Fence laws in Lawrence, Kansas
What the Lawrence municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Lawrence sets no rule of its own, the Kansas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Lawrence, Kansas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- The development code places fences in the list of things allowed in a required yard, alongside vertical structures like flag poles and uncovered horizontal structures like decks, and the answer turns on whether the lot is a corner lot and what the neighbor fronts on. The figure is 0 feet, for setback stated from a property line.
- How tall
- Lawrence sorts fences into six classes and then uses the class to set the front yard height, and the answer turns on the yard, the class of fence and where the neighboring house ends. The figure is 4 feet, for front yard fence of an open class.
- Permits
- Article 6 names no fence permit and creates something more interesting instead, and the answer turns on whether the Inspector is persuaded or the neighbors have agreed.
- Pool barriers
- Kansas sets a pool fence height in its child care licensing rules, not in a building code. The figure is 5 feet, for minimum pool fence height on licensed child care premises.
- Spite fences
- Most spite fence law in this country sits in state statutes and case law, and only a handful of cities write one of their own. The figure is 5 days, for time to remove a fence after notice from the Building Inspector.
- Measured from what
- Lawrence answers the retaining wall question in a single sentence and answers it against the owner on the high ground: the height of a fence erected on top of a retaining wall is measured from the grade of the low side, and the answer turns on whether the fence stands on the ground or on a wall, and how open it is. The figure is 4 feet, for height an open class fence may reach above the high side of a retaining wall.
- Corner lots
- Kansas gives this power to the county, and the law is more than a hundred years old. The figure is 350 feet, for distance from a railroad grade crossing or an abrupt corner within which a view blocking board fence may be removed. It reaches the road strip within 350 feet of a railroad crossing or a sharp corner in the road only.
- Retaining walls
- Lawrence leaves retaining walls to the city or county that adopts a building code by reference. It reaches cities and counties that adopt a building code only.
- Materials
- The article opens by defining what counts as a fence and the list is really a classification: masonry walls, ornamental iron, woven wire, wood picket more than fifty percent open, solid fences of wood or metal less than fifty percent open, and hedges, and the answer turns on the class of fence and how high the wire sits.
- Livestock
- Kansas puts the duty on the animal owner.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Lawrence?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Lawrence answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the lot is a corner lot and what the neighbor fronts on.
The development code places fences in the list of things allowed in a required yard, alongside vertical structures like flag poles and uncovered horizontal structures like decks. A fence, wall or hedge up to six feet at any point above the elevation of the ground may be located in any required yard, so no setback applies to it. Two exceptions follow. The first is a cross reference to Chapter 16 Article 6, which carries the class-based height rules. The second is a corner lot rule written from the neighbor’s frontage rather than from the street: where a corner lot’s rear lot line abuts the side lot line of another lot in a residential district, no fence within twenty five feet of that common line may come closer to the exterior side lot line than half the depth of the actual front setback of the lot that fronts the side street. No privately owned fence, hedge or structure may stand on public property at all.
Fences, walls or hedges up to six feet in Height (at any point) above the elevation of the surface of the ground may be located in any Required Yard, except:
The answer turns on whether the lot is a corner lot and what the neighbor fronts on.
- a required yard
- A fence is allowed in it. 0 ft
- a corner lot backing a neighbor
- Half the neighbor’s front setback, within twenty five feet. 25 ft
- public property
- No private fence at all.
- the class rules
- Chapter 16 still applies.
Also on fences on the property line in Lawrence
- set in state lawKansas splits a shared boundary fence between the two neighbors. Each side keeps up an equal share of the fence while both are using their land. The two sides can agree to a different split if they want one. K.S.A. 29-301Kansas · Statute
- set in state lawKansas uses officials called fence viewers to settle boundary fence fights. The county commissioners are the fence viewers for every township in the county. They may name other people to act for them, but the board still has to approve what those people recommend. K.S.A. 29-201Kansas · Statute
- set in state lawWhen one neighbor lets their half of a shared fence fall apart, the other neighbor can bring it to the fence viewers. The fence viewers give notice to both sides and then look at the fence. If they find it is not good enough, they put it in writing and set a deadline for the repair. K.S.A. 29-302Kansas · Statute
- set in state lawIf the deadline passes and nothing happens, the neighbor who complained can do the work. The fence viewers then price the job and certify the amount. That amount can be billed to the owner whose share was bad, and a court can order it paid with interest if a month goes by after a written demand. K.S.A. 29-303Kansas · Statute
- set in state lawWhen neighbors cannot agree on who owns which part of a shared fence, either one can ask the fence viewers to divide it. The fence viewers give notice, look at the fence, and put each equal share in writing. That written split gets recorded with the register of deeds and binds later owners of both properties. K.S.A. 29-304Kansas · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Lawrence?
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Lawrence answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the class of fence and where the neighboring house ends.
Lawrence sorts fences into six classes and then uses the class to set the front yard height. A front yard fence erected in front of the front building line may be of any class up to four feet, except a masonry wall or a solid fence, meaning wood or metal less than half open, which stops at three. Side yard fences are handled by a moving line: within the required side yard a fence of any class is held to four feet as far back as the rear of the neighboring dwelling or the rear of the house on the same lot, whichever is further from the front property line, and behind that point it may go to six. A rear yard fence along the rear property line may be any class up to six feet, and that six may be increased by eighteen inches by putting plain or woven wire on top of it.
Front yard fences erected in front of the front building line (see zoning ordinance) shall be of any class and shall not exceed a height of four (4) feet excepting classes described in Section 16-601(a) and 16-601(e) which shall not exceed a height of three (3) feet.
The answer turns on the yard, the class of fence and where the neighboring house ends.
- an open fence in the front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- masonry or a solid fence in front
- Three feet. 3 ft
- behind the neighboring dwelling
- Six feet. 6 ft
- wire on top of a rear fence
- Eighteen inches more. 18 in
Also on fence height in Lawrence
- no rule, documents checkedKansas sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The state fence chapter gives only minimums, such as the four feet for a farm fence, and never a maximum. Height on a house lot is set by city or county rule. K.S.A. Chapter 29Kansas · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Lawrence?
Compare permits across all 50 states
Lawrence answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the Inspector is persuaded or the neighbors have agreed.
Article 6 names no fence permit and creates something more interesting instead. The Building Inspector may vary the fence requirements where in his or her judgment the public health, safety and welfare will be substantially served and the neighboring property will not be materially damaged, or in the case of an agreement between neighboring property owners, a certified copy of which is filed with the Building Inspector. The second route is the rare one: two neighbors settling the fence between them and lodging the agreement with the city, which turns a private arrangement into a lawful exception without a hearing. The enforcement side is short and hard. Any fence, hedge or structure erected or maintained in violation of the article is declared a nuisance and has to be removed by the owner within five days of notice from the Building Inspector.
When in the judgment of the Building Inspector, the public health, safety and welfare will be substantially served and the neighboring property will not be materially damaged, or in case of an agreement between neighboring property owners, a certified copy of which shall be filed with the Building Inspector, he or she may, at his or her discretion, vary the requirements of Sections 16-604:604.6.
The answer turns on whether the Inspector is persuaded or the neighbors have agreed.
- an ordinary fence
- No permit named in the article.
- a variance
- The Building Inspector decides.
- a neighbor agreement
- Filed with the Inspector, it counts.
- a fence in violation
- A nuisance, out in five days.
Also on permits in Lawrence
- no rule, documents checkedKansas has no statewide fence permit rule for a house. The state fence chapter has no permit section anywhere in it. The one statewide building rule is the fire prevention code written by the state fire marshal, and that code leaves out buildings used only as homes for one or two families. A fence permit is a city or county matter. K.S.A. Chapter 29Kansas · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Lawrence
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Kansas answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Kansas sets a pool fence height in its child care licensing rules, not in a building code. At a licensed child care place an inground pool needs a fence five feet tall, with gaps no wider than 3.5 inches. A building wall can be one side of it, if that wall has no door or window opening onto the pool.
This one is Kansas law, not Lawrence law. All Kansas findings
Each inground pool shall be enclosed by a fence at least five feet high, with openings no greater than 3.5 inches, and constructed and maintained in good repair to discourage children and unwanted visitors from accessing the pool area.
5 ftminimum pool fence height on licensed child care premises
Also on pool barriers in Lawrence
- set in state lawThe same Kansas rule covers the gate. A pool gate has to be five feet tall like the fence, close itself, lock itself, and be kept shut and locked. A later part of the rule says an alarm or a sensor cannot take the place of the fence. K.A.R. 28-4-129(b)(2)Kansas · Agency guidance
Spite fence laws in Lawrence
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Lawrence answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Most spite fence law in this country sits in state statutes and case law, and only a handful of cities write one of their own. Lawrence does, in a section headed Structures Designed to Annoy, and it turns entirely on purpose rather than on height. No person may erect or maintain any fence, hedge or structure for the definite purpose of annoying another person, or for the purpose of injuring another by obstructing the view, shutting out the sunshine, hindering ventilation, or causing inconvenience in any other manner. The word definite does the work, requiring the annoyance to be the object rather than a side effect, and the list that follows names four specific harms while leaving the last one open. The remedy is unusually direct: a fence maintained in violation of the article is declared a nuisance and the owner has five days from the Building Inspector’s notice to take it down.
No person shall erect or maintain any fence, hedge or structure for the definite purpose of annoying any other person or for the purpose of injuring another by obstructing the view, shutting out the sunshine, hindering ventilation or causing inconvenience in any other manner.
5 daystime to remove a fence after notice from the Building Inspector
Also on spite fences in Lawrence
- no rule, documents checkedKansas has no spite fence law. Chapter 29 is the fence chapter, and it covers enclosures, fence viewers, fences on the line, and damage done by animals. Nothing in it limits a fence built to bother a neighbor, and the trespass section deals only with farm animals. A fence built out of spite is handled in court under general nuisance law. K.S.A. Chapter 29Kansas · Statute
How fence height is measured in Lawrence
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Lawrence answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence stands on the ground or on a wall, and how open it is.
Lawrence answers the retaining wall question in a single sentence and answers it against the owner on the high ground: the height of a fence erected on top of a retaining wall is measured from the grade of the low side. So a six foot fence on a three foot wall is a nine foot fence and is not allowed. The code then gives one way back. A fence of the open classes, ornamental iron, woven wire or wood picket more than half open, may be erected on top of a retaining wall to a height not exceeding four feet above the grade of the high side, which lets a raised yard be enclosed for safety as long as the enclosure can be seen through. The retaining wall itself may not be built higher than the grade on its high side where that would exceed the height allowed for a masonry fence, measured again from the low side. The development code uses its own phrase for ordinary ground, six feet above the elevation of the surface of the ground, at any point.
The height of a fence erected on top of a retaining wall shall be measured from the grade of the low side.
The answer turns on whether the fence stands on the ground or on a wall, and how open it is.
- a fence on the ground
- Above the surface of the ground, at any point.
- a fence on a retaining wall
- From the low side.
- an open fence on that wall
- Four feet above the high side. 4 ft
- the wall itself
- Capped at the masonry fence height.
Also on how height is measured in Lawrence
- left to the townKansas never says where a fence height is measured from. State law lets a city or county write zoning rules on the height, number of stories and size of buildings, and lists more subjects those rules can cover, none of them a way to measure. The state fence law names the ways a farm fence can be built, posts and rails, posts and planks, wire and hedge, and gives no height at all. With no state number there is nothing for the state to measure. K.S.A. 12-753(a)Kansas · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Lawrence
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Kansas answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Kansas gives this power to the county, and the law is more than a hundred years old. A board of county commissioners can cut hedge fences, trees and shrubs on a road strip within three hundred fifty feet of a railroad crossing or a sharp corner in the road, and keep them trimmed after that. Inside that same distance it can also take out signboards, billboards and board fences that block the view. It covers the road strip, and it turns on a railroad crossing or a sharp bend rather than an ordinary street corner.
This one is Kansas law, not Lawrence law. All Kansas findings
to remove all signboards, billboards, and board fences obstructing clear vision within three hundred fifty (350) feet of any such railroad crossing or abrupt corner in the highway
350 ftdistance from a railroad grade crossing or an abrupt corner within which a view blocking board fence may be removed
Also on corner visibility in Lawrence
- no rule, documents checkedArticle 6 of Chapter 16 runs six sections and none of them is about seeing past a fence at an intersection. There is no sight triangle, no distance along a curb, and no band of protected height in the fence rules. The corner does appear in the development code, but the rule there is about position rather than vision: on a corner lot whose rear lot line abuts the side lot line of another lot in a residential district, a fence within twenty five feet of that common line is held back to half the depth of the front setback of the lot fronting the side street, which protects the neighbor’s outlook rather than a driver’s. The nearest thing to a visibility rule is the spite fence section, which reaches a fence built to obstruct the view, and that is about a person rather than a car. Sections 16-601 through 16-606Lawrence · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Lawrence
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Lawrence does not set this. It leaves it to the city or county that adopts a building code by reference.
Kansas 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. State law lets a city adopt any published code as its own by naming it in an ordinance, and building codes are first on the list of what counts. A county can do the same by resolution. So the rule for such a wall comes from whichever code the city or county picked up.
This one is Kansas law, not Lawrence law. All Kansas findings
The provisions of any code may be incorporated in a city ordinance by reference, in accordance with the procedure and subject to the limitations provided by K.S.A. 12-3009 through 12-3012.
The code hands this to the city or county that adopts a building code by reference, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Lawrence
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Lawrence answers this, but the answer changes depending on the class of fence and how high the wire sits.
The article opens by defining what counts as a fence and the list is really a classification: masonry walls, ornamental iron, woven wire, wood picket more than fifty percent open, solid fences of wood or metal less than fifty percent open, and hedges. Those six classes then drive the height rules, so the material question and the height question are the same question in Lawrence. On top of that sits one prohibition. No electrically charged fence and no barbed wire or other similar fence may be erected or maintained anywhere in the city, with a single exception: barbed wire may be used on the top of a fence that is more than four feet in height. That is a permission written as a safety rule, keeping the wire out of reach rather than off the property, and it works with the rear yard allowance that lets plain or woven wire add eighteen inches.
No electrically charged fence or barbed wire or other similar fence shall be erected or maintained within the City, except barbed wire may be used on the top of a fence which is more than four (4) feet in height.
The answer turns on the class of fence and how high the wire sits.
- the six classes
- Masonry, iron, woven wire, picket, solid, hedge.
- an electric fence
- Prohibited anywhere in the city.
- barbed wire
- Only on a fence over four feet.
- a hedge
- A class of fence, with the same heights.
Also on materials in Lawrence
- set in state lawKansas lists the kinds of fence that will hold farm animals. The list is posts with rails, palings, planks, palisades or wire, and rails alone stacked as a worm fence. Turf with a ditch on each side counts, and so do stone and a thorn or Osage orange hedge that was already growing in 1986. K.S.A. 29-101Kansas · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Lawrence
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Kansas answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Kansas puts the duty on the animal owner. State law makes it illegal for livestock to roam loose, so the owner has to keep stock inside a fence. The neighbor does not have to fence them out.
This one is Kansas law, not Lawrence law. All Kansas findings
It shall be unlawful for any livestock to run at large.
Also on agricultural fencing in Lawrence
- set in state lawKansas states the policy plainly: farm animals belong inside a lawful fence. The same section says an animal getting loose does not by itself make the owner liable. Who pays for the damage is decided the ordinary way, by whether somebody was careless. K.S.A. 29-108Kansas · Statute
- set in state lawKansas says what a farm fence can be built from, and leaves cats and dogs out of the rule. The list is posts with rails, palings, planks, palisades or wire, and rails alone stacked as a worm fence. Turf with a ditch on each side counts, and so do stone and a thorn or Osage orange hedge that was already growing on July 1, 1986. K.S.A. 29-101Kansas · Statute
- set in state lawA Kansas farm fence has to be at least four feet tall. The same section adds numbers for other kinds, such as four and a half feet for a rail worm fence, with the bottom board no more than two feet off the ground. Four feet is the least that will hold animals, not a cap on how tall a fence can be. K.S.A. 29-102Kansas · Statute
- set in state lawKansas spells out a barbed wire fence in detail. Three wires is the least it can have. The top wire sits 44 to 48 inches up, the bottom wire 18 to 24 inches up, and the middle wire about halfway between them. A county board can set stricter rules of its own for new fences. K.S.A. 29-105Kansas · Statute
Documents behind this page
19 documents, of which 2 were published by Lawrence itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 29, Article 3, Partition Fences
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 29, Article 2, Fence Viewers
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 29, Article 3, Partition Fences
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 29, Article 3, Partition Fences
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 29, Article 3, Partition Fences
- City of LawrenceLand Development Code of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, Chapter 20, Article 6, Density and Dimensional Standards
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 29, Fences and Enclosures, table of sections
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 29, Article 1, Legal Enclosures
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 29, Article 1, Legal Enclosures
- City of LawrenceCode of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, Chapter 16, Article 6, Walls, Fences and Other Structures
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 31, Fire Protection
- Kansas Secretary of StateKansas Register, Volume 43, Issue 29, Kansas Department of Health and Environment Permanent Administrative Regulations
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 29, Article 1, Legal Enclosures
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 29, Article 4, Miscellaneous Provisions
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes Annotated, Chapter 12, Article 7, Section 12-753, Same; zoning regulations; districts; restrictions
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 19, Article 26, Section 19-2612, Removal or cutting of hedge fences, trees and shrubs; cutting weeds; removing signboards and board fences; expenses
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 12, Article 33, Adoption of Codes by Reference
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 29, Fences and Enclosures, Article 1
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 47, Article 1, Livestock Running at Large
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 Lawrence publishes, plus the Kansas rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Kansas 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