Fence laws in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
What the Brooklyn Park municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Brooklyn Park sets no rule of its own, the Minnesota rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- On an interior side or rear line Brooklyn Park sets no setback at all, so a fence may sit on the boundary, and the answer turns on which line the fence runs along and how tall it is. The figure is 0 feet, for setback on an interior side or rear line.
- How tall
- Brooklyn Park gives the whole city one number, and the answer turns on the height of the fence and how far back it stands. The figure is 102 inches, for maximum fence height in any district.
- Permits
- Brooklyn Park does not require a permit for a fence as such, and the answer turns on the use of the property and who the gate keeps out. The figure is 30 inches, for minimum gate width for access around a building.
- 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
- The height limit in Brooklyn Park is measured from the top of the fence or supports to grade, and naming the supports is the part that matters. The figure is 102 inches, for measured to the top of the fence or its supports.
- Corner lots
- Brooklyn Park leaves corner clearance to Section 152.1007 of the zoning code, which defines the clear view triangle.
- 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
- Electric, concertina, barbed wire and chicken wire fences are prohibited in Brooklyn Park, in the residential rules and again in the nonresidential ones, with no agricultural, livestock or security exception anywhere, and the answer turns on the material, the yard and the season. The figure is 10 feet, for maximum spacing of chain link posts.
- 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 Brooklyn Park?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Brooklyn Park answers this, but the answer changes depending on which line the fence runs along and how tall it is.
On an interior side or rear line Brooklyn Park sets no setback at all, so a fence may sit on the boundary. The front is different, with anything over forty-two inches held fifteen feet back, and a multiple family or townhouse development allowed to bring a wrought iron or similarly designed decorative fence right up to the front property line. A side or rear line abutting a public right-of-way also takes the fifteen feet, with two exemptions that bring it back to the line: where the property is on a corner with a controlled intersection, meaning stop signs or lights, or where the fence does not encroach into the clear view triangle. Orientation is stated in both halves of the section: where the visible facade material is not finished on both sides, the finished side goes on the outside facing the abutting properties and every post or supporting structure goes on the inside. A fence that detains or inhibits surface water drainage to or from an abutting property is prohibited.
If the visible facade material is not finished on both sides, the finished side of the material must be on the outside, facing the abutting or adjoining properties, and all posts or structures supporting the fence or wall must be on the inside.
The answer turns on which line the fence runs along and how tall it is.
- an interior side or rear line
- No setback. 0 ft
- a front line, fence over forty-two inches
- Fifteen feet back.
- a corner with a stop sign or light
- Up to the line.
- the posts
- On the inside, facing the owner.
Also on fences on the property line in Brooklyn Park
- 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 Brooklyn Park?
Compare fence height across all 50 states
Brooklyn Park answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height of the fence and how far back it stands.
Brooklyn Park gives the whole city one number. No fence may exceed eight feet six inches, and the same sentence appears twice, once in the residential rules and once in the nonresidential and mixed use rules, so a house lot and a factory are held to the same limit. That is the tallest general residential figure in this set and there is no separate front yard height at all. What controls the front instead is a setback: a fence or wall more than forty-two inches has to stand fifteen feet back from the front property line, and a fence of forty-two inches or less may be placed anywhere on a lot so long as it meets the traffic visibility rules. In the nonresidential rules the front is handled differently again, with nothing over thirty inches allowed between the public right-of-way and the facade of the principal building. Fences around tennis courts and similar recreational uses may exceed eight feet six inches with the approval of the City Manager.
Fences and walls more than 42 inches in height must be setback 15 feet from the property line.
152.1010(A)(4), with (A)(2) and (C)(5)
The answer turns on the height of the fence and how far back it stands.
- anywhere in the city
- Eight feet six inches. 102 in
- a front yard fence over forty-two inches
- Fifteen feet back from the line. 15 ft
- a fence of forty-two inches or less
- Anywhere on the lot. 42 in
- a tennis court
- Taller with City Manager approval.
Also on fence height in Brooklyn Park
- 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 Brooklyn Park?
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Brooklyn Park answers this, but the answer changes depending on the use of the property and who the gate keeps out.
Brooklyn Park does not require a permit for a fence as such. What it requires is access. On a detached single family or attached two family dwelling, where a fence connects to a building at least one gate of at least two feet six inches has to be provided so a person can get around the building. On every other use, plans for fences and gates controlling access to the property have to be approved by the Police and Fire Departments before construction begins, and in the nonresidential rules that approval sits with the City Manager and has to happen before a building permit may be issued. Naming the fire department in the ordinance rather than leaving the question to the fire code is unusual, and it is the same concern in both places: a gated site with no way in is a problem for an engine crew. The City Manager also holds the discretion to allow a taller fence around a tennis court and to extend the snow fence removal date while snow remains.
Plans for fences and gates controlling access to the property must be approved by the Police and Fire Departments before construction begins.
The answer turns on the use of the property and who the gate keeps out.
- a house or duplex
- A gate of at least two feet six inches. 30 in
- any other use
- Police and Fire approval first.
- a nonresidential gate
- City Manager approval before a building permit.
- a taller recreational fence
- City Manager discretion.
Also on permits in Brooklyn Park
- 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 Brooklyn Park
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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 Brooklyn Park 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 Brooklyn Park
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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 Brooklyn Park 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 Brooklyn Park
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Brooklyn Park answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The height limit in Brooklyn Park is measured from the top of the fence or supports to grade, and naming the supports is the part that matters. In most cities a post or finial standing above the top rail is either ignored or given a stated allowance of six or twelve inches. Here the taller of the two is what gets measured, so a fence whose panels stop at eight feet and whose posts carry caps to eight feet eight is over the limit. That also explains why the limit is eight feet six rather than a round eight: the extra six inches is built into the number instead of being handed out as a post allowance. Grade is the other end of the measurement and the code does not define it further, so nothing addresses a fence on a berm, on top of a retaining wall, or on ground raised before the posts went in. Retaining walls are prohibited from being placed in easements.
No fence may exceed eight feet, six inches as measured from the top of the fence or supports to grade.
102 inmeasured to the top of the fence or its supports
Also on how height is measured in Brooklyn Park
- 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 Brooklyn Park
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Brooklyn Park does not set this. It leaves it to Section 152.1007 of the zoning code, which defines the clear view triangle.
The Brooklyn Park fence rules state no triangle. They refer to one twice: a fence on a side or rear line abutting a public right-of-way may come up to the property line where it does not encroach into the clear view triangle as defined and regulated in Section 152.1007, and a fence of forty-two inches or less may be placed anywhere on a lot provided it complies with the traffic visibility requirements. So the dimensions live three sections earlier in the same chapter rather than in the fence section, and the fence rules only point at them. The pairing with the controlled intersection exemption is the interesting part: a corner with a stop sign or a stop light is treated as safe enough to allow a fence at the line, on the reasoning that a driver has to stop there anyway, while an uncontrolled corner keeps the fifteen foot setback whatever the triangle says.
Fence or wall does not encroach into the clear view triangle as defined and regulated in § 152.1007.
The code hands this to Section 152.1007 of the zoning code, which defines the clear view triangle, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Brooklyn Park
- 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 Brooklyn Park
Compare retaining walls across all 50 states
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 Brooklyn Park 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 Brooklyn Park
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Brooklyn Park answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, the yard and the season.
Electric, concertina, barbed wire and chicken wire fences are prohibited in Brooklyn Park, in the residential rules and again in the nonresidential ones, with no agricultural, livestock or security exception anywhere. Chain link is allowed but conditioned. Every chain link fence has to have a top rail with posts spaced no more than ten feet apart, and on a nonresidential lot the barbed ends have to be placed at the bottom of the fence rather than the top. In a front yard a chain link fence has to carry a black, brown or green vinyl coating, bare galvanized chain link is not allowed, and privacy slats are not allowed in a front yard chain link fence at all. On a nonresidential lot the coating requirement applies to every chain link fence rather than only the front. Silt and construction fences have to come off at project completion, and a snow fence may not go up before the first of November and has to be gone by the first of April.
Chain link fences in the front yard must have a black, brown, or green vinyl coating. Bare galvanized chain link fences are not allowed in front yards. Privacy slats are not allowed in chain link fences in the front yard.
152.1010(A)(5) and (6), with (C)(6) and (7)
The answer turns on the material, the yard and the season.
- electric, barbed or chicken wire
- Prohibited, with no exception.
- chain link in a front yard
- Coated black, brown or green, no slats.
- any chain link fence
- A top rail and posts within ten feet. 10 ft
- a snow fence
- November to April.
Also on materials in Brooklyn Park
- 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 Brooklyn Park
Compare agricultural fencing across all 50 states
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 Brooklyn Park 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 Brooklyn Park
- 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 Brooklyn Park 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 Brooklyn ParkBrooklyn Park Code of Ordinances, Chapter 152, Zoning Code, Section 152.1010, Fences and Retaining Walls
- 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 Brooklyn Park 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