Fence laws in Decatur, Illinois
What the Decatur municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Decatur sets no rule of its own, the Illinois rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Decatur, Illinois, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A Decatur fence may stand on the property line itself, with two conditions attached in the same sentence: every post and other stabilizing apparatus stays inside the owner’s own lines, and the finished side faces outward towards the public.
- How tall
- Decatur prints a four row table and leaves one row blank, and the answer turns on the district, the yard, and what the lot backs onto. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a residential front yard.
- Permits
- It is unlawful in Decatur to erect, construct, reconstruct, enlarge or structurally modify a fence without first getting a building permit, and there is no height below which the rule stops applying.
- Pool barriers
- Decatur sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Decatur has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Decatur reads a fence from the established grade on the fence owner’s property up to the topmost section, so the ground on the neighbor side never enters the calculation and a post cap or a decorative top counts toward the figure. The figure is 4 feet, for height the opacity rule caps a front yard fence at.
- Corner lots
- Decatur caps a fence in the vision clearance triangle at three and one half feet above the established street grade in every zoning district, and adds that no fence may limit the clear sight of vehicular traffic whatever its height. The figure is 25 feet, for leg of the vision clearance triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Decatur leaves retaining walls to the municipal or county residential building code, or the International Residential Code named in the construction contract. It reaches newly built homes only.
- Materials
- Most codes list what a fence may not be made of, and the answer turns on the material, the district, and how high the sharp part sits. The figure is 6 feet, for lowest point sharp material may sit at.
- Livestock
- Illinois calls a fence legal at four and a half feet tall and in good repair. The figure is 4.5 feet, for height of a legal fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Decatur?
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Decatur answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Decatur fence may stand on the property line itself, with two conditions attached in the same sentence: every post and other stabilizing apparatus stays inside the owner’s own lines, and the finished side faces outward towards the public. So the boundary fence is allowed and the structure behind it is not allowed to cross. The ordinance then covers the easement case and says plainly who carries the cost. A fence may be placed on a utility or drainage easement at the homeowner’s own risk, it must not inhibit drainage flow, and it may not be installed in a flood plain as determined by the FEMA maps. If it has to be removed so a utility can be reached, the city and the utility contractors are not responsible for reinstalling, repairing or replacing it.
Fences may be located on the property line provided that any post or other stabilizing apparatus shall be located within the property lines of the owner of the fence and shall have the finished side facing outward towards the public.
Also on fences on the property line in Decatur
- set in state lawIllinois makes both neighbors pay for a fence on the line between them, each one a fair share. Most of the section is about hedge fences. A hedge has to be cut back to four feet in the year after it turns seven, then trimmed to five feet at least every two years. An owner who has done the trimming can give the neighbor ten days written notice, do the work, and sue for the cost. Town officers called fence viewers settle the fights. 765 ILCS 130/3Illinois · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Decatur?
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Decatur answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the yard, and what the lot backs onto.
Decatur prints a four row table and leaves one row blank. Agriculture takes eight feet in every yard. A residential lot takes four feet in the front yard and six at the side and rear. Office and commercial takes four in front and eight behind. The industrial row gives no figure for the front, side or rear yard, so the table sets no maximum there at all. Two notes change the residential answer. On a residential corner lot the four foot front yard limit applies only to the side of the lot actually used as the front yard, and a residential side or rear yard that backs onto the R-6, O-1, B-1, B-2, B-3, M-1, M-2, M-3, PD or PMR districts may go to eight feet. The Zoning Board of Appeals may grant a variance from any of it.
In Residential Districts, fences in side or rear yards adjacent to an R-6, O-1, B-1, B-2, B-3, M-1, M-2, M-3, PD, and PMR Districts may be built to a height up to eight (8) feet.
The answer turns on the district, the yard, and what the lot backs onto.
- a residential front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a residential side or rear yard
- Six feet, or eight where it backs onto one of the listed districts. 6 ft
- an office or commercial side or rear yard
- Eight feet, with four still the limit in front. 8 ft
- an industrial district
- The table sets no maximum in any yard.
Also on fence height in Decatur
- no rule, documents checkedIllinois sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The Fence Act names four and a half feet, but that is a floor for a farm fence that holds animals, and the same section lets a town meeting or the county board pick a different number. The state housing law sets no height either. A yard fence height comes from city zoning. 765 ILCS 130/2Illinois · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Decatur?
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Decatur answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
It is unlawful in Decatur to erect, construct, reconstruct, enlarge or structurally modify a fence without first getting a building permit, and there is no height below which the rule stops applying. Four verbs beyond erecting are named, so enlarging an existing fence or changing its structure is permit work rather than maintenance. One exemption exists: a fence put up to protect a construction or demolition site under Chapter 33 of the International Building Code needs no permit, but it has to be removed when the project finishes. A fence that was lawful under the zoning ordinance in force when it went up and no longer complies is declared non-conforming rather than illegal.
Except as otherwise provided herein, it shall be unlawful to erect, construct, reconstruct, enlarge, or structurally modify a fence without first obtaining a building permit.
Also on permits in Decatur
- set in state lawIllinois has no one statewide permit rule for work at a house. Where a town or county has no building code of its own, the Residential Building Code Act makes the builder and the buyer name a code in the building contract, and the International Residential Code applies when they name none. A separate law, in force since January 1, 2025, also requires a city or county code to be at least as strict as a recent model code on how a building is built to hold weight. Illinois Residential Building Code Act, Sec. 15Illinois · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Decatur
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Decatur law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Illinois writes no fence rule for a pool at a private home. The Swimming Pool Safety Act covers pools built for public swimming, and it says plainly that a pool at a private home used by the owner and guests is left out. The state Swimming Facility Code leaves the same pools out. What a home pool needs comes from the city or county and from whatever building code that place has adopted.
This one is Illinois law, not Decatur law. All Illinois findings
Documents read before writing that:
- 210 ILCS 130/1Illinois General Assembly
- 77 Ill. Adm. Code 820Illinois General Assembly, Joint Committee on Administrative Rules
Spite fence laws in Decatur
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Decatur law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Illinois has no spite fence law. The Fence Act covers who pays, what counts as a legal fence, and how hedges get trimmed. Nothing in it turns on why a fence was built. A fence put up to annoy a neighbor is fought in Illinois as a nuisance case in court, or under a city rule.
This one is Illinois law, not Decatur law. All Illinois findings
Documents read before writing that:
- 765 ILCS 130/3Illinois General Assembly
- 765 ILCS 130/2Illinois General Assembly
How fence height is measured in Decatur
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Decatur answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Decatur reads a fence from the established grade on the fence owner’s property up to the topmost section, so the ground on the neighbor side never enters the calculation and a post cap or a decorative top counts toward the figure. Alongside that the ordinance sets a second measurement, this one about how much can be seen through, and the sentence carrying it is missing a word: it says no fence within a required front yard that is more than fifty opaque may be taller than four feet, without saying fifty of what. Read with the table, which caps a residential front yard fence at four feet whatever it is made of, the sentence reaches the office and commercial front yards on the same terms. The vision clearance rule uses a different datum again, the established street grade rather than the ground the owner stands on.
No fence within a required front yard that is more than fifty (50) opaque may be taller than four (4) feet.
4 ftheight the opacity rule caps a front yard fence at
Also on how height is measured in Decatur
- left to the townIllinois never says where a fence height is measured from. The Illinois Municipal Code lets a city set the height and size of buildings, in one short line, and stops there. The Fence Act calls four and a half feet a legal fence and says nothing about the surface those feet start at. So the number and the way to measure it both come from the city. 65 ILCS 5/11-13-1Illinois · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Decatur
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Decatur answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Decatur caps a fence in the vision clearance triangle at three and one half feet above the established street grade in every zoning district, and adds that no fence may limit the clear sight of vehicular traffic whatever its height. The triangle itself is defined as a band rather than a flat area, running from three and one half feet above grade to nine feet above the surface vehicles drive on, so an open canopy above nine feet is outside it. Its legs are always twenty five feet, and the ordinance applies them to three different intersections: two street rights of way or private roadway easements, a street line meeting a public alley or private street, and a street line meeting the edge of the travel area on a driveway. In every case it applies to any combination of public streets, alleys, private streets and driveways on the tract and the tracts adjoining it.
No fence in any zoning district shall be constructed at a height greater than three and one-half (3 ½) feet above the established street grade within the vision clearance triangle nor shall any fence limit the clear sight of vehicular traffic.
XXXIV.B.5, with the triangle defined in the ordinance definitions
25 ftleg of the vision clearance triangle
Also on corner visibility in Decatur
- set in state lawIllinois treats this as blocking the road. Under the Illinois Highway Code it is a petty offense to block a public highway, and running a fence onto one counts, unless the highway authority in charge gave permission. The fine runs from fifty to five hundred dollars, and more for each day the blockage stays after an order to take it out. That rule covers the road strip. A clear view triangle on private ground comes from city zoning. 605 ILCS 5/9-117Illinois · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Decatur
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Decatur does not set this. It leaves it to the municipal or county residential building code, or the International Residential Code named in the construction contract.
Illinois has no statewide building code for homes, so no state law sets a height at which a wall that holds back dirt needs a permit. Where a town or county has its own building code, that code answers it. Where there is none, the Residential Building Code Act makes the builder and the buyer name a code in the building contract, and the current International Residential Code becomes part of that contract when they name none.
This one is Illinois law, not Decatur law. All Illinois findings
The home builder and the home purchaser may agree to adopt the International Residential Code or any municipal residential building code or county residential building code that is in effect on the first day of construction in any county or municipality that is within 100 miles of the location of the new home.
The code hands this to the municipal or county residential building code, or the International Residential Code named in the construction contract, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Decatur
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Decatur answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, the district, and how high the sharp part sits.
Most codes list what a fence may not be made of. Decatur writes the rule the other way round and says fence materials shall allow for all the standard fencing options, naming standard wood, decorative metal, chain link, vinyl and composite, so chain link is permitted outright rather than tolerated with conditions on its color or its placement. The prohibition that remains is about injury rather than appearance. Barbed wire, iron spikes, electrically charged fence and other sharp pointed material may not be placed, built or erected anywhere in the city, with one exception that has two parts and needs both: the fence stands in an agriculture or industrial district, or guards hazardous equipment such as high voltage gear, transformers or volatile fuel installations, and the sharp material sits at least six feet above the nearest grade and extends inward over the property being enclosed.
Fence materials shall allow for all the standard fencing options, including standard wood fencing material, decorative metal, chain link, vinyl and composite.
The answer turns on the material, the district, and how high the sharp part sits.
- wood, decorative metal, chain link, vinyl or composite
- Allowed as a standard option.
- barbed wire, spikes or electric fence in most of the city
- Unlawful to place, build or erect.
- barbed wire in agriculture or industry, or around hazardous equipment
- Allowed at six feet or more above grade, angled inward. 6 ft
Also on materials in Decatur
- set in state lawIllinois lists what a legal fence can be made of: rails, boards, stone, hedge, barbed wire, woven wire, or anything the town fence viewers judge just as good. The fence has to stand four and a half feet tall and be in good repair. 765 ILCS 130/2Illinois · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Decatur
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Illinois answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Illinois calls a fence legal at four and a half feet tall and in good repair. It can be rails, boards, stone, hedge, barbed wire, woven wire, or anything the town fence viewers judge just as good at keeping cattle, horses, sheep and hogs off the land next door. Voters at the yearly town meeting can set a different number for their own town. In a county with no townships, the county board sets it.
This one is Illinois law, not Decatur law. All Illinois findings
Fences four and one-half feet high, and in good repair, consisting of rails, timber boards, stone, hedges, barb wire, woven wire or whatever the fence viewers of the town or precinct where the same shall lie shall consider equivalent thereto suitable and sufficient to prevent cattle, horses, sheep, hogs and other stock from getting on the adjoining lands of another
4.5 ftheight of a legal fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Decatur
- set in state lawIllinois puts the duty on the animal owner, not on the neighbor. A separate act bans letting livestock roam loose anywhere in the state and tells owners to put up whatever it takes to hold them. The owner pays in court for the damage loose animals do. The one way out is showing the animals got out without the owner knowing, and that the owner had taken reasonable care to keep them in. 510 ILCS 55/1Illinois · Statute
Documents behind this page
10 documents, of which 1 was published by Decatur itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act
- City of DecaturZoning Ordinance, Section XXXIV, Fences
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act, Legal and sufficient fences
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois Residential Building Code Act
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Health Facilities and Regulation, Swimming Pool Safety Act
- Illinois General Assembly, Joint Committee on Administrative RulesIllinois Administrative Code, Title 77, Part 820, Swimming Facility Code
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, 65 ILCS 5, Illinois Municipal Code, Article 11, Division 13, Section 11-13-1
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, 605 ILCS 5, Illinois Highway Code, Article 9, Section 9-117
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Chapter 765, Fence Act
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, 510 ILCS 55, Domestic Animals Running at Large Act
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 Decatur publishes, plus the Illinois rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Illinois 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