Fence laws in Edina, Minnesota
What the Edina municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Edina sets no rule of its own, the Minnesota rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Edina, Minnesota, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Edina sets no distance between a fence and a lot line and instead answers the question from the setback side: a fence which does not exceed the height limits is expressly listed as something that is not an encroachment into a required setback, alongside eaves, driveways, flagpoles, clotheslines, retaining walls and trees, and the answer turns on whether the fence is within the height limits. The figure is 3 feet, for setback for a retaining wall over four feet.
- How tall
- Edina gives its single family and two family districts two numbers and nothing else, and the answer turns on whether the fence stands inside a required street setback. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a required street setback.
- Permits
- A fence in Minnesota seven feet tall or shorter needs no building permit. The figure is 7 feet, for maximum fence height exempt from a building permit.
- 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
- Edina defines a clear view zone as the triangle formed by the point where the curb lines of two intersecting streets would meet and a point on each curb line thirty feet from it, using the edge of the traveled portion of the street where there are no curbs, and the answer turns on how tall the obstruction is and what it is. The figure is 30 feet, for leg of the clear view zone.
- 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
- Minnesota lists five builds that count as a legal fence on a property line, and four of the five are wire. The figure is 4 strands, for minimum number of barbed wires in an all barbed wire legal partition fence. It reaches a fence on the line between two pieces of land only.
- 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 Edina?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Edina answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is within the height limits.
Edina sets no distance between a fence and a lot line and instead answers the question from the setback side: a fence which does not exceed the height limits is expressly listed as something that is not an encroachment into a required setback, alongside eaves, driveways, flagpoles, clotheslines, retaining walls and trees. So a conforming fence may run right up to a boundary. The one placement rule is about which way it faces, and Edina states it in the plural: fences have to be installed with the finished side facing neighboring properties. Nothing asks for the consent of an adjoining owner, requires a survey, or divides the cost of a fence on a shared line. Retaining walls are handled separately in the next section, where every wall has to be shown on a grading plan as part of a building permit application with its materials identified, and a wall taller than four feet has to meet a three foot setback.
Fences shall be installed with the finished side facing neighboring properties.
The answer turns on whether the fence is within the height limits.
- a conforming fence
- Not an encroachment into a setback.
- the finished side
- Faces the neighbors.
- a retaining wall over four feet
- A three foot setback and a grading plan. 3 ft
- cost sharing
- Not addressed.
Also on fences on the property line in Edina
- 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 Edina?
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Edina answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence stands inside a required street setback.
Edina gives its single family and two family districts two numbers and nothing else. No fence may exceed six feet in height anywhere, and a fence exceeding four feet may not be erected within a required front street setback or a side street setback. So the front and the street side of a corner lot take four feet and the rest of the lot takes six. There is no separate figure for an interior side yard, no allowance for a taller fence on an arterial, no exception for a tennis court, a pool or a screening wall, and no conditional use or variance route written into the section. The districts covered are stated as R-1 and R-2 only, so the section is written about house lots and leaves the rest of the city to other parts of the zoning chapter. A fence that stays inside these limits is expressly listed as not an encroachment into a required setback.
Fences exceeding four feet in height shall not be erected within a required front street setback or side street setback, pursuant to the provisions of section 36-439(1). No fence shall exceed six feet in height.
The answer turns on whether the fence stands inside a required street setback.
- a front or side street setback
- Four feet. 4 ft
- anywhere else on the lot
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a taller fence
- No route written into the section.
Also on fence height in Edina
- 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 Edina?
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Minnesota answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A 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.
This one is Minnesota law, not Edina law. All Minnesota findings
fences not over seven feet (2,134 mm) high
7 ftmaximum fence height exempt from a building permit
Also on permits in Edina
- no rule, documents checkedNothing in the Edina code requires a permit to build a fence. The fence section names no application, fee, review or inspection, and a search of the whole code for a fence permit returns the clear view zone rule, the floodplain permit, a pool permit and a patio license, and nothing about fences. Since the maximum height is six feet, a fence built to the limit also sits below the seven foot threshold at which the state building code would otherwise require a permit, so the two rules line up and leave a conforming fence unregulated at the counter. Where the same chapter does require a permit for a similar structure it says so plainly: every retaining wall has to be shown on a grading plan as part of a building permit application, with the construction materials identified. The contrast suggests the omission for fences is deliberate rather than an oversight. 36-1255Edina · Zoning code
Pool fence requirements in Edina
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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 Edina 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 Edina
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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 Edina 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 Edina
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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 Edina 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 Edina
- no rule, documents checkedThe fence section gives four feet and six feet and never says what either is measured from. Sloping ground is not addressed, a berm is not addressed, a fence on top of a retaining wall is not addressed even though retaining walls are regulated in the very next section, and nothing prevents an owner raising the ground before setting posts. No allowance is given for a post cap standing above the top rail. The clear view zone rules show the drafters were capable of fixing a datum when it mattered, measuring an obstruction from the elevation of the adjoining street at the edge of the traveled portion and a pruned tree from the top of the adjoining curb. For an ordinary fence in a back yard no such reference point exists, so on Edina lots that fall away toward a creek the answer comes from whoever is measuring. 36-1255Edina · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Edina
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Edina answers this, but the answer changes depending on how tall the obstruction is and what it is.
Edina defines a clear view zone as the triangle formed by the point where the curb lines of two intersecting streets would meet and a point on each curb line thirty feet from it, using the edge of the traveled portion of the street where there are no curbs. No owner of a corner lot may install or maintain any sign, hedge, fence, tree, shrub, natural growth, building, structure or other obstruction inside it, and the list of permitted exceptions is only four items long. An obstruction under thirty inches above the elevation of the adjoining street, measured from the edge of the traveled portion. A tree pruned to at least six feet above the top of the adjoining curb. A regulatory sign erected by the city, county or state. And a freestanding sign with at least ten feet of clearance beneath it on a single pylon no more than twelve inches across. Everything else is prohibited rather than limited.
Clear view zone means the triangular area formed by connecting the following three points: the point of intersection of the curb lines extended of intersecting streets, and a point on each curb line 30 feet from the aforementioned point of intersection.
The answer turns on how tall the obstruction is and what it is.
- the triangle
- Thirty feet along each curb line. 30 ft
- a fence inside it
- Thirty inches above the street. 30 in
- a tree
- Pruned clear to six feet. 6 ft
- anything else
- Prohibited, not limited.
Also on corner visibility in Edina
- 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 Edina
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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 Edina 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 Edina
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Minnesota answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Minnesota 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.
This one is Minnesota law, not Edina law. All Minnesota findings
(d) 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; and (e) fences consisting of rails, timbers, wires, boards, stone walls, or any combination of those materials
4 strandsminimum number of barbed wires in an all barbed wire legal partition fence
Also on materials in Edina
- no rule, documents checkedThe Edina fence section says nothing about what a fence may be made of. There is no permitted materials list, no prohibition on sheet metal, plywood or salvage, no color or finish requirement, no chain link gauge, and no rule about slats. More surprisingly for a Minnesota city, barbed wire, razor wire and electrically charged fencing are not mentioned anywhere in the fence rules, so the section neither permits nor forbids them and the answer has to come from the building code, the nuisance provisions or a covenant. The zoning chapter does name fence materials in other places for other purposes, requiring a completely opaque wall or fence for screening in the planned commercial district, but that is a screening standard rather than a general rule about what a house lot fence may be built from. 36-1255Edina · Zoning code
Livestock and boundary fence law in Edina
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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 Edina 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 Edina
- 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
10 documents, of which 2 were published by Edina 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 EdinaEdina Code of Ordinances, Chapter 36, Zoning, Section 36-1255, Fences in the R-1 and R-2 districts
- 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
- City of EdinaEdina Code of Ordinances, Chapter 26, Traffic and Vehicles, Article VII, Clear View Zone
- 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 Edina 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