Fence laws in O'Fallon, Missouri
What the O'Fallon municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where O'Fallon sets no rule of its own, the Missouri rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in O'Fallon, Missouri, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A fence in O'Fallon has to be built on or within the property lines, and it may sit on any side or rear line, and the answer turns on which line the fence runs along and what is already on the lot. The figure is 0 feet, for setback from a side or rear property line.
- How tall
- O'Fallon picks a number nobody else in this state picks, and the answer turns on where on the lot the fence stands. The figure is 78 inches, for maximum height of a fence or decorative post.
- Permits
- The permit line in O'Fallon is thirty inches, which is low enough to catch a knee high garden fence and a run of decorative posts, and the answer turns on how tall the fence is and what it is for. The figure is 30 inches, for height at which a permit is required.
- Pool barriers
- O'Fallon sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- O'Fallon has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- O'Fallon leaves the measuring rule to the legislative body of each city, town and village.
- Corner lots
- O'Fallon states one number and then covers everything the number misses, and the answer turns on whether the fence sits in the triangle or merely blocks the view. The figure is 25 feet, for size of the sight triangle.
- Retaining walls
- O'Fallon leaves retaining walls to the building code each county, fire protection district or city adopts by reference in its own ordinance.
- Materials
- O'Fallon writes both lists and leaves both open, and the answer turns on the zoning district and what the fence is for. The figure is 66 inches, for minimum fence height before barbed wire is allowed.
- 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 O'Fallon?
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O'Fallon answers this, but the answer changes depending on which line the fence runs along and what is already on the lot.
A fence in O'Fallon has to be built on or within the property lines, and it may sit on any side or rear line. The finished side faces outward and every visible support and structural component faces in toward the owner. Then the code adds two rules that go further than most. All fencing materials must be contiguous, meaning every fence on a property has to be the same material and design as every other fence on it, and mixing elements is named as the thing being banned, such as joining two runs of wood fence with a twenty foot span of chain link. The Administrative Officer can allow a different material or design. And every fence needs a gate at least three feet wide on any side next to a street. A fence in an easement stays there at the owner's risk and may be removed without compensation.
The finished side of the fence must face outward. All visible supports and other structural components shall face in toward the subject property.
Section 400.273.C.9, with C.8 and C.10
The answer turns on which line the fence runs along and what is already on the lot.
- the finished side
- Facing out, supports in.
- a side or rear line
- The fence may sit on it. 0 ft
- a second fence on the lot
- Same material and design.
- a side next to a street
- A three foot gate. 3 ft
Also on fences on the property line in O'Fallon
- 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 O'Fallon?
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O'Fallon answers this, but the answer changes depending on where on the lot the fence stands.
O'Fallon picks a number nobody else in this state picks. The maximum height for fencing, accompanying structures and decorative posts is six feet six inches, so the usual six foot fence is legal and gets six inches of headroom on top. Where the fence may stand is the tighter rule: fencing built forward of the required lot setback line is prohibited and fencing within the front yard setback is prohibited outright. A lot with more than one side on a public street gets one relaxation, letting the fence project up to ten feet over the building line on the side yard next to the street. A decorative post under thirty inches may go in a front yard if it stays two feet off the property line. The height limit can be exceeded with a conditional use permit, on the conditions that vision is not further obstructed and the outside face is screened with plants, and without one where another city ordinance requires the extra height.
The maximum height for fencing, accompanying structures and decorative posts is six (6) feet, six (6) inches, except as noted elsewhere within this Section.
The answer turns on where on the lot the fence stands.
- any fence
- Six feet six inches. 78 in
- a front yard setback
- No fence at all.
- a second street frontage
- Ten feet over the building line. 10 ft
- a decorative post in front
- Under thirty inches, two feet off the line. 30 in
Also on fence height in O'Fallon
- 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 O'Fallon?
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O'Fallon answers this, but the answer changes depending on how tall the fence is and what it is for.
The permit line in O'Fallon is thirty inches, which is low enough to catch a knee high garden fence and a run of decorative posts. Every fence at or above that height needs a permit issued before construction, taken out by the owner or an authorized agent with the Administrative Officer, who may inspect during and after the work. A permit is not valid until the application is approved and the fees are paid, work has to start within six months and finish within a year, and an expired permit is renewed only on review. A fence built after this section that does not comply is illegal, has to be dismantled and removed at the owner's expense, and carries a fine of up to five hundred dollars, with each violation a separate charge. Two things skip the permit: temporary protective fencing around active earth work, and fencing installed as a structural or safety device, which includes a fence on top of a retaining wall.
All fences and decorative posts to be constructed within the City limits that are thirty (30) inches or more in height need to have a permit issued prior to construction.
The answer turns on how tall the fence is and what it is for.
- thirty inches or more
- A fence permit first. 30 in
- building without one
- Removal, and up to five hundred dollars.
- temporary construction fencing
- No permit.
- a fence on a retaining wall
- No permit, but it is reviewed.
Also on permits in O'Fallon
- 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 O'Fallon
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O'Fallon 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 O'Fallon 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 O'Fallon
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O'Fallon 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 O'Fallon 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 O'Fallon
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O'Fallon 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 O'Fallon 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 O'Fallon
- no rule, documents checkedThe section is exact about the number and silent about the datum. Six feet six inches and thirty inches are both stated to the inch, and neither is tied to grade, to the ground, to the finished surface or to anything else. A berm is not addressed. A post cap is not addressed, which matters here because the limit applies to accompanying structures and decorative posts as well as to the fence. A fence on top of a retaining wall is mentioned once, in the list of things that need no permit, and even there the code does not say whether the wall counts toward the height. What the section does measure carefully is the material rather than the height, giving the wall thickness of every PVC post, rail and picket in a commercial bufferyard fence to the thousandth of an inch. Section 400.273.CO'Fallon · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in O'Fallon
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O'Fallon answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence sits in the triangle or merely blocks the view.
O'Fallon states one number and then covers everything the number misses. No fencing or decorative post may be placed within the designated twenty five foot sight triangle, and none may be erected or constructed in any manner that otherwise impedes vehicular vision. That second clause matters, because a fence can block a driver without ever entering the triangle, and here it is caught anyway. The rule is a prohibition rather than a height limit, so a low fence inside the triangle is out along with a tall one. The same concern shows up again in the exceptions, where a conditional use permit for extra height is granted only if the increase in no way further obstructs vision for intersecting streets, driveways, sidewalks or other traffic areas.
Fencing/decorative posts may not be placed within the designated twenty-five (25) foot sight triangle or be erected or constructed in any manner that otherwise impedes vehicular vision.
The answer turns on whether the fence sits in the triangle or merely blocks the view.
- inside the triangle
- No fence at any height. 25 ft
- outside it but still blocking
- Also prohibited.
- asking for extra height
- Only if vision is not further obstructed.
- a state right-of-way
- A state permit first.
Also on corner visibility in O'Fallon
- 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 O'Fallon
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O'Fallon 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 O'Fallon 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 O'Fallon
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O'Fallon answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zoning district and what the fence is for.
O'Fallon writes both lists and leaves both open. Acceptable materials include, but are not limited to, brick, stone and other masonry, synthetic materials, natural and treated woods, wrought iron, decorative aluminum and chain link, with PVC and other synthetics held to the quality standards written into the same section. Chain link is allowed in residential and industrial zoning and cannot be used in a commercially zoned area. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, barbed wire, razor wire, hardware cloth, wire mesh and electrified fencing. Barbed wire comes back on an industrial security fence, but only above five feet six inches, only with a conditional use permit, and only supported vertically or tilted inward toward the owner rather than out over the neighbor. A commercial bufferyard fence gets a specification of its own, three pages of PVC wall thickness by component down to the hundredth of an inch.
Prohibited materials for fencing and decorative posts include, but are not limited to, barbed wire, razor wire, hardware cloth, wire mesh and electrified fencing.
The answer turns on the zoning district and what the fence is for.
- most ordinary materials
- Allowed, and the list is open.
- chain link
- Not in a commercial zone.
- barbed wire on industrial land
- Above five feet six inches, with a permit. 66 in
- an electric fence
- Prohibited.
Also on materials in O'Fallon
- 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 O'Fallon
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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 O'Fallon 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 O'Fallon
- 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 O'Fallon 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 O'FallonMunicipal Code of the City of O'Fallon, Missouri, Chapter 400, Zoning Code, Article VI, Supplementary District Regulations, Section 400.273, Fencing Standards
- 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 O'Fallon 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