Fence laws in Lake Charles, Louisiana
What the Lake Charles municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Lake Charles sets no rule of its own, the Louisiana rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Lake Charles, Louisiana, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Fences may be located at any point on the lot, provided the fence does not create a traffic hazard or any similar type of problem for the surrounding area. The figure is 0 feet, for setback stated from a property line for a fence.
- How tall
- No fence in Lake Charles may exceed ten feet, and that is the whole height rule, and the answer turns on what kind of road the lot fronts. The figure is 10 feet, for maximum height of any fence in the city.
- Permits
- Louisiana adopts national model codes as the state construction code.
- Pool barriers
- Louisiana sets no statewide pool fence height.
- Spite fences
- Lake Charles has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Lake Charles leaves the measuring rule to the governing authority of each municipality.
- Corner lots
- Lake Charles writes two different triangles and picks between them by how the intersection is controlled, and the answer turns on how the intersection is controlled and how fast the road is posted. The figure is 40 feet, for sight triangle leg at an intersection controlled by a four way stop or a signal.
- Retaining walls
- Lake Charles leaves retaining walls to the International Residential Code, not including Part I-Administration. It reaches one and two family homes and townhouses only.
- Materials
- Every fence has to be built of a recognized fencing material, and the ordinance says which four count: wood, chain link or decorative iron, vinyl, and masonry, and the answer turns on what the fence is made of and whether it is a required screen.
- Livestock
- Louisiana has no single answer for the whole state, and the answer turns on whether the ward has voted in a local option election to put the stock law in force.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Lake Charles?
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Lake Charles answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Fences may be located at any point on the lot, provided the fence does not create a traffic hazard or any similar type of problem for the surrounding area. That is an unusually broad permission and an unusually loose condition, since traffic hazard is left to judgment and any similar type problem is looser still. No setback is stated from a side line, a rear line or a neighbor, so a fence may sit on the boundary. The rest of the section is written for other accessory structures, which in a residential or neighborhood district have to go in the rear or side yard, with fences, garages and carports pulled out of that rule by name. The one place the ordinance does state a distance for something fence-like is a dumpster, which has to be at least fifteen feet from an adjoining property line and screened if it is closer than that or visible from a street.
fences may be located at any point on the lot provided it does not create a traffic hazard or any similar type problem to the surrounding area.
0 ftsetback stated from a property line for a fence
Also on fences on the property line in Lake Charles
- set in state lawLouisiana treats a fence on the property line as shared by both neighbors unless somebody proves otherwise. When the land on both sides is fenced in, one owner can make the neighbor pay a share of building and repairing that shared fence. When the land next door is not fenced in, that right to split the cost exists only where a parish or city rule creates it. La. Civ. Code Art. 685Louisiana · Statute
- set in state lawThe Louisiana Civil Code gives a landowner the plain right to fence in their own land. The article states that right in one line. It sets no height, no material and no setback, so those details come from parish and city law. La. Civ. Code Art. 684Louisiana · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Lake Charles?
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Lake Charles answers this, but the answer changes depending on what kind of road the lot fronts.
No fence in Lake Charles may exceed ten feet, and that is the whole height rule. There is no district variation, no front yard reduction and no side and rear distinction, which makes it the most generous general fence height in this project by some way. The second half of the same sentence is a location rule rather than a height one, and it only bites on the bigger roads: a fence may not extend beyond the front setback line of the building along any arterial or collector roadway corridor. So on a quiet residential street a ten foot fence may come forward to the front line, and on an arterial it has to stop where the house would. Two other heights appear elsewhere and both are minimums for screening: a wooden fence of at least six feet to screen a parked vehicle in a side yard, and an eight foot hedge listed in Exhibit B as a screening option.
No fence shall exceed ten (10) feet in height or extend beyond the front setback line of the building along any arterial or collector roadway corridor.
The answer turns on what kind of road the lot fronts.
- anywhere in the city
- Ten feet. 10 ft
- an arterial or collector frontage
- Not past the front setback line.
- screening a parked vehicle
- At least six feet of wooden fence. 6 ft
- a sight triangle
- No obstruction at all.
Also on fence height in Lake Charles
- no rule, documents checkedLouisiana sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The Civil Code article on shared fences, the law that adopts the state construction code, and the law on pool fence rules were all read, and none of them caps a fence height. Height is set by parish and city rule. La. Civ. Code Art. 685Louisiana · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Lake Charles?
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Louisiana answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Louisiana adopts national model codes as the state construction code. For houses it adopts the International Residential Code, but leaves out Part I, on how the code is run, and Part VIII, on electrical work. Part I is where the permit rules live, so a permit question in Louisiana is answered by the parish or city that enforces the code, not by this law.
This one is Louisiana law, not Lake Charles law. All Louisiana findings
International Residential Code, not including Part I-Administration and VIII-Electrical. The applicable standards referenced in that code are included for regulation of construction within this state.
Also on permits in Lake Charles
- no rule, documents checkedThe zoning ordinance creates no fence permit. It has no fence application, no fence fee and no height at which one starts. The machinery that exists around it is general: the fee schedule charges for a certificate of zoning compliance and a plan review, at twenty five dollars for a one or two family dwelling and its accessory structures, fifty for commercial use up to ten thousand square feet and seventy five above that, with a five dollar technology fee where no building permit is issued. A fence is an accessory structure under Section 5-204 and would be reviewed through that. Where a fence forms part of a required bufferyard screen or a dumpster enclosure, it is checked as part of the site plan for that development, and a special exception may carry conditions about the location, nature and height of walls and fences. Section 5-204Lake Charles · Zoning code
Pool fence requirements in Lake Charles
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Louisiana answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Louisiana sets no statewide pool fence height. State law instead lets a parish or a city pass its own pool fence rule, and says that rule has to set a smallest height for the fence or wall and require gates that lock or hold people out. The law does not reach a parish or city that already had a pool fencing rule, or one with a home rule charter.
This one is Louisiana law, not Lake Charles law. All Louisiana findings
The ordinance shall provide for minimum heights for fences or walls enclosing the pool and locking or limited access gates.
Also on pool barriers in Lake Charles
- set in state lawThe Louisiana health code sets a barrier rule for public pools in Class A and Class B. The barrier has to be at least 4 feet tall, with nothing on the outside to grab or step on. The gate has to close and latch by itself, with the latch at least 45 inches above the ground and hardware for a lock. This covers public pools rather than a pool behind a house. LAC 51:XXIV.705Louisiana · Agency guidance
Spite fence laws in Lake Charles
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Lake Charles law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Louisiana has no spite fence law. The Civil Code articles on fencing in land and on shared fences were read, along with the article on the limits of owning property, and none of them mention spite, malice, or blocking a neighbor's light or view. A neighbor hurt by work on nearby land falls back on the general rule in Article 667, which turns on the damage done and on reasonable care, not on why a fence went up.
This one is Louisiana law, not Lake Charles law. All Louisiana findings
Documents read before writing that:
- La. Civ. Code Art. 667Louisiana State Legislature
- La. Civ. Code Art. 685Louisiana State Legislature
How fence height is measured in Lake Charles
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Lake Charles does not set this. It leaves it to the governing authority of each municipality.
Louisiana never says where a fence height is measured from. State law lets every city set the height, number of stories and size of a structure. The Civil Code says only that a landowner may fence in land, and that a fence on a boundary is treated as shared. Neither one gives a height, and neither says what surface a height is read from. A parish or city rule is the only place an answer could appear.
This one is Louisiana law, not Lake Charles law. All Louisiana findings
the governing authority of all municipalities may regulate and restrict the height, number of stories, and size of structures, the percentage of lot that may be occupied, the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces
The code hands this to the governing authority of each municipality, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on how height is measured in Lake Charles
- no rule, documents checkedThe ten foot maximum carries no datum. Nothing says whether it is read from natural grade, finished grade, the higher side or the lower, and nothing says whose side of a boundary it is read from, which matters because a fence may stand at any point on the lot including the line. A berm is named in the sight triangle rules as a typical obstruction and never as something a fence stands on. A fence on a retaining wall is not addressed, though a retaining wall is also listed as an obstruction. A fence running down a slope is not addressed. The ordinance does supply one datum, and it is attached to planting rather than to fences: landscaping in a sight triangle is measured above the flow line of the curb and gutter, or the edge of the pavement where there is no curb. A pole in the triangle is measured the same way, needing its first spreading branch nine feet above that line. Section 5-204Lake Charles · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Lake Charles
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Lake Charles answers this, but the answer changes depending on how the intersection is controlled and how fast the road is posted.
Lake Charles writes two different triangles and picks between them by how the intersection is controlled. Where a stop or yield controlled road meets an uncontrolled one, the triangle runs fifteen feet along the controlled road and then out along the uncontrolled one by a leg distance taken from a table of posted speeds, separately for a left turn and a right turn. Those legs are long: 167 and 122 feet at twenty five miles an hour, rising to 320 and 230 at fifty, with anything over fifty sent to the Traffic Engineer, and a named exception for Farquhar and Bellevue Street at ninety two feet. Where two controlled roads meet at a four way stop or a signal, a flat forty foot triangle applies instead. Fences are named in the list of typical sight obstructions alongside berms, retaining walls and monument signs, and no obstruction at all is permitted inside either triangle. Every subdivision and site plan has to show the triangle on a corner lot.
Those intersections controlled by a 4-way stop or signal are subject to a 40 feet sight triangle formed by the intersecting street/pavement lines and a straight line joining said street and pavement lines at points which are 40 feet from the point of intersection, measured along said street/pavement lines.
The answer turns on how the intersection is controlled and how fast the road is posted.
- a four way stop or a signal
- Forty feet each way. 40 ft
- a stop sign onto an open road
- Fifteen feet one way, a table distance the other. 15 ft
- a fifty mile an hour road
- Three hundred and twenty feet for a left turn. 320 ft
- anything faster
- Ask the Traffic Engineer.
Also on corner visibility in Lake Charles
- set in state lawLouisiana treats this as keeping the road itself clear. State law lets the Department of Transportation and Development go to court to stop anything being put up inside the limits of a highway. It can also pull out something already there, at the owner's cost, after a short notice. A fence built onto the road strip is caught by that. Nothing in the chapter draws a triangle at a corner or sets a height near an intersection, so a clear view triangle in Louisiana comes from the parish or the city. La. R.S. 48:347Louisiana · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Lake Charles
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Lake Charles does not set this. It leaves it to the International Residential Code, not including Part I-Administration.
Louisiana adopts the International Residential Code as part of the state construction code and leaves out two parts of it, Part I on how the code is run and Part VIII on electrical work. The law prints no rule of its own about a wall that holds back dirt, and the long list of Louisiana changes never mentions one. Because the dropped part is the part with the permit rules in it, the height at which such a wall needs a permit comes from the parish or city, while the building rules for the wall itself come from the model code.
This one is Louisiana law, not Lake Charles law. All Louisiana findings
International Residential Code, not including Part I-Administration and VIII-Electrical. The applicable standards referenced in that code are included for regulation of construction within this state.
The code hands this to the International Residential Code, not including Part I-Administration, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Lake Charles
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Lake Charles answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence is made of and whether it is a required screen.
Every fence has to be built of a recognized fencing material, and the ordinance says which four count: wood, chain link or decorative iron, vinyl, and masonry. That is a closed list rather than a list of examples, so anything outside it needs a different answer from the planning office. The maintenance duty is attached to the same sentence and is written in terms of effect, requiring the fence to be kept in good condition so it does not become an eyesore, a nuisance or a hazard to the surrounding area. Two screening rules add detail. A bufferyard screen made of wooden fence planks has to have the planks no more than a quarter of an inch apart, which is a tighter tolerance than most cities ever write. And a dumpster screen has to be wood, chain link with slats, or masonry. Barbed wire, razor wire and electric fencing are not named anywhere in the ordinance.
All fences shall be constructed with a recognized fencing material of wood, chain link/decorative iron, vinyl fencing, or masonry and maintained in good condition so as not to create an eyesore, nuisance, or hazard to the surrounding area.
The answer turns on what the fence is made of and whether it is a required screen.
- any fence
- Wood, chain link or iron, vinyl, or masonry.
- a wooden bufferyard screen
- Planks no more than a quarter inch apart.
- a dumpster screen
- Wood, slatted chain link, or masonry.
- barbed, razor or electric wire
- Not named at all.
Also on materials in Lake Charles
- set in state lawLouisiana sets one statewide standard for a battery charged fence, which is an electric fence wired into a burglar alarm. A parish or city may write rules for one, but those rules have to hold it to the state list. It sits behind a fence or wall at least five feet tall that carries no charge. It stops at ten feet, or two feet above that outer fence. Warning signs go up at least every forty feet. A parish or city may not ban one outright, and farm and animal fences that carry a charge are left out of the section. La. R.S. 33:1376Louisiana · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Lake Charles
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Louisiana answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the ward has voted in a local option election to put the stock law in force.
Louisiana has no single answer for the whole state. Each ward of each parish votes on its own stock law, and the rule only applies in a ward once a majority of its voters have said so. A ward can hold that vote at any time, but no more than once a year. Where the stock law is on, it is illegal to let livestock go loose on the public roads of that ward. A separate list of named highways is covered everywhere in the state and is left out of the ward vote.
This one is Louisiana law, not Lake Charles law. All Louisiana findings
The provisions of this Part shall not apply to those highways provided for in R.S. 3:2803 or be enforced in any ward of any parish of this state unless and until so ordered and authorized by a majority in number of the voters of said ward voting in an election held in said ward as hereinafter provided for in R.S. 3:3011.
The answer turns on whether the ward has voted in a local option election to put the stock law in force.
- the ward has voted to put the stock law in force
- The owner of livestock may not knowingly or carelessly let the animals go loose on the public roads of that ward.
- the ward has not voted to put the stock law in force
- The rule is not enforced in that ward, and only the highways on the separate statewide list stay covered.
Also on agricultural fencing in Lake Charles
- no rule, documents checkedLouisiana never says what a fence has to be to count as a lawful fence. The Civil Code articles give a landowner the right to fence and a way to split the cost of a shared fence, and neither one names a height, a wire count, a board count or a post spacing. The stock law defines livestock, owner and public highway, and defines no fence at all. Its ban turns on animals being loose rather than on any fence standard. La. Civ. Code Art. 684Louisiana · Statute
Documents behind this page
14 documents, of which 1 was published by Lake Charles itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana Civil Code, Article 685, Common fences
- Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana Civil Code, Article 684, Enclosures
- City of Lake CharlesCity of Lake Charles Zoning Ordinance, Ordinance No. 7717, Article V, Development Regulations
- Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana Revised Statutes, Title 40, Section 1730.28, Mandatory adoption of certain nationally recognized codes and standards as the state uniform construction code; adoption by reference
- Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana Revised Statutes, Title 33, Section 4875.1, Exercise of police power; enclosure of residential and commercial swimming pools
- Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public HealthLouisiana Administrative Code, Title 51, Public Health - Sanitary Code, Part XXIV, Chapter 7, Section 705, Barriers
- Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana Civil Code, Article 667, Limitations on use of property
- Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana Revised Statutes, Title 33, Section 4721, Grant of power to municipalities
- Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana Revised Statutes, Title 48, Section 347, Removal of obstacles or hazards from highway or vicinity; campaign signs
- Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana Revised Statutes, Title 33, Section 1376, Ordinances; battery-charged fences; parishes and municipalities
- Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana Revised Statutes, Title 3, Part VII, Local Regulation of Livestock on Public Highways
- Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana Civil Code, Article 685, Common fences
- Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana Revised Statutes, Title 3, Part VII, Definitions
- Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana Revised Statutes, Title 3, Part VII, Livestock at large on highways unlawful
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 Lake Charles publishes, plus the Louisiana rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Louisiana 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