Fence laws in Waukegan, Illinois
What the Waukegan municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Waukegan sets no rule of its own, the Illinois rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Waukegan, Illinois, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A Waukegan fence has to sit on or inside the zoning lot the permit was issued for, and the ordinance names the fence post separately so the structure under the ground is caught as well as the panel above it.
- How tall
- Waukegan prints one table covering every district, and the answer turns on the zoning district and the yard. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- Waukegan marks a fence as BP in every one of its seventeen zoning districts, meaning it needs a building permit under Chapter 6 of the Code before it may be built, with no district where it is allowed by right and no height threshold.
- Pool barriers
- Waukegan sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Waukegan has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Waukegan states the datum in one sentence attached to the height table, reading from the ground at the base of the fence or wall.
- Corner lots
- Illinois treats this as blocking the road. It reaches a public highway, where the highway authority has not given permission only.
- Retaining walls
- Waukegan 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
- A Waukegan fence in a front or corner side yard setback has to be ornamental in appearance and construction at fifty percent transparency, with wrought iron, picket and split rail given as the examples, and the answer turns on the district and where on the lot the fence stands. The figure is 50 percent, for transparency required on an ornamental 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 Waukegan?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Waukegan answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Waukegan fence has to sit on or inside the zoning lot the permit was issued for, and the ordinance names the fence post separately so the structure under the ground is caught as well as the panel above it. The finished side faces outward and the posts end up on the owner’s side. Every fence with frontage on a public right of way, other than on a corner lot, has to include a gate or opening giving access to that right of way. Fences and walls are not allowed in any easement, public or private.
All fences must be located on or within the zoning lot for which a fence permit has been issued. No fence or fence post may encroach on property outside the zoning lot for which a fence permit has been issued.
Also on fences on the property line in Waukegan
- 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 Waukegan?
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Waukegan answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zoning district and the yard.
Waukegan prints one table covering every district. In the residential and lakefront districts a front yard and a corner side yard both take four feet, and an interior side or rear yard takes six. Everywhere else the front yard is still four feet, but the corner side rises to six and the rear to eight. The table states that the figures apply to open and solid fence designs alike, so unlike most of Illinois the height does not change with how much can be seen through. Where barbed, electrified or razor wire is allowed after site plan review in the non-residential districts, that fence may not exceed seven feet.
Table 9.03-2 Maximum Fence Height provides maximum height requirements for fences or walls by zoning district. Maximum fence heights shown are for both open fence and solid fence designs, unless otherwise noted.
The answer turns on the zoning district and the yard.
- a front yard, in any district
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a corner side yard in a residential or lakefront district
- Four feet. 4 ft
- an interior side or rear yard in a residential district
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a rear yard outside the residential districts
- Eight feet. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Waukegan
- 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 Waukegan?
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Waukegan answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Waukegan marks a fence as BP in every one of its seventeen zoning districts, meaning it needs a building permit under Chapter 6 of the Code before it may be built, with no district where it is allowed by right and no height threshold. The landscape standards say the same thing more bluntly where fences screen a parking lot, adding that replacement fences are covered too, so swapping a failing fence like for like is permit work rather than maintenance.
Permits are required for all fences within the City of Waukegan including replacement fences.
Also on permits in Waukegan
- 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 Waukegan
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Waukegan 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 Waukegan 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 Waukegan
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Waukegan 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 Waukegan 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 Waukegan
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Waukegan answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Waukegan states the datum in one sentence attached to the height table, reading from the ground at the base of the fence or wall. Because the reference is the ground the fence actually stands on rather than an averaged grade or the higher of two lots, the answer follows the fence along its run. The ordinance sets no separate rule for a difference in grade between neighbors and none for a fence built on a retaining wall.
The maximum height of a fence or wall is measured from the ground at the base of the fence or wall.
Also on how height is measured in Waukegan
- 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 Waukegan
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Illinois answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Illinois 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.
This one is Illinois law, not Waukegan law. All Illinois findings
If any person injures or obstructs a public highway by felling a tree or trees in, upon or across the same, or by placing or leaving any other obstruction thereon, or encroaching upon the same with any fence
Retaining wall rules in Waukegan
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Waukegan 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 Waukegan 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 Waukegan
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Waukegan answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and where on the lot the fence stands.
A Waukegan fence in a front or corner side yard setback has to be ornamental in appearance and construction at fifty percent transparency, with wrought iron, picket and split rail given as the examples. Elsewhere on the lot any style is allowed, including stockade and basket weave. The three lakefront districts are the exception: every fence there has to be ornamental at fifty percent transparency wherever it stands on the lot. Barbed wire, electrically charged wire and razor wire are prohibited in the residential and lakefront districts, and allowed in the other districts only through site plan review and never above seven feet. Both sides of any fence have to be similar in construction, design and appearance.
All fences in the L1, L2, and L3 Districts must be ornamental with 50 percent transparency, regardless of location on a zoning lot. Ornamental fences include wrought iron, picket, and split rail.
The answer turns on the district and where on the lot the fence stands.
- a front or corner side yard setback
- Ornamental at fifty percent transparency. 50%
- the L1, L2 and L3 lakefront districts
- Ornamental at fifty percent transparency, anywhere on the lot.
- barbed, electrified or razor wire outside the residential districts
- Site plan review, and never above seven feet. 7 ft
Also on materials in Waukegan
- 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 Waukegan
Compare agricultural fencing across all 50 states
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 Waukegan 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 Waukegan
- 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
11 documents, of which 2 were published by Waukegan itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act
- City of WaukeganCode of Ordinances, Appendix A, Unified Development Ordinance, Section 9.03.C.17, Fence or Wall
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Property, Fence Act, Legal and sufficient fences
- Illinois General AssemblyIllinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois Residential Building Code Act
- City of WaukeganCode of Ordinances, Appendix A, Unified Development Ordinance, Section 11, Landscape Standards
- 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 Waukegan 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