Fence laws in Battle Creek, Michigan
What the Battle Creek municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Battle Creek sets no rule of its own, the Michigan rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Battle Creek, Michigan, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- In Michigan the owner who builds a fence on the line pays for it and for keeping it up, and the neighbor owes nothing.
- How tall
- On residential land, and on any property used for residential purposes whatever its zoning, no fence in a primary or required secondary front yard may exceed four feet and no fence in a rear or side yard may exceed six, and the answer turns on the district and what the fence encloses. The figure is 4 feet, for residential front yard fence.
- Permits
- A permit is required before building any permanent fence in Battle Creek, with a fee set by the City Commission and paid with the application, and the answer turns on how much of the fence the work affects. The figure is 25 percent, for repair allowed without a permit in a year.
- Pool barriers
- Michigan puts no pool fence height in its own statute.
- Spite fences
- Battle Creek has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Battle Creek answers the finial question directly and puts two limits on the answer, and the answer turns on whether the thing measured is the fence or a decorative feature on it. The figure is 9 inches, for decorative feature above the height limit.
- Corner lots
- Battle Creek puts a distance and a transparency requirement in the same paragraph, and the answer turns on how far the fence is from the corner or the side lot line. The figure is 25 feet, for distance from the corner property line.
- Retaining walls
- The section says outright that a retaining wall is not a fence for its purposes, which keeps the height limits off the wall itself, and then attaches a safety requirement instead, and the answer turns on the height of the wall and the width of any landing. The figure is 4 feet, for wall height that triggers the fence requirement.
- Materials
- A Battle Creek fence may be wrought iron, vinyl, wood pickets, stone, brick, chain link or any other generally accepted fencing material, and the section then bars pallets, twigs, pressed board, plywood, scrap lumber and other nontraditional material unless the Planning and Zoning Administrator approves it, and the answer turns on the material, the zone and whether the Administrator approves. The figure is 3 strands, for barbed wire allowed where security is appropriate.
- Livestock
- Michigan sets no height, wire count, board count or post spacing for a farm fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Battle Creek?
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Michigan answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
In Michigan the owner who builds a fence on the line pays for it and for keeping it up, and the neighbor owes nothing. Most states split that cost. The neighbor starts owing a share of what the fence is worth now only when that neighbor or their renter begins using it to hold animals, and even then the neighbor can build a separate fence instead. The whole act covers only fences that hold animals, because section 43.51 defines a fence that way.
This one is Michigan law, not Battle Creek law. All Michigan findings
The owner of real property who constructs a fence shall pay for the construction and maintenance of that fence.
How tall can a fence be in Battle Creek?
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Battle Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and what the fence encloses.
On residential land, and on any property used for residential purposes whatever its zoning, no fence in a primary or required secondary front yard may exceed four feet and no fence in a rear or side yard may exceed six. Commercial districts take the same four feet at the front and eight feet at the side and rear, rising as far as twenty feet or the height of the building, whichever is less, where the fence encloses outdoor retail displays and is contiguous to the principal use. Industrial districts allow six feet at the front and ten at the side and rear, again reaching twenty feet around outdoor storage on the same conditions. Agricultural districts have no size, type or location restriction at all when the fence is used for agricultural purposes. A construction fence may reach eight feet and stands for a year or while the construction permit is open, whichever is shorter.
No fence in a primary and required secondary front yard shall exceed four feet in height and no fence in any rear or side yard shall exceed six feet in height.
1260.02(e)(2), with (e)(3) and (e)(4)
The answer turns on the district and what the fence encloses.
- a residential front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a residential rear or side yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- an industrial side or rear yard
- Ten feet, or twenty around outdoor storage. 10 ft
- an agricultural district
- No restriction at all for agricultural use.
Also on fence height in Battle Creek
- no rule, documents checkedMichigan sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The state fence act defines a fence by what it holds in, not by height, and names no number. The seven feet in the residential code rules is the point where a permit starts being needed, not a cap. The city, village or township sets the limit. MCL 43.51Michigan · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Battle Creek?
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Battle Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on how much of the fence the work affects.
A permit is required before building any permanent fence in Battle Creek, with a fee set by the City Commission and paid with the application. Repairs are exempt up to a point: painting needs no permit and neither do repairs affecting no more than a quarter of the fence in a one year period, provided the height, location and style do not change. That same twenty-five percent figure does a second job, because a legally existing nonconforming fence has to be brought into compliance with the section once any change or repair affects more than a quarter of its surface in a year, with painting again excluded. Three kinds of fence need no permit at all: fencing for agricultural purposes where agriculture is the principal use, fencing that can be installed or removed without tools or machinery, and shrubs or hedges planted to serve as a fence.
No person shall construct or cause to be constructed any permanent fence upon property within the City without first obtaining a permit therefor, unless otherwise stated. A permit shall not be required for painting or for repairs not affecting more than 25% of the fence performed within a one-year period provided that the height, location, and style of the repairs do not change.
The answer turns on how much of the fence the work affects.
- a permanent fence
- A permit and a fee first.
- repairs under a quarter of the fence in a year
- No permit, if nothing else changes. 25%
- a nonconforming fence repaired past that
- It has to be brought into compliance.
Also on permits in Battle Creek
- set in state lawA fence in Michigan seven feet tall or shorter needs no building permit. The state writes that number into its own rule rather than taking the model code as it comes. Rule 505 replaces section R105.2 of the residential code. The same no permit list also covers a separate shed up to 200 square feet, a retaining wall under four feet with no extra weight on the soil behind it, and a store bought pool less than 24 inches deep. Skipping the permit does not make legal any work that breaks the code or a city rule. R 408.30505Michigan · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Battle Creek
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Michigan answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Michigan puts no pool fence height in its own statute. The state construction code act builds the Michigan code out of the national model codes, including the International Residential Code, plus whatever changes the director makes. So the fence rule for a pool at a house comes from that model code. The same act says a Michigan version of a code has to be free to the public before anyone can enforce it.
This one is Michigan law, not Battle Creek law. All Michigan findings
The code shall consist of the international residential code, the international building code, the international mechanical code, the international plumbing code, the international existing building code, and the international energy conservation code published by the international code council and the national electrical code published by the national fire prevention association, with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate.
Spite fence laws in Battle Creek
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Battle Creek law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Michigan has no spite fence law. The state fence act covers who pays, who the fence viewer is, and what a fence viewer can decide, and section 43.55 says plainly that a fence viewer does not settle boundary arguments. Nothing in the act turns on why a fence went up or how tall it is. A claim about a fence built to annoy rests on ordinary nuisance law made by judges, and on city zoning.
This one is Michigan law, not Battle Creek law. All Michigan findings
Documents read before writing that:
How fence height is measured in Battle Creek
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Battle Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the thing measured is the fence or a decorative feature on it.
Battle Creek answers the finial question directly and puts two limits on the answer. Decorative architectural features are not counted in the measured height of a fence so long as they do not extend more than nine inches above the maximum height and sit at least five feet apart. The spacing condition is the important half, because it stops a row of closely set caps from becoming a continuous extension of the fence by another name. Below ground the section asks for judgment rather than a number, requiring fence posts to be set firmly in the ground at a depth that will support the structure of the fence, so there is no stated frost depth or footing specification. The section never defines grade for the heights themselves.
Decorative architectural features on fences shall not be included in the measured height of a fence so long as they do not extend more than nine inches above the maximum height and have a minimum spacing of five feet between features.
The answer turns on whether the thing measured is the fence or a decorative feature on it.
- a decorative feature
- Free for nine inches, five feet apart. 9 in
- the spacing of those features
- At least five feet between them. 5 ft
- setting a post
- Firmly, at a depth that supports the fence.
Also on how height is measured in Battle Creek
- left to the townMichigan never says where a fence height is measured from. Section 125.3201 of the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act lets a local government limit the height of buildings and other structures, and stops there. The state fence law says even less. Section 43.51 calls a fence anything good enough to hold an animal, with no number and no starting point. So the county, township or city writes both the limit and the way it is measured. MCL 125.3201(4)Michigan · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Battle Creek
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Battle Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on how far the fence is from the corner or the side lot line.
Battle Creek puts a distance and a transparency requirement in the same paragraph. No fence may be erected or maintained within twenty-five feet of the corner property line at a street intersection in a way that interferes with traffic visibility across the corner of streets or alleys, and every fence in a front yard, corner or not, has to have a minimum transparent surface area of fifty percent. That second rule is the one that shapes the look of the city, because it means no solid fence anywhere at the front regardless of height. Two exceptions give the transparency back. On a through lot a fence in the secondary front yard may go to six feet with no transparency requirement if it stands twenty-five feet or more from the rear property line, and on a corner lot the same six feet is available twenty-five feet or more from the exterior side lot line. A fence may also not obstruct visibility for cars or pedestrians at driveways and sidewalks.
In no circumstance shall any fence be erected or maintained within 25 feet of the corner property line at a street intersection so as to interfere with traffic visibility across the corner of streets or alleys. All fences in the front yard shall have a minimum transparent surface area of 50%.
1260.02(d)(2) and (d)(3), with (f)(1)
The answer turns on how far the fence is from the corner or the side lot line.
- within twenty-five feet of the corner
- Nothing that interferes with visibility. 25 ft
- any front yard fence
- At least half transparent. 50%
- a secondary front yard set well back
- Six feet, solid allowed.
Also on corner visibility in Battle Creek
- set in state lawMichigan has a 1925 law about fences that sit in the road. Act 368 of 1925, in Chapter 247 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, lets the commissioner in charge of a road order an owner to pull back any fence, building or other thing that crosses into a public highway, and gives the owner thirty days. The order has to state how wide the road is and where the fence sits compared to the center line. An owner who ignores it owes a dollar a day. The law covers the road itself and nothing else. A clear view triangle at a corner comes from a city rule written under the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act. MCL 247.171Michigan · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Battle Creek
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Battle Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height of the wall and the width of any landing.
The section says outright that a retaining wall is not a fence for its purposes, which keeps the height limits off the wall itself, and then attaches a safety requirement instead. Any retaining wall over four feet has to carry a fence of at least four feet along its highest elevation. Terraced walls get their own version of that test, aimed at the case where a series of shorter walls adds up to a long drop: where any section of a terraced retaining wall is over four feet in height and has less than a three foot wide landing, a four foot fence is required along the highest elevation of the subject property grade. So the landing width is what decides whether a stepped wall is treated as one tall wall or as separate short ones.
For purposes of this chapter, retaining walls are not considered a fence; however, any retaining wall exceeding four feet in height requires a minimum four-foot-tall fence erected along the highest elevation of the wall.
The answer turns on the height of the wall and the width of any landing.
- a retaining wall over four feet
- A four foot fence along the top. 4 ft
- a terraced wall with a narrow landing
- The same fence, where the landing is under three feet. 3 ft
- the wall itself
- Not treated as a fence.
Also on retaining walls in Battle Creek
- set in state lawA retaining wall in Michigan needs no building permit if it is four feet tall or less, measured from the bottom of the footing up to the top of the wall. The footing sits below the ground, so the four feet starts lower than the yard does. Michigan writes this itself. Rule 505 replaces section R105.2 of the residential code. A wall holding up a surcharge needs a permit at any height. A surcharge means extra weight pressing on the soil behind the wall, such as a driveway or a building. Skipping the permit does not make legal any work that breaks the code or a city rule. R 408.30505Michigan · Building code
Fence materials allowed in Battle Creek
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Battle Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, the zone and whether the Administrator approves.
A Battle Creek fence may be wrought iron, vinyl, wood pickets, stone, brick, chain link or any other generally accepted fencing material, and the section then bars pallets, twigs, pressed board, plywood, scrap lumber and other nontraditional material unless the Planning and Zoning Administrator approves it. Electrically charged fencing is prohibited within the city limits unless it is buried beneath the ground, which permits a buried pet containment system while barring a live fence above it. Barbed wire, razor wire, concertina strands, single wire and cattle fencing are prohibited as well, with one narrow exception: barbed wire strands may enclose hazardous materials or land uses, or commercial or industrial land where the Administrator finds the added security appropriate, and even then only three strands totaling no more than nine inches. Above ground electric and barbed wire fences are permitted for agricultural purposes in an agricultural zone.
Fences may be constructed from wrought iron, vinyl, wood pickets, stone, brick, chain link, or any other generally accepted fencing material.
The answer turns on the material, the zone and whether the Administrator approves.
- pallets, plywood or scrap lumber
- Only with the Administrator approving.
- an electric fence
- Only buried, outside an agricultural zone.
- barbed wire on commercial or industrial land
- Three strands, nine inches total, at the Administrator discretion. 3 strands
Also on materials in Battle Creek
- set in state lawMichigan says in its construction code act what a low voltage electric fence is. It counts as one only if it stands on land zoned for something other than homes and runs off a battery of 12 volts or less. It also has to sit inside a fence or wall that carries no current and stands at least 5 feet tall. It stops at 10 feet and carries shock warning signs no more than 60 feet apart, written in English and Spanish. A fence that meets the whole list needs no permit when a registered alarm company installs it. MCL 125.1528aMichigan · Building code
Livestock and boundary fence law in Battle Creek
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Michigan answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Michigan sets no height, wire count, board count or post spacing for a farm fence. The fence viewers act defines a fence by what it does rather than what it is made of, so anything that holds an animal counts, and so does a natural barrier such as a river or a thick hedge. The animals it has to hold are the ones named in the running at large act: cattle, horses, sheep, swine, mules, burros or goats.
This one is Michigan law, not Battle Creek law. All Michigan findings
means a structure or natural barrier which is sufficient to confine an animal as defined in section 1 of Act No. 328 of the Public Acts of 1976
Also on agricultural fencing in Battle Creek
- set in state lawMichigan puts the duty on the animal owner across the whole state. An animal may not run loose anywhere in Michigan. The owner may not let it happen, and neither may anybody else who knows what they are doing. Running at large means the animal is off the owner's land and out of the owner's control. A person whose property gets damaged can ask the owner to pay, and nothing in the act asks that person to have built a fence first. MCL 433.12Michigan · Statute
Documents behind this page
10 documents, of which 1 was published by Battle Creek itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Chapter 43, Fences and Fence Viewers, Act 34 of 1978
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Chapter 43, Fences and Fence Viewers, Act 34 of 1978
- Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction CodesMichigan Administrative Code, Construction Code, Part 5, Residential Code, R 408.30500 to R 408.30547g
- City of Battle CreekBattle Creek Codified Ordinances, Section 1260.02, Fences
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act, Act 230 of 1972
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Chapter 43, Fences and Fence Viewers, Act 34 of 1978
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, Section 125.3201
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Act 368 of 1925, Highway Obstructions and Encroachments, Section 247.171, Encroachments; removal order, service; temporary permit
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act, Act 230 of 1972, Section 28a
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Animals Running at Large, Act 328 of 1976
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 Battle Creek publishes, plus the Michigan rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Michigan 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