Fence laws in Apple Valley, Minnesota
What the Apple Valley municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Apple Valley sets no rule of its own, the Minnesota rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Apple Valley, Minnesota, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- All boundary fences in Apple Valley have to be located entirely on the private property of the person building them, unless the owner of the adjoining property agrees in writing that the fence may be erected on the division line of the two properties, and the answer turns on whether the adjoining owner has agreed in writing.
- How tall
- In every residential area of Apple Valley that is not a farm, no boundary line fence may be erected or maintained more than three and a half feet high, and the answer turns on which lot line the fence runs along and how far forward it goes. The figure is 42 inches, for default residential boundary fence height.
- Permits
- No fence, wall or similar barrier over seven feet may be built in Apple Valley without first obtaining a permit from the city, and any fence requiring a building permit has to be built in accordance with the Minnesota State Building Code, and the answer turns on the height and what the fence is for. The figure is 7 feet, for height above which a permit is required.
- Pool barriers
- Minnesota rules say a public pool has to be closed off so children cannot get in. The figure is 5 feet, for minimum height of fencing around a public pool.
- Spite fences
- Minnesota counts a spite fence as a private nuisance.
- Measured from what
- Apple Valley measures a fence from the ground to the top of the fence, with an exception of a two inch ground clearance. The figure is 2 inches, for ground clearance excluded from the height.
- Corner lots
- Apple Valley has two corner rules and only one of them is about a street intersection, and the answer turns on which lines meet at the corner and who is looking. The figure is 30 feet, for distance from the intersecting curb line.
- Retaining walls
- A retaining wall in Minnesota needs no building permit if it is four feet tall or less, and the four feet is measured from the bottom of the footing up to the top of the wall, not from the ground. The figure is 4 feet, for height at or below which a retaining wall needs no building permit. It reaches work covered by the Minnesota State Building Code only.
- Materials
- Apple Valley writes its material rules as a definition of nuisance: a fence is a public nuisance and prohibited accordingly if it fails any of six requirements, and the answer turns on the condition of the fence and the district it stands in. The figure is 20 percent, for deteriorated finish allowed in a ten foot section.
- Livestock
- Minnesota lists the builds that count as a legal fence. The figure is 32 inches, for minimum woven wire height on a legal fence that carries two barbed wires above it.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Apple Valley?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Apple Valley answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the adjoining owner has agreed in writing.
All boundary fences in Apple Valley have to be located entirely on the private property of the person building them, unless the owner of the adjoining property agrees in writing that the fence may be erected on the division line of the two properties. So a true shared fence exists only where both owners have signed, and without that the fence goes inside the line. The building inspector may require a property owner who needs a permit to establish the boundary lines by a survey made by a registered land surveyor, which gives the city a way to force the question when the position looks doubtful. Nothing in the section says which side the finished face or the posts point toward, which is unusual for a code this detailed about maintenance, and nothing divides the cost of a fence built on a shared line. Both are left to the written agreement and to the Minnesota fence law.
All boundary fences shall be located entirely upon the private property of the persons, firm or corporation constructing or causing the construction of the fence unless the owner of the property adjoining agrees, in writing, that the fence may be erected on the division line of the respective properties.
The answer turns on whether the adjoining owner has agreed in writing.
- no agreement
- Entirely on the builder property.
- a written agreement
- A fence on the division line.
- a doubtful boundary
- A survey may be required.
- orientation and cost
- Neither is addressed.
Also on fences on the property line in Apple Valley
- set in state lawMinnesota splits the cost of a fence on the property line in equal shares, and only on farm land. Both sides have to be used, fully or partly, to raise or keep livestock, and at least one owner has to want a fence. Then each side builds and keeps up half. The statute names which animals count as livestock. A yard that holds none of them is outside the rule. Minn. Stat. 344.03, subd. 1(a)Minnesota · Statute
- set in state lawMinnesota settles a boundary fence argument through fence viewers, who are town officers picked for the job. When one side will not build or fix a fence it has to keep, the other side can complain to them. The fence viewers give notice, look at the fence or at whether one is needed, and can order the work done in a reasonable time. If that order is ignored, the side that complained can do the work and get paid back under section 344.05. Minn. Stat. 344.04Minnesota · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Apple Valley?
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Apple Valley answers this, but the answer changes depending on which lot line the fence runs along and how far forward it goes.
In every residential area of Apple Valley that is not a farm, no boundary line fence may be erected or maintained more than three and a half feet high. That is the rule, and the eight foot fence most owners actually build arrives through five exceptions. A fence may reach eight feet on a side property line from the rear lot line to the front setback line of the principal building. It may reach eight feet along a rear property line that is also the rear line of an abutting lot, or that abuts a street right-of-way. Where a rear line is the side lot line of the neighbor it may still reach eight feet, except inside a seventeen foot triangle at the corner. And a side street lot line fence may reach eight feet but may not extend past the point where the front building line projected would cross it. Business, industrial and institutional property line fences stop at eight feet unless the City Council allows more.
Fences may be constructed to a height of eight feet on the side property line from the rear lot line to the front setback line of the principal building.
The answer turns on which lot line the fence runs along and how far forward it goes.
- a boundary line fence generally
- Three and a half feet. 42 in
- a side line behind the front setback
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a rear line shared with a neighbor rear line
- Eight feet.
- a business or industrial lot
- Eight feet unless the Council allows more.
Also on fence height in Apple Valley
- no rule, documents checkedMinnesota sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The boundary fence chapter says what a farm fence is built from and never caps a fence in a yard. The building code lets a fence up to seven feet go without a permit, which is a permit line and not a height cap. The city or county sets the limit. Minn. Stat. 344.02, 344.03Minnesota · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Apple Valley?
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Apple Valley answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height and what the fence is for.
No fence, wall or similar barrier over seven feet may be built in Apple Valley without first obtaining a permit from the city, and any fence requiring a building permit has to be built in accordance with the Minnesota State Building Code. Seven feet sits a foot above the eight foot maximum the residential exceptions allow, which means in practice no ordinary house lot fence reaches the permit threshold and the rule bites on commercial and institutional fences the City Council has allowed to exceed eight feet. Two other approvals sit in the section. Barbed wire is not permitted in any district except agricultural unless specifically permitted under conditions set by the City Council. And a fence for a special purpose, with the Zoological Garden perimeter fence given as the example, may be permitted in any use district by the Council on findings that it is necessary to protect, buffer or improve the premises.
Any fence, wall or similar barrier requiring a building permit shall be constructed or erected in accordance with the provisions of the Minnesota State Building Code.
The answer turns on the height and what the fence is for.
- over seven feet
- A permit from the city. 7 ft
- barbed wire outside agriculture
- City Council conditions.
- a special purpose fence
- City Council findings.
- a permitted fence
- Built to the state building code.
Also on permits in Apple Valley
- set in state lawA fence in Minnesota seven feet tall or shorter needs no building permit. Minnesota runs one building code for the whole state, and the rules that come with it list the work that needs no permit. A fence is on that list up to seven feet. Above seven feet it needs a permit. Minn. R. 1300.0120, subp. 4Minnesota · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Apple Valley
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Minnesota answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Minnesota rules say a public pool has to be closed off so children cannot get in. Where a fence does that job it has to stand at least five feet high, with gates that close and latch themselves and can be locked. No opening in the fence can be wider than four inches, no gap under it can be wider than two inches, and it cannot be built in a way that is easy to climb. The rule covers public pools. A pool at a private home is not in it.
This one is Minnesota law, not Apple Valley law. All Minnesota findings
Access to a public pool must be controlled to effectively prevent the entrance of children.
5 ftminimum height of fencing around a public pool
Spite fence laws in Apple Valley
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Minnesota answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Minnesota counts a spite fence as a private nuisance. Any fence or other structure put up or kept there to annoy the owner or occupant next door falls under the statute. The current text names no height at all, so the test is why the fence is there, not how tall it is.
This one is Minnesota law, not Apple Valley law. All Minnesota findings
Any fence, or any other structure, maliciously erected or maintained for the purpose of annoying the owners or occupants of adjoining property shall be deemed a private nuisance.
How fence height is measured in Apple Valley
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Apple Valley answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Apple Valley measures a fence from the ground to the top of the fence, with an exception of a two inch ground clearance. Two inches is a small allowance and it exists for a practical reason: a fence set clear of the ground lets water and leaves pass beneath it rather than rotting the bottom board, and without the exception a builder would have to cut two inches off the panel to stay legal. The phrase sits inside the permit sentence rather than in a definitions section, which means the measuring rule is stated once and then relied on by every height in the section. What is not addressed is sloping ground, a berm, a fence on top of a retaining wall, or ground raised before the posts go in, and no allowance is given for a post cap standing above the top rail. The pool barrier rules nearby are more precise, measuring the barrier from grade on the side facing away from the pool.
as measured from the ground to the top of the fence with an exception of a two-inch ground clearance
2 inground clearance excluded from the height
Also on how height is measured in Apple Valley
- set in state lawMinnesota does name the ground, once. Section 344.02 lists the fences that count as legal, and the barbed wire one puts the top wire no more than forty eight inches high and the bottom wire twelve to sixteen inches from the ground. So the bottom of that fence is measured from the ground. The top is a bare number with no surface named, which leaves a fence on a slope unanswered. For a fence at a house, section 462.357 lets the city set the height rule, so the city decides how it is measured too. Minn. Stat. 344.02Minnesota · Statute
Fence rules for corner lots in Apple Valley
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Apple Valley answers this, but the answer changes depending on which lines meet at the corner and who is looking.
Apple Valley has two corner rules and only one of them is about a street intersection. Fences on any corner lot erected within thirty feet of the intersecting curb line are made subject to the traffic visibility section elsewhere in the zoning chapter, which is where the dimensions live. The second rule is stated in full and covers a situation most codes ignore: where a rear property line is also the side lot line of the abutting lot, a fence may reach eight feet but drops to three and a half inside a triangle drawn seventeen feet along the common rear and side line from the neighbor front lot line, seventeen feet along the side street lot line, and back. That is a rule protecting the neighbor view out of their own front yard rather than a driver view at an intersection, and the same triangle applies to a side street lot line fence where the adjacent lot fronts the same street.
Fences along a rear property line which constitutes the side lot line of an abutting lot shall not exceed eight feet in height and shall not exceed 3½ feet in height within a triangular area described as follows: beginning at the intersection of the common rear/side lot line and the abutting lot’s front lot line; thence 17 feet along the common rear/side lot line; thence diagonally to a point 17 feet from the point of beginning along the side street lot line; thence to the point of beginning.
The answer turns on which lines meet at the corner and who is looking.
- a street corner
- Thirty feet from the curb line, under the traffic visibility section. 30 ft
- a rear line meeting a neighbor side line
- Three and a half feet in a seventeen foot triangle. 17 ft
- a side street lot line
- The same triangle where the neighbor fronts that street.
Also on corner visibility in Apple Valley
- set in state lawMinnesota names the fence and names the roads. Chapter 160 makes it a misdemeanor to put a fence on the right of way of a trunk highway, a county state aid highway, a county highway or a town road. The one exception is a lane fence at the ends of a livestock crossing. The same section bars a building or structure inside the limits of any highway. Neither reaches a fence standing back on a private corner lot. Section 462.357 gives the city power over the height of structures and the size of yards, and a clear view triangle is written there. Minn. Stat. 160.2715Minnesota · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Apple Valley
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Minnesota answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A retaining wall in Minnesota needs no building permit if it is four feet tall or less, and the four feet is measured from the bottom of the footing up to the top of the wall, not from the ground. Minnesota prints this in its own state rule instead of pointing at a model code. Two things take a wall off the no permit list at any height. One is holding up a surcharge, which means extra weight pressing on the soil behind the wall, such as a driveway or a building. The other is holding back Class I, II or III-A liquids, which are liquids that burn.
This one is Minnesota law, not Apple Valley law. All Minnesota findings
retaining walls that are not over four feet (1,219 mm) in height measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, unless supporting a surcharge or impounding Class I, II, or III-A liquids;
4 ftheight at or below which a retaining wall needs no building permit
Fence materials allowed in Apple Valley
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Apple Valley answers this, but the answer changes depending on the condition of the fence and the district it stands in.
Apple Valley writes its material rules as a definition of nuisance: a fence is a public nuisance and prohibited accordingly if it fails any of six requirements. It has to be firmly fastened and anchored so it is not leaning or collapsing, kept in sound repair and free of loose or rotting pieces and unintended holes, and free of any defect that makes it hazardous. Exterior wood other than a decay resistant species has to be protected by paint or another coating kept in good repair. And no fence section may have a peeling, cracked, chipped or otherwise deteriorated finish on more than twenty percent of any one linear ten foot section, which is a maintenance standard with an actual measurement behind it. A link fence, where permitted, has to be built so no barbed ends sit at the top. Barbed wire is agricultural only unless the Council allows it, and electric fencing is farming only and never a boundary fence, though a buried invisible pet fence does not count as an electric fence.
No fence section shall have peeling, cracked, chipped or otherwise deteriorated surface finish, including but not limited to: paint or other protective coating or treatment, on more than 20% of any one linear ten-foot section of the fence.
The answer turns on the condition of the fence and the district it stands in.
- a weathered fence
- A fifth of a ten foot section is the limit. 20%
- barbed wire
- Agricultural, or Council conditions.
- an electric fence
- Farming only, never on a boundary.
- a buried pet fence
- Not an electric fence for this purpose.
Also on materials in Apple Valley
- set in state lawMinnesota lists five builds that count as a legal fence on a property line, and four of the five are wire. Barbed wire appears in all four, either on its own or stacked above woven wire, with rules on how many strands, how many barbs and how far apart the posts stand. The fifth is an open list of rails, beams, wires, boards, stone walls or a mix, so long as the fence viewers judge it equal to the others. No material is ruled out. Minn. Stat. 344.02Minnesota · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Apple Valley
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Minnesota answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Minnesota lists the builds that count as a legal fence. Woven wire at least thirty two inches tall with two barbed wires above it counts. So does woven wire at least forty inches tall with one barbed wire above it, and woven wire at least forty eight inches tall with one barbed wire above it. All three go on well set posts no more than a rod apart. A rod is sixteen and a half feet. Four barbed wires also count, with at least forty barbs to the rod, the top wire no higher than forty eight inches and the bottom wire twelve to sixteen inches off the ground. Anything the fence viewers judge equal to those counts too.
This one is Minnesota law, not Apple Valley law. All Minnesota findings
The following are legal and sufficient fences: (a) fences consisting of at least 32-inch woven wire and two barbed wires firmly fastened to well-set posts not more than one rod apart, the first barbed wire being above and not more than four inches from the woven wire and the second barbed wire being above and not more than eight inches from the first wire;
32 inminimum woven wire height on a legal fence that carries two barbed wires above it
Also on agricultural fencing in Apple Valley
- set in state lawMinnesota puts the duty on the animal owner. Letting cattle, a horse, a donkey, a mule, sheep, swine or a goat run loose in the state is against the law, and driving an animal onto someone's land over their objection counts as running loose too. The section does not ask the neighbor to have built a fence first. Minn. Stat. 346.16Minnesota · Statute
Documents behind this page
9 documents, of which 1 was published by Apple Valley itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of StatutesMinnesota Statutes, Chapter 344, Section 344.03, Expense; Equal Shares
- Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of StatutesMinnesota Statutes, Chapter 344, Section 344.04, Failure to Build or Repair; Rights of Complainant
- City of Apple ValleyApple Valley Code of Ordinances, Chapter 155, Zoning, Section 155.351, Fences; Permits and Location
- Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of StatutesMinnesota Statutes, Chapter 344, Partition Fences
- Minnesota Department of Labor and IndustryMinnesota Rules, Chapter 1300, Part 1300.0120, Permits
- Minnesota Department of HealthMinnesota Rules, Chapter 4717, Part 4717.1550, Pool Access Restriction; Fencing
- Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of StatutesMinnesota Statutes, Chapter 561, Section 561.02, Maliciously Maintained Structure
- Minnesota Office of the Revisor of StatutesMinnesota Statutes, Chapter 160, Section 160.2715, Right-of-way use; misdemeanors
- Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of StatutesMinnesota Statutes, Chapter 346, Animals, Section 346.16, Running at Large; Defined; Prohibited; Treble Damages
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 Apple Valley publishes, plus the Minnesota rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Minnesota 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