Fence laws in Duluth, Minnesota
What the Duluth municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Duluth sets no rule of its own, the Minnesota rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Duluth, Minnesota, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Duluth sets no distance between a fence and a lot line, so a fence may run along the boundary, and regulates which way it faces instead, and the answer turns on the design of the fence and what is planted beside it. The figure is 4 feet, for clearance for plant material from a fence or lot line.
- How tall
- No fence or wall between the principal structure and the front property line in Duluth may exceed four feet, and a six foot fence is available there only where it is built of an ornamental material such as wrought iron, is at least fifty percent open or transparent, and carries an approved zoning permit, and the answer turns on the district, the yard and how transparent the fence is. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in front of the principal structure.
- Permits
- Any fence in Duluth that exceeds four feet needs an approved zoning permit before construction, which is a low threshold and catches the ordinary six foot back yard fence that most cities let through unnoticed, and the answer turns on the height and where the fence stands. The figure is 4 feet, for height above which a zoning 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
- Minnesota does name the ground, once. The figure is 16 inches, for bottom wire of a legal fence, measured from the ground. It reaches a legal fence built of barbed wire only.
- Corner lots
- On any corner lot where a front and a side yard are required, no wall, fence, structure, sign or plant growth that obstructs sight lines between two and a half feet and six feet above the driving surface of the adjacent roadway may be maintained inside a triangle, and the answer turns on whether the obstruction falls inside the band and the triangle. The figure is 20 feet, for leg of the corner sight 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
- Across the front of a Duluth house four kinds of fence are prohibited outright: chain link, electrically charged fences, barbed or razor wire, and temporary plastic snow fencing, and the answer turns on the yard and what the fence encloses. The figure is 4 feet, for vinyl coated chain link in a front yard.
- 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 Duluth?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Duluth answers this, but the answer changes depending on the design of the fence and what is planted beside it.
Duluth sets no distance between a fence and a lot line, so a fence may run along the boundary, and regulates which way it faces instead. All fences and walls have to be installed with the finished side facing out, so that posts and lateral supports are not on the side facing an adjacent property or a public right-of-way, unless the design exposes the supports on both sides. The landscaping rules add a clearance that most codes do not: plant material may not be placed closer than four feet from any fence line or property line, so a row of shrubs cannot be pushed against a neighbor fence. Retaining walls are handled separately and exempt one-family and two-family properties entirely, along with any wall not visible from a neighboring site or a public street. Nothing in the section divides the cost of a shared fence or asks for the consent of an adjoining owner.
with the finished side facing out, so that posts and lateral supports are not on the side of the fence or wall which faces an adjacent property or public right
50-26.4(A)(8), with 50-25.2(J)
The answer turns on the design of the fence and what is planted beside it.
- the finished side
- Faces the neighbor or the street.
- a fence exposed on both sides
- The rule does not bite.
- planting beside a fence
- Four feet off the fence line. 4 ft
- cost sharing
- Not addressed.
Also on fences on the property line in Duluth
- 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 Duluth?
Compare fence height across all 50 states
Duluth answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the yard and how transparent the fence is.
No fence or wall between the principal structure and the front property line in Duluth may exceed four feet, and a six foot fence is available there only where it is built of an ornamental material such as wrought iron, is at least fifty percent open or transparent, and carries an approved zoning permit. In a residential district the maximum inside a required side or rear yard is eight feet, and an entry gate structure at a residential subdivision entrance gets the same eight. The mixed use, special purpose and form districts also start at eight, with the land use supervisor able to approve up to twelve feet where extra height is needed for security because of topography or the nature of the material or equipment stored there. In a form district a fence is not permitted in a required front yard at all, except a wrought iron fence enclosing an outdoor patio or dining area, capped at three feet.
No fence or wall located between the principal structure on a lot and the front property line shall exceed four feet in height
50-26.4(A)(1) and (3) through (5)
The answer turns on the district, the yard and how transparent the fence is.
- in front of the house
- Four feet. 4 ft
- an ornamental front fence
- Six feet, half open, with a zoning permit. 50%
- a side or rear yard
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a security need in a mixed use district
- Twelve feet by approval. 12 ft
Also on fence height in Duluth
- 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 Duluth?
Compare permits across all 50 states
Duluth answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height and where the fence stands.
Any fence in Duluth that exceeds four feet needs an approved zoning permit before construction, which is a low threshold and catches the ordinary six foot back yard fence that most cities let through unnoticed. A fence in a dedicated right-of-way needs a concurrent use permit instead, and no fence may go up there without one. Two of the height allowances are themselves permit decisions rather than rights: the six foot ornamental front yard fence is available only with an approved zoning permit, and so is the four foot vinyl coated chain link fence at the front. Above eight feet in the mixed use, special purpose and form districts the land use supervisor decides, up to twelve feet, on a showing that topography or the nature of stored material or equipment requires it. Where site conditions make the screening rules impossible, an owner may propose an alternative and the land use supervisor may approve it if it achieves the same result or better.
No fence shall be constructed in dedicated rights of way without a concurrent use permit. Any fence that exceeds four feet in height is required to have an approved zoning permit prior to construction;
The answer turns on the height and where the fence stands.
- over four feet
- A zoning permit. 4 ft
- a dedicated right-of-way
- A concurrent use permit.
- over eight feet in a mixed use district
- The land use supervisor decides.
- a site that cannot comply
- An alternative screening proposal.
Also on permits in Duluth
- 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 Duluth
Compare pool barriers across all 50 states
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 Duluth 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 Duluth
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
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 Duluth 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 Duluth
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Minnesota answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Minnesota 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.
This one is Minnesota law, not Duluth law. All Minnesota findings
fences consisting of at least four barbed wires with at least 40 barbs to the rod, the wires firmly fastened to posts not more than one rod apart, the top wire not more than 48 inches high and the bottom wire 12 to 16 inches from the ground
16 inbottom wire of a legal fence, measured from the ground
Also on how height is measured in Duluth
- no rule, documents checkedThe Duluth fence rules give four different heights and never say where the measurement starts. No grade is named, no berm rule appears, and nothing prohibits building the ground up before setting posts. That silence sits oddly beside the retaining wall standards in the same section, which are unusually detailed: a wall over six feet has to be terraced, terracing is limited to three tiers, each terrace has to be at least four feet wide with a slope no steeper than three to one, the terraces have to be planted unless an engineer finds the soil unsuitable, and the wall has to be stacked natural stone or faced with stone or earth-colored material, with railroad ties, timber and gabion materials prohibited. So the city thought carefully about a wall holding back a hillside and not at all about the fence standing on top of one, in a city built on a ridge where that combination is ordinary. 50-26.4Duluth · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Duluth
Compare corner visibility across all 50 states
Duluth answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the obstruction falls inside the band and the triangle.
On any corner lot where a front and a side yard are required, no wall, fence, structure, sign or plant growth that obstructs sight lines between two and a half feet and six feet above the driving surface of the adjacent roadway may be maintained inside a triangle. The triangle is measured twenty feet along the front lot line and twenty feet along the exterior side lot line from the point where they meet, with the third side connecting them. Two details are worth noting. The protected band starts at two and a half feet rather than the two or three feet most codes use, which is set to the eye height of a driver in a car rather than to a pedestrian. And the rule reaches plant growth on the same terms as a fence, so a hedge grown to the same line is caught. The rule lives in the landscaping section rather than in the fence section, so a reader working only from the fence rules will not find it.
shall be maintained in a triangle formed by measuring from the point of intersection of the front and exterior side lot lines a distance of 20 feet along the front and side lot lines and connecting the points so established to form a right triangle on the area of the lot adjacent to the street intersection;
50-25.2(M), Protection of site distances
The answer turns on whether the obstruction falls inside the band and the triangle.
- the triangle
- Twenty feet along each lot line. 20 ft
- the protected band
- Two and a half to six feet above the road. 6 ft
- a hedge
- Caught the same as a fence.
- where the rule lives
- In the landscaping section, not the fence section.
Also on corner visibility in Duluth
- 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 Duluth
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 Duluth 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 Duluth
Compare materials across all 50 states
Duluth answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard and what the fence encloses.
Across the front of a Duluth house four kinds of fence are prohibited outright: chain link, electrically charged fences, barbed or razor wire, and temporary plastic snow fencing. A durable vinyl coated chain link fence of no more than four feet may be allowed there with an approved zoning permit, which is the one route back. In a side or rear yard the ban narrows to electric fences and barbed or razor wire, so ordinary chain link is fine behind the house. Two exceptions run through both: the electric fence ban does not apply to fences protecting gardens and landscaping on residential lots, and neither the electric nor the barbed wire ban applies to fences enclosing livestock on bona fide farms or serving a public or quasi-public institution for safety or security. Vacant property may be fenced with chain link up to six feet to stop unauthorized dumping or soil disturbance, without that being treated as permission to use the land for outdoor storage.
Chain link fences, fences that are electrically charged, fences constructed of barbed or razor wire and fences constructed of temporary plastic fencing (snow fences) are prohibited.
The answer turns on the yard and what the fence encloses.
- a front yard
- No chain link, electric, barbed or snow fence.
- vinyl coated chain link at the front
- Four feet, with a zoning permit. 4 ft
- a garden or landscaping
- An electric fence is allowed.
- vacant land
- Six feet of chain link against dumping. 6 ft
Also on materials in Duluth
- 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 Duluth
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 Duluth 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 Duluth
- 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 Duluth 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 DuluthDuluth Legislative Code, Chapter 50, Article IV, Development Standards, Section 50-26.4, Fences and 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 Duluth 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