Fence laws in Independence, Missouri
What the Independence municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Independence sets no rule of its own, the Missouri rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Independence, Missouri, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- All fence support structures in Independence have to be located on the inside of the fence covering material, so the smooth face looks outward whichever line the fence runs along, and the answer turns on the district and which line the fence runs along.
- How tall
- No fence or wall in an Independence residential district may exceed eight feet, and that ceiling is reached only with a permit, and the answer turns on the yard, the district and whether a permit is taken out. The figure is 3 feet, for fence in front of a residence.
- Permits
- Independence uses the permit to buy height rather than to grant permission, and the answer turns on the district and how tall the fence is. The figure is 6 feet, for height allowed without a fence permit.
- Pool barriers
- Independence sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Independence has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Independence leaves the measuring rule to the legislative body of each city, town and village.
- Corner lots
- Independence leaves corner clearance to the intersection visibility standards of the city Design and Construction Manual.
- Retaining walls
- Independence leaves retaining walls to the building code each county, fire protection district or city adopts by reference in its own ordinance.
- Materials
- Independence asks that every fence be built in a workmanlike manner of customary fencing material, that the material be manufactured and marketed for permanent fences, and that not more than two different types of material appear in any one fence, and the answer turns on the district and what the fence protects. The figure is 7 feet, for height above grade approved barbed wire has to start at.
- 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 Independence?
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Independence answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and which line the fence runs along.
All fence support structures in Independence have to be located on the inside of the fence covering material, so the smooth face looks outward whichever line the fence runs along. No private fence may be installed on public property, including in the street right-of-way. On an office, commercial or industrial lot a fence may be built on any side or rear property line but may not stand in a required exterior setback or come closer to a public or private street than the principal building. A vacant lot in those districts may not be fenced at all, unless the Community Development Director waives that for a temporary or seasonal use. No fence may carry a sign beyond a one square foot placard naming the contractor, with no trespassing and safety warnings of two square feet or less allowed.
All fence support structures must be located on the inside of the fence covering material.
Section 14-400-02-A, with 14-400-02-C
The answer turns on the district and which line the fence runs along.
- the supports
- Inside the covering material.
- public land
- No private fence on it.
- a business side or rear line
- On the line, but out of the setback.
- a vacant business lot
- No fence without a waiver.
Also on fences on the property line in Independence
- 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 Independence?
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Independence answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the district and whether a permit is taken out.
No fence or wall in an Independence residential district may exceed eight feet, and that ceiling is reached only with a permit. In a front yard, or along a side street in front of a residence, the limit falls to three feet and the fence has to be at least fifty percent transparent, with chain link, picket, wrought iron and split rail named as acceptable. A street side yard that is not in front of the residence goes back to six feet, or eight with a permit. On a through lot the rear yard fence has to sit back to the established building line or the required setback for that street where the property behind fronts on it, or could be subdivided to front on it, and the Community Development Director may reduce that setback after weighing sight distance, the height and opaqueness of the fence, the elevations, the street classification and the character of the neighborhood. Office, commercial and industrial lots take eight feet, and a fence around a public recreational facility may be ten.
No fence or wall in a residential district may exceed eight feet in height.
The answer turns on the yard, the district and whether a permit is taken out.
- a front yard
- Three feet, half transparent. 3 ft
- a side or rear yard
- Six feet, or eight with a permit. 6 ft
- a business or industrial lot
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a public recreational facility
- Ten feet. 10 ft
Also on fence height in Independence
- 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 Independence?
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Independence answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and how tall the fence is.
Independence uses the permit to buy height rather than to grant permission. In an interior side or rear yard a fence may be six feet without a fence permit and up to eight feet with one, and the same split applies to a street side yard that is not in front of the residence. So an owner who wants the extra two feet takes out the permit and an owner content with six does not. In the office, commercial and industrial districts there is no such split: all fencing there requires a permit from the Community Development Department. Barbed wire outside agriculture takes a different route again, an administrative adjustment granted where it is needed to protect health and safety around a utility structure, landfill, airport or similar facility.
Fences or walls in interior side or rear yards shall not exceed six feet without a fence permit, or up to eight feet with a fence permit.
Section 14-400-02-B(3)(a), with 14-400-02-C(7)
The answer turns on the district and how tall the fence is.
- six feet at a house
- No permit. 6 ft
- eight feet at a house
- A fence permit. 8 ft
- any business fence
- A permit, whatever the height.
- barbed wire
- An administrative adjustment.
Also on permits in Independence
- 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 Independence
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Independence 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 Independence 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 Independence
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Independence 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 Independence 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 Independence
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Independence does not set this. It leaves it to the legislative body of each city, town and village.
Missouri 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.
This one is Missouri law, not Independence law. All Missouri findings
the legislative body of all cities, towns, and villages is hereby empowered to regulate and restrict the height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures, the percentage of lot that may be occupied, the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces
The code hands this to the legislative body of each city, town and village, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on how height is measured in Independence
- no rule, documents checkedThe section states three feet, six feet, eight feet and ten feet and never says what any of them is measured from. No grade is named for a fence height, a berm is not addressed, a fence on a retaining wall is not addressed, and no allowance is made for a post cap. The single mention of grade in the whole section belongs to the wire rule, requiring approved barbed wire to be located at least seven feet above grade. What the section measures carefully is the position of the fence rather than its height: the front yard limit turns on whether the fence is in front of the residence, the street side yard limit on the same test, and the through lot setback on the established building line of the street behind. Section 14-400-02-BIndependence · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Independence
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Independence does not set this. It leaves it to the intersection visibility standards of the city Design and Construction Manual.
The fence section says in one sentence that fences are subject to the intersection visibility standards of the Design and Construction Manual, and gives no distance, no triangle and no protected band of heights. The manual is a separate city document rather than part of the ordinance, so the numbers an owner needs at a corner are not in the code at all. What the ordinance does supply near a corner is the height rule, which holds a fence along a side street in front of a residence to three feet at fifty percent transparency, and the through lot rule, which lets the Community Development Director weigh available sight distance along with the height and opaqueness of the fence before reducing a rear setback.
No private fence shall be installed on public property, including in the street right-of-way. Fences are subject to the intersection visibility standards of the Design and Construction Manual.
The code hands this to the intersection visibility standards of the city Design and Construction Manual, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Independence
- 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 Independence
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Independence 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 Independence 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 Independence
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Independence answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and what the fence protects.
Independence asks that every fence be built in a workmanlike manner of customary fencing material, that the material be manufactured and marketed for permanent fences, and that not more than two different types of material appear in any one fence. Materials typically used for temporary fencing, such as plastic or PVC, may not be used for a permanent one, and bright colors such as orange, yellow or red are prohibited. Barbed wire, which the chapter defines to include concertina wire, razor wire, razor ribbon and other security wire, is prohibited except for bona fide agriculture, and may otherwise be approved only as an administrative adjustment for utility structures, landfills, airports and similar facilities, in which case it has to sit at least seven feet above grade. Electric fences are prohibited outside the R-A district. A chain link fence has to be installed with its barbs turned down.
Barbed wire fencing is prohibited except where it may be used in conjunction with bona-fide agricultural activities. Barbed wire fencing may also be approved as an administrative adjustment when deemed necessary to protect health and safety in association with utility structures, landfills, airports or similar facilities.
The answer turns on the district and what the fence protects.
- any fence
- Two materials at most.
- bright colors
- Orange, yellow and red are out.
- barbed wire by adjustment
- Seven feet above grade. 7 ft
- an electric fence
- Farming in the R-A district only.
Also on materials in Independence
- 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 Independence
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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 Independence 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 Independence
- 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
14 documents, of which 1 was published by Independence 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 IndependenceCode of Ordinances of the City of Independence, Chapter 14, Unified Development Ordinance, Article 4, Section 14-400-02, Fences
- 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
- Missouri Revisor of StatutesRevised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 229, Section 229.150, Ditches and crossings, how made, obstructions or damage prohibited
- 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 Independence 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