Fence laws in Grand Rapids, Michigan
What the Grand Rapids municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Grand Rapids sets no rule of its own, the Michigan rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Grand Rapids, Michigan, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Grand Rapids draws a clear distinction between the boundary with a neighbor and the boundary with the public, and the answer turns on whether the line faces a neighbor, a street or the water. The figure is 1 foot, for setback from the right of way line.
- How tall
- Grand Rapids sets its front yard height by opacity and its side and rear by nothing else, and the answer turns on whether the fence is solid or open, and which yard it stands in. The figure is 3 feet, for solid fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- Grand Rapids puts its permit line at thirty inches, which is the lowest on this site and means nearly every real fence needs one, and the answer turns on the height of the fence and whether a departure is sought. The figure is 30 inches, for height that triggers a zoning permit.
- Pool barriers
- Michigan puts no pool fence height in its own statute.
- Spite fences
- Grand Rapids has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Grand Rapids writes one of the most carefully drawn measuring rules on this site, and it closes three loopholes at once. The figure is 3 feet, for band either side of the fence the grade is read from.
- Corner lots
- Michigan has a 1925 law about fences that sit in the road. It reaches a fence, building or other object standing in a public highway only.
- Retaining walls
- A retaining wall in Grand Rapids may be tiered, and the spacing between tiers has to equal the height of each installed section, so a three foot wall gets three feet of terrace before the next one starts, and the answer turns on whether the wall is tiered and how tall it is in a front yard. The figure is 5 feet, for spacing of the shrubs at a wall base.
- Materials
- Grand Rapids asks for quality workmanship and then says what that means in six or seven specifics, and the answer turns on the material, the yard, and whether a public entity requires it.
- Livestock
- Michigan sets no height, wire count, board count or post spacing for a farm fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Grand Rapids?
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Grand Rapids answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the line faces a neighbor, a street or the water.
Grand Rapids draws a clear distinction between the boundary with a neighbor and the boundary with the public. A fence may sit on a property line, but along a public right of way it has to be outside that right of way and set back at least a foot from the line of it, which leaves a strip the city can work in without touching the fence. A waterfront lot gets a rule of its own and a strict one: the area between the main building and the natural body of water counts as a front yard, and no solid fence, wall or screening of any kind is permitted there, so the water side of a Grand Rapids lot stays open. A fence on a vacant lot is expressly allowed, subject to the same table once it stands between the lot line and the required setbacks.
Fences shall be outside of the public right-of-way and set back at least one (1) foot from the right-of-way line. Fences may otherwise be on the property line.
The answer turns on whether the line faces a neighbor, a street or the water.
- a line shared with a neighbor
- On the line.
- a public right of way
- A foot back from it. 1 ft
- the water side of a waterfront lot
- No solid fence, wall or screening at all.
Also on fences on the property line in Grand Rapids
- set in state lawIn 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. MCL 43.53(1)Michigan · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Grand Rapids?
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Grand Rapids answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is solid or open, and which yard it stands in.
Grand Rapids sets its front yard height by opacity and its side and rear by nothing else. A solid fence or wall at the front of a residential lot stops at three feet and an open one gets four, while both take six in a side or rear yard. The ordinance defines open carefully, counting chain link in a side or rear yard only, aluminum, wrought iron or other decorative metal, and a picket or board fence whose gaps are as wide as its boards. Non-residential uses take the same three and four at the front and six behind. Where the front setback is ten feet or less, the first five feet of the side yards are treated as front yard, so a shallow lot carries the lower figure further back than the plan suggests.
Open fences shall be considered chain link (side/rear yard only), aluminum or wrought iron or other decorative metal fence, as well as picket or board fence with spacing between boards equivalent to the board width of that fence.
The answer turns on whether the fence is solid or open, and which yard it stands in.
- a solid front yard fence
- Three feet. 3 ft
- an open front yard fence
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a side or rear yard
- Six feet, solid or open. 6 ft
- a shallow front setback of ten feet or less
- The first five feet of the side yards count as front.
Also on fence height in Grand Rapids
- 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 Grand Rapids?
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Grand Rapids answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height of the fence and whether a departure is sought.
Grand Rapids puts its permit line at thirty inches, which is the lowest on this site and means nearly every real fence needs one. All fences and walls higher than that require a Zoning Permit. Relief from the standards comes through an Administrative Departure rather than a variance, and the ordinance sets out when one is available: where an adequate clear vision area is present, no detriment to neighboring properties would be created, and topography, natural features, lot configuration or another site issue clearly makes compliance impossible. In the mixed use commercial districts a departure may add two feet to a side or rear yard fence where topography, natural features, lot configuration or security makes it necessary. A departure is also the route to a chain link fence with slats and to vinyl coated chain link.
All fences and walls higher than thirty (30) inches shall require a Zoning Permit.
The answer turns on the height of the fence and whether a departure is sought.
- a fence over thirty inches
- A Zoning Permit. 30 in
- a site that cannot meet the standards
- An Administrative Departure on three findings.
- a mixed use commercial side or rear yard
- Two more feet, where the site or security needs it. 2 ft
Also on permits in Grand Rapids
- 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 Grand Rapids
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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 Grand Rapids 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 Grand Rapids
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Grand Rapids 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 Grand Rapids law. All Michigan findings
Documents read before writing that:
How fence height is measured in Grand Rapids
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Grand Rapids answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Grand Rapids writes one of the most carefully drawn measuring rules on this site, and it closes three loopholes at once. Height comes off the grade at the lowest point within three feet of the fence or wall, measured perpendicular to its plane, so an owner cannot pick a high spot to measure from and cannot escape by standing the fence just off a dip. It runs to the highest point including posts and finials, which is the opposite of the cities that exclude posts. And the last sentence removes the usual workaround outright: using a berm or other feature to artificially increase height is prohibited, so raising the ground does not raise the allowance.
Height shall be measured from grade at the lowest point within three (3) feet of the fence or wall, perpendicular from its plane. Height shall be measured from the established grade line to the highest point, including posts and finials. The use of a berm or other feature to artificially increase height is prohibited.
3 ftband either side of the fence the grade is read from
Also on how height is measured in Grand Rapids
- 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 Grand Rapids
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Michigan answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Michigan 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.
This one is Michigan law, not Grand Rapids law. All Michigan findings
In every case where a public highway has been or shall be encroached upon by any fence, building, or other encroachment, the commissioner or commissioners having jurisdiction over the road may make an order under his or their hand requiring the owner or occupant of the land through or by which such highway runs
Retaining wall rules in Grand Rapids
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Grand Rapids answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the wall is tiered and how tall it is in a front yard.
A retaining wall in Grand Rapids may be tiered, and the spacing between tiers has to equal the height of each installed section, so a three foot wall gets three feet of terrace before the next one starts. The point of that spacing is stated: it is to allow for planting. Above three feet in a front yard the planting becomes mandatory, with a single row of shrubs at the base spaced no more than five feet on center, at least thirty inches tall when planted and at least four feet within four years, and climbing plants such as ivy allowed instead with the Director approving. The walls themselves take three feet in a residential front yard and eight behind it, and six feet in a non-residential front yard and ten behind, so a wall is allowed considerably more height than a fence in the same place.
Retaining walls may be tiered with separate spacing equivalent to the height of each installed wall section (e.g. wall height is three (3) feet, spacing to next wall shall be three (3) feet) to allow for the planting of vegetation.
The answer turns on whether the wall is tiered and how tall it is in a front yard.
- a tiered wall
- Each terrace as wide as the wall below it.
- a wall over three feet in a front yard
- A row of shrubs at its base, five feet on center. 5 ft
- a residential side or rear yard
- Eight feet of wall. 8 ft
Also on retaining walls in Grand Rapids
- 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 Grand Rapids
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Grand Rapids answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, the yard, and whether a public entity requires it.
Grand Rapids asks for quality workmanship and then says what that means in six or seven specifics. A fence has to be ornamental metal, rot resistant wood, chain link or another high quality durable material, and a wall has to be masonry, decorative block, poured concrete, brick or stone compatible with the main building. Nothing may be left unfinished, with openings on top of walls and uncapped fence posts named as examples. The finished side faces outward toward the abutting lots and rights of way. Wrought iron and decorative aluminum may not have exposed pointed ends, though finials with flat ends are allowed. Chain link is barred from a front yard, and chain link with slats needs the Planning Director and only where it will not generally be visible from the street. Barbed, razor, concertina and electrified wire are all out unless a public entity or utility requires them to protect power, food or water supplies, with the SD-IT district allowed two extra feet of wire to a total of ten in a side or rear yard. Buried electronic fences are permitted in every district outside the public right of way.
Unless otherwise required by a public entity or utility to protect power, food or water supplies, barbed, razor, concertina, electrified, or other similar wire is not permitted.
The answer turns on the material, the yard, and whether a public entity requires it.
- wire of any of those kinds
- Only where a public entity or utility requires it.
- chain link in a front yard
- Not permitted.
- wrought iron or decorative aluminum
- Flat finials, never exposed points.
- a buried electronic fence
- Permitted in every district off the right of way.
Also on materials in Grand Rapids
- 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 Grand Rapids
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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 Grand Rapids 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 Grand Rapids
- 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 Grand Rapids itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Michigan LegislatureMichigan Compiled Laws, Chapter 43, Fences and Fence Viewers, Act 34 of 1978
- City of Grand RapidsGrand Rapids Code of Ordinances, Title V, Chapter 61, Zoning Ordinance, Section 5.2.11, Fences and Walls
- 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
- 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 Grand Rapids 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