top and bottom has to be well divided. Idaho Code 35-101Idaho · Statute
- set in state lawIdaho spells out the wire version of a lawful fence. Posts stand no more than twenty four feet apart, with three solid stays spaced evenly between them. The fence takes at least three barbed wires, or four coiled spring wires of number nine gauge or heavier, fastened to every post and stay. Idaho Code 35-102Idaho · Statute
- set in state lawA majority of the property owners in an area can petition the county commissioners for a herd district, which bars the named livestock from running loose inside it. Everything outside those districts, and outside cities and villages, stays open range. Taxable property owners inside a herd district pay to build and keep up the legal fences and cattle guards along the border with open range. Idaho Code 25-2402(3)Idaho · Statute
Documents behind this page
17 documents, of which 1 was published by Coeur d'Alene itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 35, Chapter 1, Section 35-103, Erection of partition fences
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 35, Chapter 1, Section 35-104, Care of fences by adjoining owners
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 35, Chapter 1, Section 35-106, Disagreement between owners, viewers
- City of Coeur d'AleneCoeur d'Alene Municipal Code, Title 17, Zoning, Chapter 17.06, Fencing and Landscape Regulations
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 35, Chapter 1, Section 35-101, Lawful fences in general
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 35, Chapter 1, Section 35-102, Lawful fences described
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 39, Chapter 41, Section 39-4109, Application of codes
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 39, Chapter 41, Section 39-4116
- Idaho Office of the Administrative Rules CoordinatorIDAPA 16.02.14, Construction and Operation of Public Swimming Pools, Section 300, Fence and Barriers
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 35, Chapter 1, Fences, full section list
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 52, Chapter 1, Nuisances in General, full section list
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 52, Chapter 1, Section 52-101, Nuisance defined
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 40, Chapter 23, Section 40-2319, Encroachments, removal, notice, penalty for failure to remove, removal by county or highway district, abatement
- Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, Idaho Building Code BoardIdaho Administrative Code, IDAPA 24.39.30, Rules of Building Safety (Building Code Rules)
- Idaho LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 35, Chapter 3, Barbed Wire
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 25, Chapter 21, Section 25-2118, Animals on open range, no duty to keep from highway
- Idaho State LegislatureIdaho Statutes, Title 25, Chapter 24, Section 25-2402, Petition and requirements for district
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 Coeur d'Alene publishes, plus the Idaho rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Idaho 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