Fence laws in Blue Springs, Missouri
What the Blue Springs municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Blue Springs sets no rule of its own, the Missouri rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Blue Springs, Missouri, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Blue Springs is one of the few codes in this set that goes after the dead strip between two neighbors' fences, and it came in with an ordinance in August 2024 written for that purpose, and the answer turns on how far from the line the fence sits and what the neighbor already built. The figure is 6 inches, for how far off the line a fence face may sit.
- How tall
- Blue Springs splits the height by where the fence sits relative to the front building line and then by how intensely the land is zoned, and the answer turns on the front building line and the zoning district. The figure is 6 feet, for rear or side fence in the two-family district or less intensive.
- Permits
- The permit rule in Blue Springs is written as wide as it can be.
- Pool barriers
- Blue Springs sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Blue Springs has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Blue Springs defines fence height, which most cities in this state do not, and the definition does the work.
- Corner lots
- Blue Springs leaves corner clearance to the sight distance standards in the latest edition of the AASHTO Green Book.
- Retaining walls
- Blue Springs leaves retaining walls to the building code each county, fire protection district or city adopts by reference in its own ordinance.
- Materials
- The code groups its materials into four families rather than listing products, and the answer turns on the yard and what else is already on the lot.
- Livestock
- A lawful fence in Missouri is posts and wire or boards at least four feet high, once the two owners agree on it or the associate circuit court decides it. The figure is 4 feet, for minimum height of a lawful fence in Missouri.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Blue Springs?
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Blue Springs answers this, but the answer changes depending on how far from the line the fence sits and what the neighbor already built.
Blue Springs is one of the few codes in this set that goes after the dead strip between two neighbors' fences, and it came in with an ordinance in August 2024 written for that purpose. A fence may sit with its face at the property line or within six inches of it. Anything further in has to stand back at least three feet. The in between distance, the six inches to three feet that leaves a gap too narrow to mow and too wide to ignore, is simply not available. The same rule then stops the second fence: no fence may be built or kept parallel to or generally following an existing fence unless the two are at least three feet apart or directly abutting. Where a set back fence could end up enclosing a strip with other similarly placed fences, the city may require at least one gate so maintenance equipment can get in. Separately, the finished side faces outward and the support posts sit inside the fence and screened from view.
Fences may be located so that the fence face is at or within six (6) inches from the property line; otherwise, the fence shall be setback at least three (3) feet from the property line absent more specific standards in these regulations. A fence shall not be constructed or maintained parallel to or generally following an existing fence unless the fences are at least three (3) feet apart or directly abutting the existing fence.
The answer turns on how far from the line the fence sits and what the neighbor already built.
- on or near the line
- Within six inches. 6 in
- anywhere further in
- Three feet back, at least. 3 ft
- a second fence alongside
- Three feet apart or touching.
- the finished side
- Out, with the posts screened.
Also on fences on the property line in Blue Springs
- set in state lawA fence on the property line in Missouri starts with written notice to the neighbor. The two owners then meet, and each one builds or fixes the half on their own right. Right means standing at the middle of the shared line, on their own land, facing the fence. If they cannot agree, an associate circuit judge names viewers to split the cost. RSMo § 272.060Missouri · Statute
- set in state lawMissouri says what happens when one side does not build its half. If either side fails to build or fix its part in a reasonable time, the other can ask the associate circuit court for permission to do the work the way the court directs. The court then orders the other side to pay its share of the whole cost, plus court costs and reasonable lawyer fees. That order is a lien on the other side's land, meaning the debt is attached to the property until it is paid. RSMo § 272.070Missouri · Statute
- set in state lawMissouri also covers the case where only one neighbor wants a fence. That neighbor may build the whole thing and report the total cost to the associate circuit judge, who has the cost written onto each deed. If the other owner later runs livestock against that fence, the builder gets back half the cost of building it, split the way section 272.060 says. RSMo § 272.132Missouri · Statute
- set in state lawThe duty in Missouri does not end once the fence is up. Anyone who owns part of a fence on a property line keeps that part in good repair, to the standard in Chapter 272. The same section gives a right to cross the line. The person doing the repair may step onto the land next door to do it. RSMo § 272.110Missouri · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Blue Springs?
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Blue Springs answers this, but the answer changes depending on the front building line and the zoning district.
Blue Springs splits the height by where the fence sits relative to the front building line and then by how intensely the land is zoned. Behind the front building line a fence is held to six feet in the two-family district and everything less intensive than it, and eight feet in all other districts. In front of that line the limit drops to four feet, the material has to be ornamental or decorative and complement the principal building, and the fence has to be at least a third open. One building type is carved out: a detached house on an estate lot fronting a collector or arterial street may have a metal picket fence up to six feet. A corner lot carries the front yard rules sideways, so any fence within eight feet of the right-of-way meets the four foot front standard no matter which yard it is in. Security fencing on non-residential land and fencing around a tennis court or pool may be exempt from both the height and the material rules.
Be limited to no higher than six (6) feet in TF (Two-Family) and less intensive zoning districts and eight (8) feet in all other districts
The answer turns on the front building line and the zoning district.
- behind the building line at a house
- Six feet. 6 ft
- behind it in a busier district
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- in front of the building line
- Four feet, and a third open. 4 ft
- within eight feet of the right-of-way
- The front rules apply. 33%
Also on fence height in Blue Springs
- no rule, documents checkedMissouri sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. Chapter 272 defines a lawful fence by whether it keeps livestock in, not by a maximum height for a yard fence, and Missouri runs no statewide building code for homes that could add one. The city or county sets the limit. RSMo ch. 272Missouri · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Blue Springs?
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Blue Springs answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The permit rule in Blue Springs is written as wide as it can be. No fence may be erected, modified or changed in any manner until a fence permit application has been approved by the Director of Community Development, and the application has to show the type, material and placement of the fence on a form the city provides. There is no height floor and no exemption for a repair, so changing a fence in any manner reads on its face to include swapping the material or moving the line. The city asks for placement on the application, which is what lets it check the six inch and three foot setback rule and the ban on a second fence running alongside an existing one before the posts go in rather than after.
No fence shall be erected, modified or changed in any manner until a fence permit application has been approved by the Director of Community Development.
Also on permits in Blue Springs
- set in state lawMissouri has no building code of its own and hands the job to local government by statute. A county, a fire protection district or a city that already has power to pass such a rule may adopt a code by naming it instead of printing all of it, as long as the code is named by date and source. One copy has to sit with the local clerk, open to anyone, for ninety days before the rule passes, and the rule has to state its own penalty rather than borrow one from the code. The codes this covers are building construction and use, mechanical work, plumbing, electrical work and fire prevention. RSMo § 67.280Missouri · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Blue Springs
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Blue Springs law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Missouri sets no statewide fence rule for a swimming pool at a private home. The only pool fencing rules in state regulation sit in health department chapters on public bathing places and on hotels and motels, and both are aimed at pools open to the public. The one place a swimming pool shows up in the statutes is a definition inside a section about what a landowner can be sued for, and it sets no fence at all.
This one is Missouri law, not Blue Springs law. All Missouri findings
Documents read before writing that:
- RSMo ch. 701Missouri Revisor of Statutes
- RSMo § 537.348Missouri Revisor of Statutes
Spite fence laws in Blue Springs
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Blue Springs law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Missouri has no spite fence law. Chapter 272 is the state fence chapter and it runs from what counts as a lawful fence through boundary fences, repairs and local option rules. Nothing in it covers a fence built to hurt a neighbor, and there is no height anywhere in it. A fence like that is an ordinary nuisance question in Missouri.
This one is Missouri law, not Blue Springs law. All Missouri findings
Documents read before writing that:
- RSMo ch. 272Missouri Revisor of Statutes
- RSMo § 272.060Missouri Revisor of Statutes
How fence height is measured in Blue Springs
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Blue Springs answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Blue Springs defines fence height, which most cities in this state do not, and the definition does the work. Height is the vertical distance measured from the side of the fence that is exterior to the property, or from the lowest adjacent ground level, up to the top of the fence material. Two things follow. Measuring from the outside face means the neighbor and the street see the number the code is talking about, so raising the ground on the owner side buys nothing. Measuring from the lowest adjacent ground level answers the fence built on a berm or at the top of a slope, because the low side sets the height rather than the high side. Wire fencing gets its own rule: height is the width of the material used, provided the material sits directly against the ground when installed, which stops a chain link panel being floated above the dirt.
The vertical distance measured from the side of the fence that is exterior to the property or from the lowest adjacent ground level to the top of the fence material. In the case of wire fencing, height shall be measured by the width of the material used providing that when installed the material is directly adjacent to the ground level.
Section 411.040, definition of Fence Height
Also on how height is measured in Blue Springs
- left to the townMissouri gives a fence height and never says where to measure it from. Section 272.020 calls a fence of posts and wire or boards at least four feet high a lawful fence, and says nothing about the surface those four feet start at. Section 89.020 then lets every city, town and village set the height of buildings and other structures. So the number for a fence at a house, and the point it is measured from, are both written by the city. RSMo 89.020.1Missouri · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Blue Springs
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Blue Springs does not set this. It leaves it to the sight distance standards in the latest edition of the AASHTO Green Book.
Blue Springs sets no distance and draws no triangle. Its sight distance standards are based on criteria in the latest edition of the AASHTO Green Book, a national highway engineering manual that is not part of the code and is not published with it, and on a corner lot nothing may be erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow in a way that obstructs the view of the traveling public by that standard. Because the rule points at the latest edition, the requirement can change without the city amending anything. The Director of Public Works may increase the triangle where traffic safety calls for it. What the code does supply near a corner is a height, since any fence within eight feet of the right-of-way is held to the four foot front fence standard, and a fence on a corner lot in a historic or conservation district has to be at least a third open on the street side.
Sight distance standards are based on criteria in the latest edition of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Green Book. On corner lots nothing shall be erected, placed, planted, or allowed to grow in such a manner which will obstruct the view of the traveling public based on AASHTO Green Book sight distance standards.
The code hands this to the sight distance standards in the latest edition of the AASHTO Green Book, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Blue Springs
- set in state lawMissouri lists the ways a person may not damage a road, and fencing is one of them. Chapter 229 makes it against the law to block or damage a public road on purpose, including by fencing across or onto the right of way, or by planting a hedge or putting up an ad sign inside the road lines. A road overseer or county highway engineer sends written notice to take it out, and can ask the circuit court for permission to go clear it. The section does not reach charter counties or the City of St. Louis, and it sets no clear view triangle at a corner. Mo. Rev. Stat. 229.150Missouri · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Blue Springs
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Blue Springs does not set this. It leaves it to the building code each county, fire protection district or city adopts by reference in its own ordinance.
Missouri puts no retaining wall rule in state law. Section 67.280 lets a county, a fire protection district or a city pass a rule that adopts a building code by naming it. The code has to be named by date and source, and a copy has to sit with the local clerk for ninety days first. So the rule for a wall that holds back earth is whatever the adopted code says, and it changes from one town to the next.
This one is Missouri law, not Blue Springs law. All Missouri findings
Any community, if the community otherwise has the power under the law to adopt such an ordinance, may adopt or repeal an ordinance which incorporates by reference the provisions of any code or portions of any code, or any amendment thereof, properly identified as to date and source, without setting forth the provisions of such code in full.
The code hands this to the building code each county, fire protection district or city adopts by reference in its own ordinance, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Blue Springs
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Blue Springs answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard and what else is already on the lot.
The code groups its materials into four families rather than listing products. Wood or vinyl made to look like wood. Wrought iron or aluminum made to look like wrought iron. Stone, brick, concrete with a stone or brick veneer, or precast concrete made to look like stone or brick. And chain link or vinyl clad chain link, allowed in a rear or side yard only, with every exposed steel part either given a colored finish coat or galvanized. No single fence may use more than two of those families, and the limit then widens to the whole lot: no more than two materials or styles of fence may be used by any one property, naming chain link, wood privacy and wrought iron as the sorts of thing it means. Anything added to a fence later to raise its height has to match the original in material, color and design. A fence proposed across a drainage way or drainage easement goes to the Director of Public Works.
No more than two materials and/or styles of fences may be utilized by any one property, such as chain link, wood privacy, or wrought iron.
Section 407.040(D)(3)(c)(4)(g)
The answer turns on the yard and what else is already on the lot.
- any one fence
- Two material families at most.
- the whole property
- Two materials or styles, counted together.
- chain link
- Rear or side yard only.
- raising an existing fence
- Same material, color and design.
Also on materials in Blue Springs
- set in state lawMissouri says what a battery charged fence is and blocks every city, county, town and village from banning one. To fit the definition it ties into an alarm that calls law enforcement, sits on land not set aside for homes, and runs off a battery of no more than twelve volts. It also has to stand completely inside a fence or wall that carries no current and is at least five feet tall, stop at ten feet, and carry warning signs no more than sixty feet apart. Whoever installs it has to give the local government written notice once it is up. Mo. Rev. Stat. 67.301Missouri · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Blue Springs
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Missouri answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A lawful fence in Missouri is posts and wire or boards at least four feet high, once the two owners agree on it or the associate circuit court decides it. The posts go firmly in the ground no more than twelve feet apart. The wire or boards are fastened tight and spaced so horses, cattle and animals like them cannot get through.
This one is Missouri law, not Blue Springs law. All Missouri findings
Any fence consisting of posts and wire or boards at least four feet high which is mutually agreed upon by adjoining landowners or decided upon by the associate circuit court of the county is a lawful fence.
4 ftminimum height of a lawful fence in Missouri
Also on agricultural fencing in Blue Springs
- set in state lawThe four feet in Missouri is a minimum, not a maximum. A separate section says nothing in the fence chapter stops either owner from building their own part, or the neighbor's part, better than the chapter asks for. So Chapter 272 sets the least a lawful fence can be and puts no cap on it. RSMo § 272.136Missouri · Statute
Documents behind this page
16 documents, of which 3 were published by Blue Springs itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 272, Section 272.060, Division fences, rights of parties in, how determined
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 272, Section 272.070, Duty of judge if owners disagree, apportionment of costs
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 272, Section 272.132, Total cost of fence attributable to one landowner, when
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 272, Section 272.110, Division fences to be kept in repair
- City of Blue SpringsUnified Development Code of the City of Blue Springs, Missouri, Chapter 407, General Development Standards, Section 407.040, Site and Landscape Design
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 272, Fences, Enclosures and Trespassing Animals, full chapter listing
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 701, Minimum Standards for Certain Structures and Materials, full chapter listing
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 67, Section 67.280, Communities may incorporate by reference certain technical codes
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 537, Section 537.348, Definition of conditional use
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Section 89.020, Powers of municipal legislative body
- City of Blue SpringsUnified Development Code of the City of Blue Springs, Missouri, Chapter 411, Interpretation, Section 411.040, Glossary
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 229, Section 229.150, Ditches and crossings, how made, obstructions or damage prohibited
- City of Blue SpringsUnified Development Code of the City of Blue Springs, Missouri, Chapter 407, General Development Standards, Section 407.020, Block and Lot Access
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 67, Section 67.301, Battery-charged fence
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 272, Section 272.020, Fencing requirements
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 272, Section 272.136, Landowner may exceed lawful fence requirements
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 Blue Springs publishes, plus the Missouri rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Missouri 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