Fence laws in Council Bluffs, Iowa
What the Council Bluffs municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Council Bluffs sets no rule of its own, the Iowa rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Council Bluffs, Iowa, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- No fence placed on any lot may project over the property line, and no fence or obstruction may be placed in the public right-of-way, stated flatly with no exception, and the answer turns on what stands near the line on either side. The figure is 0 feet, for closest a fence may come to the property line, without crossing.
- How tall
- Council Bluffs prints a table of four rows, and the answer turns on the district, the yard, the material and the size of the parcel. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a residential or commercial front yard.
- Permits
- Nobody may erect or install any fencing in Council Bluffs, other than vegetation, without first applying for and receiving a permit from the Building Division, with no height threshold and no district exemption, and the answer turns on nothing for the permit itself; the extras depend on the material and the ground.
- Pool barriers
- Chapter 135I sets the Iowa rules for swimming pools, spas and spray pads.
- Spite fences
- Council Bluffs has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Council Bluffs measures from the grade on which the fence is placed to the highest point of the fence structure, which takes the ground under the fence rather than either lot and counts a picket, a finial or a cap. The figure is 2 feet, for projection allowed above the district maximum for wire and outriggers.
- Corner lots
- Council Bluffs is the only city in this project so far that specifies an equilateral triangle, and the answer turns on whether the fence sits inside the triangle or merely obstructs a view. The figure is 35 feet, for side of the equilateral corner triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Council Bluffs leaves retaining walls to the 2024 International Residential Code. It reaches houses, duplexes and townhouses up to three stories, and the structures beside them only.
- Materials
- Council Bluffs writes its material list as a rule about visibility rather than about districts, and the answer turns on whether the fence can be seen from a street or a neighbor, and the district.
- Livestock
- Iowa names six builds that count as a lawful fence. The figure is 10 feet, for post spacing for a three rail lawful fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Council Bluffs?
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Council Bluffs answers this, but the answer changes depending on what stands near the line on either side.
No fence placed on any lot may project over the property line, and no fence or obstruction may be placed in the public right-of-way, stated flatly with no exception. No distance is set between a fence and a neighboring lot, so the line itself is the limit rather than a setback from it. Two other clearances are named. No fence may be placed within three feet of a fire hydrant, and none may block visibility or access to a hydrant from the street. And a street side yard fence in a residential district drops from six feet to four where the driveway entrance of an adjoining property sits within ten feet of the shared property line, unless a difference in ground level lets the owner show the fence will not block the view from that driveway, which the Community Development Director decides. The permit also makes the applicant take responsibility for any boundary dispute the fence causes.
No fence placed on any lot shall project over the property line. No fence or obstruction shall be placed in the public right-of-way.
Section 15.24.040, General Requirements for All Zoning Districts
The answer turns on what stands near the line on either side.
- a shared boundary
- Up to it, never over it. 0 ft
- a fire hydrant
- Three feet clear. 3 ft
- a neighbor driveway near the line
- Four feet in the street side yard. 10 ft
- the public right-of-way
- No fence at all.
Also on fences on the property line in Council Bluffs
- set in state lawIowa treats a fence on a boundary as a shared job. When one owner asks in writing, the law makes each owner of the touching land build and keep up the partition fence, or pay a share toward it. The duty runs the whole year, not part of it. Iowa Code 359A.1AIowa · Statute
- set in state lawIowa hands boundary fence fights to local officials called fence viewers. The township trustees for the place where the argument starts are the fence viewers, and they can hear and settle every question in the dispute. Iowa Code 359A.2AIowa · Statute
- set in state lawThe fence viewers give everyone in the dispute five days of written notice before a hearing. The notice gives the time and place and lists what will be decided. It also names the fence viewers and says whether any of them reported a conflict of interest. Iowa Code 359A.3Iowa · Statute
- set in state lawAfter the hearing the fence viewers write an order. It gives each owner the part of the fence to build, keep up, rebuild, trim or pay for. It also sets the value of that work and the deadline to finish it or pay. Iowa Code 359A.4Iowa · Statute
- set in state lawIowa lets a fence sit right on the boundary. A person building one may lay it on the line so part of it stands on each side, and keeps the same right to take it down as if the whole fence stood on one lot. Iowa Code 359A.16Iowa · Statute
- set in state lawIowa names six kinds of fence that count as a lawful fence. One is a wire, rail or board fence with its bottom line sixteen to twenty inches off the ground and its top line between forty eight and fifty four inches high. Fence viewers may also accept any other fence they judge equal to the six. Iowa Code 359A.18Iowa · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Council Bluffs?
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Council Bluffs answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the yard, the material and the size of the parcel.
Council Bluffs prints a table of four rows. Residential and commercial districts get four feet in a front yard and six in a street side or interior side or rear yard. Industrial and open space districts get eight feet everywhere. Two lifts apply in the residential and commercial rows: a six foot fence is allowed in a front yard if it sits behind the wall of the principal structure facing the street and does not obstruct the view of pedestrians or vehicles, and an ornamental iron fence in a front or street side yard may exceed four feet up to a total of six. The tallest allowance is reserved for large industry. On a parcel of fifty contiguous acres or more in the I-2 or I-3 districts, a ten foot fence is allowed in the interior side, street side and rear yards, built only of wood, vinyl-coated chain link or architectural precast concrete, with no sharp projections, outriggers or barbed wire.
In residential and commercial districts, a maximum six-foot tall fence may be allowed in the front yard if the fence is placed behind the wall of the principal structure facing a public or private street and does not create a safety hazard by obstructing the clear view of pedestrians or vehicles. Ornamental iron fences located in the front or street side yards may exceed four feet in height, but are limited to six feet in overall height.
Section 15.24.040, Fence Height Requirements
The answer turns on the district, the yard, the material and the size of the parcel.
- a residential front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- behind the front wall of the house
- Six feet. 6 ft
- an industrial or open space lot
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- fifty acres of industrial land
- Ten feet, in three named materials. 10 ft
Also on fence height in Council Bluffs
- no rule, documents checkedIowa sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The fence chapter gives heights only as specs for a lawful farm fence, and the state building code as adopted deletes the permit sections and never mentions fences at all. Height for a yard fence comes from city ordinance. Iowa Code 359A.18Iowa · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Council Bluffs?
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Council Bluffs answers this, but the answer changes depending on nothing for the permit itself; the extras depend on the material and the ground.
Nobody may erect or install any fencing in Council Bluffs, other than vegetation, without first applying for and receiving a permit from the Building Division, with no height threshold and no district exemption. The unusual part is what the permit asks the applicant to sign. As part of it, the applicant certifies that they will abide by the municipal code and assume full responsibility for any public or private property dispute associated with installing the fence, including trespass and property line or boundary location disputes. That puts the survey risk on the owner in writing rather than leaving it to a later argument, and it is the only place in this project where a permit carries a hold-harmless of that kind. Fees are set by the city council and listed in chapter 2 of the code. Two discretionary routes exist: the Community Development Director may approve another material, and may allow a residential fence over six feet where the ground is difficult.
No person or entity shall be allowed to erect or otherwise install any fencing (other than vegetation) under the requirements of this section unless they have first applied for and received a permit from the City of Council Bluffs Building Division. As part of the permit, the applicants shall certify that they will abide by all applicable municipal codes of the City of Council Bluffs and shall assume full responsibility for any public or private property disputes associated with the installation of the applicant’s fence, including, but not limited to, trespass and property line/boundary location disputes.
Section 15.24.040, General Requirements for All Zoning Districts
The answer turns on nothing for the permit itself; the extras depend on the material and the ground.
- any fence
- A permit from the Building Division.
- a hedge
- No permit.
- the application
- The owner takes the boundary risk.
- over six feet on difficult ground
- Case by case with the Director.
Also on permits in Council Bluffs
- set in state lawIowa has a state building code and it does not switch on by itself. It applies in a city or county only after the local governing body passes an ordinance accepting it and files a certified copy with the state commissioner. A place that adopted the code may later vote to withdraw from it. Iowa Code 103A.12Iowa · Statute
- set in state lawThe Iowa state building code adopts the 2024 International Residential Code for houses, duplexes and townhouses up to three stories, plus the structures beside them. The state version of the International Building Code covers everything else. Iowa Admin. Code 481-301.8Iowa · Building code
- set in state lawIowa strips the permit chapters out of the residential code it adopts. Sections R103 through R114 are deleted, and those are the sections that create the building department, the permit itself, and the list of work that needs no permit. The state building code text carries no fence permit rule and no fence height, so the local jurisdiction settles the permit question for a fence. The state version of the International Building Code deletes its sections 103, 104 and 105 the same way. Iowa Admin. Code 481-301.8(2)Iowa · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Council Bluffs
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Iowa answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Chapter 135I sets the Iowa rules for swimming pools, spas and spray pads. It reaches pools run by state and local government, by businesses and by private groups, and it names hotels, motels, camps, apartments, condominiums and country clubs. A pool meant for one family at a home falls outside the chapter.
This one is Iowa law, not Council Bluffs law. All Iowa findings
This chapter does not apply to facilities intended for single family use
Also on pool barriers in Council Bluffs
- set in state lawA pool covered by chapter 135I has to be ringed by a fence, wall, building or a mix of those, at least four feet high and built of lasting material. The rule leaves out a wading pool that is drained when not in use, and it leaves out a spray pad. Iowa Admin. Code 481-485.4(4)Iowa · Agency guidance
- set in state lawThe same Iowa rule limits the gaps in a pool barrier. No opening may let a four inch ball pass, and the barrier cannot be easy for a toddler to climb. The lowest horizontal support that can be reached from outside sits at least forty five inches above the ground. Iowa Admin. Code 481-485.4(4)Iowa · Agency guidance
Spite fence laws in Council Bluffs
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Council Bluffs law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Iowa has no spite fence law. The fence chapter and the nuisance chapter never mention a fence built to annoy a neighbor, and neither one sets a height that turns a fence into a legal wrong. Section 657.1 gives only a general test covering anything that blocks the free use of property, and section 657.2 lists twelve named nuisances, none of them a boundary fence.
This one is Iowa law, not Council Bluffs law. All Iowa findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Iowa Code ch. 359AIowa Legislature
- Iowa Code 657.1Iowa Legislature
- Iowa Code 657.2Iowa Legislature
How fence height is measured in Council Bluffs
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Council Bluffs answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Council Bluffs measures from the grade on which the fence is placed to the highest point of the fence structure, which takes the ground under the fence rather than either lot and counts a picket, a finial or a cap. One thing is allowed to sit outside the figure and it is the opposite of a decorative cap: sharp or pointed projections, outriggers and barbed wire strands may project an additional two feet above the maximum height for the district, where the district allows them at all. What the section does not settle is the slope between two lots, because the grade on which the fence is placed can be read from either side, and no berm rule or retaining wall rule appears. Retaining walls are lifted out of the section entirely, exempt provided they do not obstruct the clear view of pedestrians or vehicles, so a wall holding back earth is not measured as a fence.
The height of a fence shall be measured from the grade on which the fence is placed to the highest point of the fence structure. Sharp or pointed projections, outriggers, and barbed wire strands may project an additional two feet from the maximum fence height allowed in the underlying zoning district, if applicable.
Section 15.24.040, General Requirements for All Zoning Districts
2 ftprojection allowed above the district maximum for wire and outriggers
Also on how height is measured in Council Bluffs
- set in state lawIowa names the ground, for the one kind of fence it regulates. Section 359A.18 lists what counts as a lawful fence, and the rail, wire or board version puts the lowest piece sixteen to twenty inches from the ground and the top piece between forty eight and fifty four inches high. The ground is the starting point and the statute prints it. This is a livestock fence rule and it never reaches a yard. A city fence height comes from the city, since section 414.1 lets a city set the height of buildings and other structures without naming a surface. Iowa Code 359A.18Iowa · Statute
Fence rules for corner lots in Council Bluffs
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Council Bluffs answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence sits inside the triangle or merely obstructs a view.
Council Bluffs is the only city in this project so far that specifies an equilateral triangle. No fence or other obstruction may sit inside a triangle with sides of thirty five feet each, running along the edge of the pavement or the curb where there is one, with the apex at the point where the pavement edges or curbs would meet if extended. Naming the shape as equilateral means the hypotenuse is also thirty five feet, which makes the protected area larger than the right triangle every other city draws with the same leg length. Like Davenport, the rule is a prohibition rather than a ceiling, so no height of fence is acceptable inside it. Two softer duties sit alongside: no fence in a front or street side yard may create a safety hazard by obstructing the clear view of pedestrians or vehicles, and the same test is what a retaining wall has to satisfy to stay exempt from the section.
No fence or any other obstruction shall be placed within an equilateral triangle having sides of thirty-five (35) feet each running along the edge of the pavement, or curb if present, of each abutting street. The apex of this triangle shall be at the point of the intersection of the edges of the pavement or curbs of such streets when extended out to a point.
Section 15.24.040, General Requirements for All Zoning Districts
The answer turns on whether the fence sits inside the triangle or merely obstructs a view.
- the triangle
- Thirty five feet on every side. 35 ft
- a fence inside it
- Not allowed at any height.
- a fence that blocks a view elsewhere
- Also barred, as a safety hazard.
- a retaining wall
- Exempt unless it blocks the view.
Also on corner visibility in Council Bluffs
- set in state lawIowa gives obstructions in a road their own chapter, and it names fences. Chapter 318 bars putting an obstruction inside a highway right of way and lists the placing of fences as one of the examples, alongside crops, ditches, billboards and debris. Section 318.6 then calls anything placed there a public nuisance. The chapter is about the public strip and carries no triangle, no angle and no height. City zoning power comes from chapter 414 and county zoning from chapter 335, and that is where a corner clearance rule on a private lot is written in Iowa. Iowa Code 318.3Iowa · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Council Bluffs
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Council Bluffs does not set this. It leaves it to the 2024 International Residential Code.
Iowa adopts the 2024 International Residential Code for houses, duplexes and townhouses up to three stories and the structures beside them, then lists the changes it makes. None of those changes touch a wall that holds back earth, so the model code carries that rule unchanged. Iowa does delete sections R103 through R114, which is where the model code keeps the permit chapter and the list of work that needs no permit. So the foundation and retaining wall chapter stays in force while the permit call belongs to the city or county.
This one is Iowa law, not Council Bluffs law. All Iowa findings
The provisions of the International Residential Code, 2024 edition, published by the International Code Council, located at www.iccsafe.org, are hereby adopted by reference as the requirements for construction
The code hands this to the 2024 International Residential Code, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Council Bluffs
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Council Bluffs answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence can be seen from a street or a neighbor, and the district.
Council Bluffs writes its material list as a rule about visibility rather than about districts. In every zoning district, a fence visible from the public right-of-way or from an abutting property has to be wood, vinyl, composite, wrought iron, aluminum, architectural decorative metal panel, chain link or coated chain link, or a combination. A masonry wall that is visible has to be brick, stone, cast stone, split-face block or masonry block. And then the sentence that makes the whole scheme sensible: fences and walls not visible from the public right-of-way or an abutting property may be constructed out of any material. Plain metal is added to the list in the open space and industrial districts, and anything else needs the Community Development Director. Barbed wire and sharp projections are allowed in the agricultural and industrial districts, permitted on top of a conforming fence in the C-2 district, and barred entirely from the West Broadway Corridor Design Overlay.
In all zoning districts, fences visible from the public right-of-way or an abutting property shall be constructed of the following materials or a combination thereof: wood, vinyl, composite fencing, wrought iron, aluminum, architectural decorative metal panel fencing, chain link or coated chain link.
Section 15.24.040, Fence Materials
The answer turns on whether the fence can be seen from a street or a neighbor, and the district.
- a fence that can be seen
- Eight named materials.
- one that cannot
- Any material at all.
- barbed wire and outriggers
- Farm and industrial districts.
- the West Broadway overlay
- No wire or electric security fence.
Also on materials in Council Bluffs
- set in state lawIowa writes the barbs themselves into the law. One kind of lawful fence is three barbed wires carrying at least thirty six iron barbs of two points each, or twenty six barbs of four points each, on every rod of wire. Another is four wires, two barbed that way and two smooth. A rod is sixteen and a half feet. Iowa Code 359A.18Iowa · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Council Bluffs
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Iowa answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Iowa names six builds that count as a lawful fence. Three rails on posts no more than ten feet apart. Three boards at least six inches wide and three quarters of an inch thick on posts no more than eight feet apart. Three barbed wires, or four wires with two of them barbed, with the top wire forty eight to fifty four inches up. A wire fence with the bottom line sixteen to twenty inches off the ground and the top line forty eight to fifty four inches up. Four coated high tensile smooth wires on posts no more than two rods apart with the top wire at least forty inches up, a rod being sixteen and a half feet. Or anything the fence viewers judge equal to those.
This one is Iowa law, not Council Bluffs law. All Iowa findings
A lawful fence shall consist of: 1. Three rails of good substantial material fastened in or to good substantial posts not more than ten feet apart. 2. Three boards not less than six inches wide and three-quarters of an inch thick, fastened in or to good substantial posts not more than eight feet apart.
10 ftpost spacing for a three rail lawful fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Council Bluffs
- set in state lawIowa makes the livestock owner pay for damage from trespassing animals, including the cost of feeding and holding them, and that stays true whether or not the landowner takes the animals in. One thing cancels it. If the animals came through a fence the landowner was supposed to keep up under the fence chapter and did not, the livestock owner owes nothing. The fence chapter hands out those duties, so fence viewers settle the fence half of the question rather than which side owns animals. Iowa Code 169C.4(1)(a)Iowa · Statute
Documents behind this page
16 documents, of which 1 was published by Council Bluffs itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 359A.1A
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 359A.2A
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 359A.3
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 359A.4
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 359A.16
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 359A.18
- City of Council BluffsCouncil Bluffs Municipal Code, Title 15, Zoning, Chapter 15.24, Supplemental Use and Site Development Regulations, Section 15.24.040, Fence Regulations
- Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and LicensingIowa Administrative Code, Chapter 481-301 (State Building Code)
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 103A.12
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 135I.2
- Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and LicensingIowa Administrative Code, Chapter 481-485 (Swimming Pools, Spas, and Spray Pads)
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Chapter 359A (Fences)
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 657.1
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 657.2
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code 2026, Section 318.3, Obstructions in highway right-of-way
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Chapter 169C, Trespassing or Stray Livestock
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 Council Bluffs publishes, plus the Iowa rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Iowa 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