Fence laws in Shawnee, Kansas
What the Shawnee municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Shawnee sets no rule of its own, the Kansas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Shawnee, Kansas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Shawnee sets no distance between a fence and a property line, and the city’s own handout confirms it by describing a fence as being on or inside the property line, and the answer turns on whether the fence sits inside or outside the platted setback line. The figure is 0 feet, for setback stated from a property line.
- How tall
- Shawnee draws its line at the front of the house as built rather than at a setback, and it picks four and a half feet rather than the usual four, and the answer turns on whether the fence is in front of the house and how the lot fronts. The figure is 4.5 feet, for solid fence, hedge or wall in front of the front line of the residence.
- Permits
- No permit is required for a fence six feet or less on or inside the property line, and a fence higher than six feet needs one, and the answer turns on the height of the fence and what kind of lot it stands on. The figure is 6 feet, for height at or below which no fence permit is required.
- 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
- Shawnee has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Shawnee leaves the measuring rule to the governing body of each city and the board of county commissioners of each county.
- Corner lots
- Inside the site triangle on a corner plot, no hedge, fence or wall over three feet is allowed, and no accessory off-street parking space either, and the answer turns on how open the fence is and where it stands on the corner lot. The figure is 3 feet, for hedge, fence or wall height allowed in the site triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Shawnee 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
- Every fence in Shawnee has to be built of approved fence materials whether or not it needs a permit, and that rule reaches a repair, an expansion or an enlargement as well as a new fence, and the answer turns on the material, and whether the owner keeps livestock.
- Livestock
- Kansas puts the duty on the animal owner.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Shawnee?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Shawnee answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence sits inside or outside the platted setback line.
Shawnee sets no distance between a fence and a property line, and the city’s own handout confirms it by describing a fence as being on or inside the property line. What the platted setback line does instead is change the height. On a corner lot a solid fence may be six feet up to the platted setback line and four and a half feet between that line and the property line, so the last strip of yard has a lower fence rather than no fence. The board of zoning appeals may lift that to six feet where the fence will not create a site problem for traffic and where the side yard is not next to the front yard of an adjoining lot. On land that was never platted, the setbacks are taken from the rear and side yard standards of the applicable zoning district. An accessory building, unlike a fence, may not sit in a platted setback line or a required front yard at all.
On corner lots, a solid fence, hedge or freestanding wall may be placed in the side yard a maximum height of six (6) feet to the platted setback line; between the platted setback line and the property line, the fence shall not exceed four and one-half (4½) feet in height.
The answer turns on whether the fence sits inside or outside the platted setback line.
- a property line
- A fence may sit on it. 0 ft
- inside the platted setback line
- Six feet.
- outside it
- Four and a half feet.
- a variance
- Six feet, on two conditions.
Also on fences on the property line in Shawnee
- 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 Shawnee?
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Shawnee answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is in front of the house and how the lot fronts.
Shawnee draws its line at the front of the house as built rather than at a setback, and it picks four and a half feet rather than the usual four. In front of the front line of the residence a solid fence, hedge or freestanding wall is held to four and a half feet, and behind that line a fence may be six. The sentence carries a drafting slip worth knowing about, since the word no appears twice and the clause reads as a prohibition on a fence of four and a half feet or less, which is plainly the opposite of what the section means and of what the city’s own fence handout says. On an interior lot with double frontage a six foot fence may be built between a platted building setback line and the property line in the rear yard. On a corner lot with three frontages, six feet is allowed on the frontage that forms the rear yard of the neighboring lot, provided that neighboring yard is not a front yard.
Except as provided in Section 17.60.020 of this code, no solid fence, hedge or freestanding wall no more than four and one-half (4½) feet in height, may be constructed in front of the front line of the residence, as constructed; behind this line a fence shall not exceed six (6) feet in height.
The answer turns on whether the fence is in front of the house and how the lot fronts.
- in front of the house
- Four and a half feet. 4.5 ft
- behind it
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a double frontage interior lot
- Six feet in the rear yard strip.
- a third frontage behind a neighbor
- Six feet, if that yard is not a front yard.
Also on fence height in Shawnee
- 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 Shawnee?
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Shawnee answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height of the fence and what kind of lot it stands on.
No permit is required for a fence six feet or less on or inside the property line, and a fence higher than six feet needs one. Because six feet is also the maximum for most of a residential lot, the practical effect is that an ordinary back yard fence is built without a permit while anything taller is both a permit case and a variance case. Three other calls are routed elsewhere. A fence in a drainage easement goes to the City Engineering Department first. Any fence on something other than a single family or duplex lot needs approval from the Planning Department. And temporary fencing for an active construction project, such as plastic silt fence or safety fencing, is approved by the Building Official and may not stay up longer than it takes to do its job. The handout also warns that a homes association or deed restriction may be stricter and is enforced by them rather than by the city.
No permit is required for any fence six feet (6’) or less in height, on or inside your property line. Fences higher than six feet require a permit.
The answer turns on the height of the fence and what kind of lot it stands on.
- a fence six feet or under
- No permit. 6 ft
- anything taller
- A permit.
- a drainage easement
- City Engineering first.
- anything but a house or duplex lot
- Planning Department approval.
Also on permits in Shawnee
- 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 Shawnee
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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 Shawnee 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 Shawnee
- 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 Shawnee
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Shawnee law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Kansas 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.
This one is Kansas law, not Shawnee law. All Kansas findings
Documents read before writing that:
- K.S.A. Chapter 29Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes
- K.S.A. 29-108Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes
- K.S.A. 29-401Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes
How fence height is measured in Shawnee
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Shawnee does not set this. It leaves it to the governing body of each city and the board of county commissioners of each county.
Kansas 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.
This one is Kansas law, not Shawnee law. All Kansas findings
Such regulations may include, but not be limited to, provisions restricting and regulating the height, number of stories and size of buildings; the percentage of each lot that may be occupied; the size of yards, courts and other open spaces
The code hands this to the governing body of each city and the board of county commissioners of each county, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on how height is measured in Shawnee
- no rule, documents checkedThe chapter states four and a half feet, six feet and three feet and never names a datum for any of them. No grade is named, no crown of the road, no finished ground level. A berm is not addressed. A fence standing on a retaining wall is not addressed. A fence stepping down a slope is not addressed, and nothing says whether the height is read on the owner’s side of the line or the neighbor’s. What Shawnee does measure carefully is everything except height. The transparency of a fence is a percentage of its total area. The lines that divide one height from another are the front line of the residence as constructed and the platted setback line. And the exceptions list next door is precise about vertical distance for other things, allowing a stoop or deck no more than eighteen inches above ground level and an awning projecting no more than thirty inches. Section 17.60.030Shawnee · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Shawnee
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Shawnee answers this, but the answer changes depending on how open the fence is and where it stands on the corner lot.
Inside the site triangle on a corner plot, no hedge, fence or wall over three feet is allowed, and no accessory off-street parking space either. The exception is written into the same sentence and it is stricter than the usual half open test: a transparent fence such as chain link, in which the solid area is not more than five percent of the total area of the fence. That figure is the tightest definition of transparent in this project, and it means a picket fence at fifty percent open does not qualify while a bare chain link fence does. The triangle itself is not drawn in the fence chapter and is prescribed in the parking section of the code instead. Separately, a corner lot fence between the platted side yard setback line and the property line is held to four and a half feet, and may go to six only by variance from the board of zoning appeals.
No hedge, fence (except a transparent fence such as chain link, in which the solid area is not more than five percent (5%) of the total area of the fence), or wall over three (3) feet high and no accessory off-street parking space shall be located within the triangular site triangle area as prescribed in the parking section of this code.
The answer turns on how open the fence is and where it stands on the corner lot.
- a solid fence in the triangle
- Three feet. 3 ft
- a transparent fence
- Solid area under five percent. 5%
- the size of the triangle
- The parking section sets it.
- a corner side yard outside the setback line
- Four and a half feet.
Also on corner visibility in Shawnee
- set in state lawKansas 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. K.S.A. 19-2612Kansas · Statute
Retaining wall rules in Shawnee
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Shawnee 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 Shawnee 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 Shawnee
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Shawnee answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, and whether the owner keeps livestock.
Every fence in Shawnee has to be built of approved fence materials whether or not it needs a permit, and that rule reaches a repair, an expansion or an enlargement as well as a new fence. Approved means materials normally manufactured for, used as and recognized as fencing, and the list runs through wrought iron and other decorative metals, masonry, concrete, stone, chain link, metal tubing, wood planks, and vinyl or fiberglass composite made specifically for fencing. They have to be approved for exterior use and be weather and decay resistant, and the Building Official may evaluate something not on the list and decide whether it is at least the equivalent in quality, strength, effectiveness, durability and safety. The zoning chapter adds two rules of its own: the finished side faces outward with the posts inside, and barbed wire is barred in residential districts unless the owner holds a valid livestock permit or the Planning Commission has approved a site plan using it for security.
All fences, regardless of whether or not a permit is required for their construction, that are constructed, repaired, expanded, or enlarged, shall be constructed only of approved fence materials.
The answer turns on the material, and whether the owner keeps livestock.
- iron, masonry, chain link, wood or vinyl
- Approved.
- something else
- The Building Official judges the equivalent.
- barbed wire in a residential district
- Only with a livestock permit or an approved site plan.
- the finished side
- It faces outward, posts inside.
Also on materials in Shawnee
- 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 Shawnee
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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 Shawnee law. All Kansas findings
It shall be unlawful for any livestock to run at large.
Also on agricultural fencing in Shawnee
- 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 Shawnee 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 ShawneeShawnee Municipal Code, Title 17, Zoning, Chapter 17.60, Accessory Buildings and Structures
- 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
- Kansas Office of Revisor of StatutesKansas Statutes, Chapter 31, Fire Protection
- City of Shawnee Building Codes DivisionCity of Shawnee Building Codes Division, General Fence Information
- 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 Shawnee 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