Fence laws in Downers Grove, Illinois
What the Downers Grove municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Downers Grove sets no rule of its own, the Illinois rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Downers Grove, Illinois, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Downers Grove requires the fence posts and structural elements to sit on the side of the fence facing the property being enclosed, which is the finished side rule written from the structure rather than from the face.
- How tall
- In a Downers Grove residential district a street or corner yard takes an open design fence of no more than four feet, and a side or rear yard takes six, chain link and woven mesh included, and the answer turns on the district, the yard, the shape of the lot and what it abuts. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a residential street or corner yard.
- Permits
- It is unlawful in Downers Grove to erect or alter any fence without a permit from the Community Development Director, with altering named alongside erecting and no height threshold. The figure is 6 months, for how long a fence permit stays valid.
- Pool barriers
- Downers Grove sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Downers Grove has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Downers Grove puts three separate measurements into its definition of an open design fence. The figure is 6 inches, for widest element allowed in an open design fence.
- Corner lots
- The intersection visibility rule draws a thirty five foot triangle on a corner lot in any R district, formed by the two street facing lot lines and a line joining points thirty five feet back from where they meet, and a ten foot area in a non-residential district measured from the intersection of the right of way lines, with the part of a building above the first floor exempt there, and the answer turns on the zoning district, and whether the structure is a conforming fence. The figure is 35 feet, for triangle leg on a residential corner lot.
- Retaining walls
- Downers Grove 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
- Downers Grove prohibits electrified and barbed wire fencing in every zoning district, and reopens it only in the business and manufacturing districts through the special use process, so even there it takes a public hearing rather than a permit, and the answer turns on the material, the district, and which yard the fence stands in. The figure is 4 feet, for height of the permitted corner lot chain link fence.
- 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 Downers Grove?
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Downers Grove answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Downers Grove requires the fence posts and structural elements to sit on the side of the fence facing the property being enclosed, which is the finished side rule written from the structure rather than from the face. Fences are permitted in side and rear yards and in required setbacks, so a boundary fence is contemplated and no setback from a side or rear line is stated. The village then handles the double frontage lot with a test about the neighbors rather than a fixed rule. Where the rear of the house faces a street and every directly abutting lot is laid out the same way, that frontage counts as a rear yard for fence purposes. Where one or more abutting lots has the front of a house facing the same street, the fence has to follow the yard requirements of that front facing house instead.
All fences must be constructed so that fence posts and structural elements are located on the side of the fence facing the property being enclosed.
Also on fences on the property line in Downers Grove
- 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 Downers Grove?
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Downers Grove answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the yard, the shape of the lot and what it abuts.
In a Downers Grove residential district a street or corner yard takes an open design fence of no more than four feet, and a side or rear yard takes six, chain link and woven mesh included. Where a residential district abuts a non-residential one, a closed fence of up to eight feet is allowed, but only in the side and rear yards of the residential lots that actually abut it. Two corner cases raise the street yard to six feet: where the side of the house faces the street and the rear of the house faces the rear of a house on an adjacent corner lot, and where an R zoned lot holds a non-residential use with multiple frontages and a parking lot but no building, in which case the fence has to be open design and run along the parking lot perimeter. On a corner lot with three street facing lot lines, six feet is allowed only in the two street facing side yards from the rear building line back, and everything outside that stops at four. Non-residential land takes eight feet throughout, open design in a street yard.
Fences, including chain-link and woven mesh designs, are permitted in side and rear yards and required setbacks. Fences in side and rear yards may not exceed six feet (6') in height. In residential districts abutting nonresidential districts, fences of up to eight feet (8’) in height and closed in design may be erected only in the side and rear yards of the residential district properties that abut the nonresidential districts.
The answer turns on the district, the yard, the shape of the lot and what it abuts.
- a residential street or corner yard
- Four feet, open design. 4 ft
- a residential side or rear yard
- Six feet, chain link and woven mesh allowed. 6 ft
- a residential lot abutting a non-residential district
- Eight feet, closed design, on the abutting side and rear only. 8 ft
- a non-residential district
- Eight feet, open design in a street yard. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Downers Grove
- 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 Downers Grove?
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Downers Grove answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
It is unlawful in Downers Grove to erect or alter any fence without a permit from the Community Development Director, with altering named alongside erecting and no height threshold. A written application goes to the Community Development Department with the fee set in the village User-Fee, License and Fine Schedule rather than in the code. The village then does something few codes do and puts an expiry on the approval: a fence permit is valid for six months, so a permit that is not built on lapses instead of remaining open. The section also states its own reach, applying to all fences including plants and walls in the nature of a fence, which brings a hedge and a garden wall inside the same rules.
It is unlawful to erect or alter any fence within the Village unless a permit has been issued by the Community Development Director.
6 monthshow long a fence permit stays valid
Also on permits in Downers Grove
- 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 Downers Grove
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Downers Grove 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 Downers Grove 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 Downers Grove
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Downers Grove 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 Downers Grove 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 Downers Grove
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Downers Grove answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Downers Grove puts three separate measurements into its definition of an open design fence. No post and no vertical or horizontal element may be wider than six inches. The open area has to be at least fifty percent of the closed area, which is a ratio between the two rather than a share of the whole surface. And that open area has to be distributed uniformly over the entire fence surface, so the gaps cannot be concentrated at the top. Split rail and post and board are given as examples, and chain link, shadow box and woven mesh are expressly excluded whatever their measurements come to. The section states no ground datum for fence height and says nothing about grade, post caps or a difference in level between two lots.
Open design fences must be constructed in such a manner that no post or vertical and horizontal element exceeds a width of six inches (6"), and the open area is not less than fifty percent (50%) of the closed area, with the open area distributed uniformly over the entire fence surface.
6 inwidest element allowed in an open design fence
Also on how height is measured in Downers Grove
- 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 Downers Grove
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Downers Grove answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zoning district, and whether the structure is a conforming fence.
The intersection visibility rule draws a thirty five foot triangle on a corner lot in any R district, formed by the two street facing lot lines and a line joining points thirty five feet back from where they meet, and a ten foot area in a non-residential district measured from the intersection of the right of way lines, with the part of a building above the first floor exempt there. Then it does something almost no other code does and exempts a fence: the prohibition covers any obstruction and any structure other than fences meeting the requirements of the fence section. So a fence that complies with the four foot street yard rules may stand inside the triangle, and the fence section carries the whole burden of keeping a corner visible. The fence section states that duty in general terms, barring a fence from obstructing the vision of people using the street, sidewalks or driveways.
In any R zoning district, within a triangular area formed by the lot lines abutting streets and a line connecting points on these lot lines located thirty-five feet (35') from the intersection of the lot lines abutting streets.
28.10.020, with the general rule at 28.10.010(a)(4)
The answer turns on the zoning district, and whether the structure is a conforming fence.
- a corner lot in an R district
- A thirty five foot triangle. 35 ft
- a corner lot in a non-residential district
- Ten feet from the intersection of the right of way lines. 10 ft
- a fence meeting the fence section
- Exempt from the intersection visibility rule.
Also on corner visibility in Downers Grove
- 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 Downers Grove
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Downers Grove 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 Downers Grove 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 Downers Grove
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Downers Grove answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, the district, and which yard the fence stands in.
Downers Grove prohibits electrified and barbed wire fencing in every zoning district, and reopens it only in the business and manufacturing districts through the special use process, so even there it takes a public hearing rather than a permit. Chain link and woven mesh are handled by position rather than by ban. Both are permitted in a residential side or rear yard and both are prohibited in a street or corner yard, with one exception: on a corner lot where the side of the house faces a street, a chain link fence built without slats, including an anodized or vinyl clad one, may stand in the street or corner yard at up to four feet, and only in the stretch from the rear line of the house to the rear lot line. Chain link, shadow box and woven mesh can never qualify as open design however they are built.
Electrified or barbed wire fence are prohibited in all zoning districts, except that in business and manufacturing districts electrified or barbed wire fences may be approved through the special use process.
The answer turns on the material, the district, and which yard the fence stands in.
- electrified or barbed wire fencing
- Prohibited, unless approved as a special use on business or industrial land.
- chain link or woven mesh in a residential side or rear yard
- Permitted.
- chain link or woven mesh in a street or corner yard
- Prohibited, except unslatted chain link behind the house on a corner lot at four feet. 4 ft
- shadow box or woven mesh
- Never counts as open design.
Also on materials in Downers Grove
- 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 Downers Grove
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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 Downers Grove 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 Downers Grove
- 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 Downers Grove itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act
- Village of Downers GroveMunicipal Code, Chapter 28, Zoning, Section 28.10.010, 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 Downers Grove 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