Fence laws in Nampa, Idaho
What the Nampa municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Nampa sets no rule of its own, the Idaho rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Nampa, Idaho, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Nampa allows something most cities forbid, and the answer turns on whether the property is residential and whether the fence is in public ground. The figure is 36 inches, for clearance a fence keeps from a fire hydrant.
- How tall
- On an interior residential lot a perimeter fence up to six feet may enclose everything that is not front yard, and the answer turns on the yard, the lot shape and what the fence is screening. The figure is 6 feet, for perimeter fence enclosing the area that is not front yard.
- Permits
- It is unlawful in Nampa for anyone to construct or place a fence or a masonry wall on any property in the city without first applying for and obtaining a building permit, and without then complying with everything the permit says.
- 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
- Nampa has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Nampa answers the two questions that cause the most trouble in a single sentence, and it is the only city in this project to do it quite this way. The figure is 6 inches, for distance from the bottom of the fence at which grade level is read.
- Corner lots
- Nampa leaves corner clearance to Section 10-1-2.7 of the Nampa City Code, where vision clearance is defined. The figure is 7.5 feet, for vision triangle kept where a rear property line abuts an alley or drive approach.
- Retaining walls
- Nampa 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
- A fence in Nampa has to be built of common fencing materials that are commercially available, and out of one material throughout, with its colors, pattern and composition consistent, and the answer turns on the material and the zone. The figure is 5 feet, for height above grade at which barbed wire may start.
- Livestock
- Idaho is an open range state.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Nampa?
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Nampa answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the property is residential and whether the fence is in public ground.
Nampa allows something most cities forbid. A residential fence may be built on or within a public right-of-way or an easement, subject to the sidewalk and vision clearance rules, with the city engineer’s permission where a right-of-way is involved. The price is written into the same paragraph: on notice from the city the owner removes the fence at his own expense whenever the city needs that ground for maintenance or construction of a public facility, or decides it is in the city’s interest, or considers the fence a safety hazard. A fence that counts as a structure may not be in a right-of-way at all. On commercial and industrial land the rule reverses and the fence has to sit behind the required setbacks, on the side closest to the center of the property, unless it protects a public well or infrastructure. No fence may be built within thirty six inches of a fire hydrant, and any fence blocking a utility meter needs a man gate.
Residential fences may be permitted to be constructed on/within public rights-of-way and easements subject to the sidewalk and vision clearance restrictions set forth herein.
The answer turns on whether the property is residential and whether the fence is in public ground.
- a residential fence
- A right-of-way or easement is open to it.
- the city needing that ground
- The owner removes it at his own cost.
- commercial or industrial land
- Behind the setbacks.
- a fire hydrant
- Thirty six inches clear. 36 in
Also on fences on the property line in Nampa
- 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 Nampa?
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Nampa answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the lot shape and what the fence is screening.
On an interior residential lot a perimeter fence up to six feet may enclose everything that is not front yard. In the front yard the limit is three feet for a closed-vision fence and four for an open-vision one, and the code says exactly how far forward it may come: from the setback line to the inside of an existing sidewalk, or to the inside of a future sidewalk where one is planned. On a corner lot a six foot fence may run along the side street outside the clear vision triangle and along the rear property line, provided a seven and a half foot vision triangle is kept where the rear line meets an alley or a drive approach. Fences screening a playing field, ball diamond, tennis or basketball court are exempt from the height rules altogether, though not from the setback or vision clearance rules, provided they meet typical industry standards.
Perimeter fences up to a height of six feet may be built to enclose the area not defined as front yard. A three-foot closed-vision or a four-foot open-vision fence may be constructed in the front yard
The answer turns on the yard, the lot shape and what the fence is screening.
- behind the front yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a closed-vision front fence
- Three feet. 3 ft
- an open-vision one
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a ball field screen
- Exempt from the height rules.
Also on fence height in Nampa
- 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 Nampa?
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Nampa answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
It is unlawful in Nampa for anyone to construct or place a fence or a masonry wall on any property in the city without first applying for and obtaining a building permit, and without then complying with everything the permit says. There is no height threshold and no material threshold. Two other approvals attach to particular situations. A fence abutting an Idaho state highway right-of-way takes approval from the Idaho Transportation Department as to its design and its height. And a fence in a public right-of-way, where one is wanted, takes permission from the city engineer first. The code also draws a clear line about private rules: a city fence permit is not an abrogation of the owner’s duty to comply with private covenants, and the city will enforce only its own fence code and never the covenants.
It is unlawful for any person to construct or place a fence or masonry wall upon any property within the city limits without first having applied for and obtained a building permit to do so and without thereafter complying with all the provisions of said permit.
Also on permits in Nampa
- 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 Nampa
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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 Nampa 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 Nampa
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Nampa 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 Nampa 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 Nampa
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Nampa answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Nampa answers the two questions that cause the most trouble in a single sentence, and it is the only city in this project to do it quite this way. The height of a fence, wall or other screen, whether it stands alone or is combined with another screening element, is measured at grade level within six inches of the bottom of the fence or screen or wall or berm. The parenthetical the code supplies is a fence on top of a berm, so the berm is not ground for this purpose and the mound plus the fence is one height. The six inch tolerance is there so the measurement is taken right at the fence rather than at some point further out where the ground has been graded differently. General provisions elsewhere make walls, latticework, screens, hedges, berms and plantings functionally equivalent to fences, so all of them are built, limited in height and maintained under the same rules.
Height of fences, walls or other screens whether stand alone or combined with other screening elements (e.g., a fence on top of a berm) shall be measured at grade level within six inches of the bottom of the fence or screen/wall/berm.
6 indistance from the bottom of the fence at which grade level is read
Also on how height is measured in Nampa
- 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 Nampa
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Nampa does not set this. It leaves it to Section 10-1-2.7 of the Nampa City Code, where vision clearance is defined.
The fence section states the duty and sends the shape elsewhere in one line: vision clearance for fences at street and alley intersections is as defined in Section 10-1-2.7 of the chapter, which is the definitions section. So the triangle exists and its dimensions live with the definitions rather than with the fence rules. Two things in the fence section do turn on it. A corner lot may have a six foot fence along the side street only outside the clear vision triangle, and the code supplies two figures showing the design guidelines. And where the rear property line of a corner lot meets an alley or a drive approach, a seven and a half foot vision triangle has to be kept, which is a small triangle for a slow movement and one of the few numbers the fence section gives on this subject.
Vision clearance. "Vision clearance" for fences at street and alley intersections shall be as defined in section 10-1-2.7 of this chapter.
7.5 ftvision triangle kept where a rear property line abuts an alley or drive approach
The code hands this to Section 10-1-2.7 of the Nampa City Code, where vision clearance is defined, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Nampa
- 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 Nampa
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Nampa 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 Nampa 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 Nampa
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Nampa answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and the zone.
A fence in Nampa has to be built of common fencing materials that are commercially available, and out of one material throughout, with its colors, pattern and composition consistent. Then the code gets specific about the thing people improvise: slats pushed through a chain link fence have to be wide enough to fill the gaps completely and have to run vertically or diagonally, and a chain link fence has to have top rails. Barbed wire is allowed in commercial and industrial zones as the top section of a security fence, provided the wires start at least five feet above grade and do not project over a public right-of-way. Electric fences get a long subsection of their own, requiring conformity with IEC standard 60335-2-76, a battery of no more than twelve volts charged primarily by solar, an enclosing non-electric fence of at least six feet, warning signs no more than sixty feet apart, and permitting under the burglar alarm rules.
Fences shall be constructed such that one material (e.g., wood, vinyl, metal) is used throughout and its color(s), pattern, and composition are consistent. Slats inserted into chain-link fences shall be wide enough to completely fill the gaps they are inserted into/through.
The answer turns on the material and the zone.
- any fence
- One material, consistent throughout.
- chain link slats
- They fill the gap, vertical or diagonal.
- barbed wire
- Commercial or industrial, five feet up. 5 ft
- an electric fence
- A battery, a solar panel and a fence around it.
Also on materials in Nampa
- 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 Nampa
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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 Nampa 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 Nampa
- 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 Nampa 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 NampaNampa City Code, Title 10, Planning and Zoning, Chapter 1, General Provisions
- 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 Nampa 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