Fence laws in Las Cruces, New Mexico
What the Las Cruces municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Las Cruces sets no rule of its own, the New Mexico rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Las Cruces, New Mexico, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- The section defines a common wall or fence as a barrier along a property line between two or more properties owned by separate owners, and then protects it, and the answer turns on whether the wall is shared, on private land, or in a right-of-way. The figure is 0 feet, for setback stated from a property line for a wall or fence.
- How tall
- The heights are set by land use rather than by zoning district, which the section says twice for emphasis, and the answer turns on the land use, the yard and whether the structure is an arch. The figure is 4 feet, for maximum wall or fence height in a required residential front yard.
- Permits
- The section never states in so many words that a fence needs a permit and then assumes one, because written consent from the owners of a common wall has to be submitted at the time of the request for a building permit, and the answer turns on what is being built and whose approval it needs.
- Pool barriers
- New Mexico puts a pool barrier rule in its statewide residential building code. The figure is 48 inches, for minimum height of a residential pool barrier.
- Spite fences
- Las Cruces has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Las Cruces measures a wall or fence, including a retaining wall, on the side at the lowest non-artificially raised grade level.
- Corner lots
- Las Cruces leaves corner clearance to Chapter 32, Article VI of the Las Cruces Municipal Code, the design standards that set the clear sight triangle.
- Retaining walls
- New Mexico throws out the national code's test for a wall that holds back earth and writes its own. The figure is 36 inches, for unbalanced fill a retaining wall may hold back with no permit.
- Materials
- Barbed wire and similar containment wire is permitted only where it sits at least six feet above the highest adjacent ground surface, and it counts toward the overall height of the fence rather than sitting above the limit for free, and the answer turns on the district, the yard and the kind of wire. The figure is 6 feet, for height above the highest adjacent ground at which barbed wire may start.
- Livestock
- New Mexico is a fence out state, and the state livestock agency says so plainly.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Las Cruces?
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Las Cruces answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the wall is shared, on private land, or in a right-of-way.
The section defines a common wall or fence as a barrier along a property line between two or more properties owned by separate owners, and then protects it. A common wall may not be structurally altered in any manner without the written consent of the adjacent owners who share ownership of it, and that consent has to be submitted at the time of the building permit request rather than produced later. No setback distance is stated from any lot line, so a wall may stand on the boundary. Where it would cross a public line the rules tighten: no wall or fence is permitted in a public right-of-way or easement unless an encroachment agreement is obtained and approved by the city right-of-way coordinator, and a wall may be placed on an easement where the governing agency, the affected utility or the individuals concerned give written approval. A commercial or public swimming pool has its own distance, having to sit at least twenty five feet from any property line.
A common wall or fence shall not be structurally altered in any manner without the written consent of adjacent property owners who share ownership of the wall or fence.
The answer turns on whether the wall is shared, on private land, or in a right-of-way.
- a lot line between two owners
- On the line, with consent to alter it. 0 ft
- altering a shared wall
- Written consent, filed with the permit.
- a public right-of-way
- An encroachment agreement from the coordinator.
- a commercial pool
- Twenty five feet from any line. 25 ft
Also on fences on the property line in Las Cruces
- left to the townNew Mexico has no statewide rule splitting the cost of a fence on the boundary. The words "partition fence" appear once in the whole of New Mexico law, in the list of things a town is allowed to write an ordinance about. So the rule, where there is one, belongs to the town. Outside a town the fence out rule does the work instead: the owner who wants animals kept off builds the fence. NMSA 1978 Section 3-18-6New Mexico · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Las Cruces?
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Las Cruces answers this, but the answer changes depending on the land use, the yard and whether the structure is an arch.
The heights are set by land use rather than by zoning district, which the section says twice for emphasis. A residential use gets four feet in the required front yard and eight in the required rear and side yards. A nonresidential use gets six feet in the required front yard and eight elsewhere. On a corner lot, eight feet is allowed on the secondary front yard behind the primary required front setback, subject to the clear sight triangle. Then comes the designed exception. One arch or entryway is permitted in a required front yard, at up to eight feet tall and no more than eight feet wide, and it may carry a step-down of two feet on each side at no more than six feet. Behind the front setback an arch may be any width at eight feet. A tennis court, batting cage, golf driving range or similar use may fence to sixteen feet, and the Director may allow a driving range or golf course more than that.
Required front yard: Four-foot maximum.
The answer turns on the land use, the yard and whether the structure is an arch.
- a residential front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a residential rear or side yard
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a nonresidential front yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a tennis court or driving range
- Sixteen feet. 16 ft
Also on fence height in Las Cruces
- no rule, documents checkedNew Mexico does not limit how tall a fence at a house can be. The state residential building code and the statewide permit rule both reach every house in New Mexico, and neither one caps fence height. Cities and counties set the height rule. 14.7.3 NMACNew Mexico · Building code
Do I need a permit for a fence in Las Cruces?
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Las Cruces answers this, but the answer changes depending on what is being built and whose approval it needs.
The section never states in so many words that a fence needs a permit and then assumes one, because written consent from the owners of a common wall has to be submitted at the time of the request for a building permit. Three further approvals are named. A proposed retaining wall design has to be submitted by the owner or applicant to the community development department for approval consideration, with the requirements themselves in the design standards. The Community Development Director or designee may grant height adjustments in unusual physical property situations such as substantial topographic variation, and may allow a golf driving range or golf course to fence above sixteen feet to protect the public and property. And a wall in a public right-of-way needs an encroachment agreement approved by the city right-of-way coordinator. The purpose clause is worth reading first: a wall or fence is not required at all except in a mobile home or recreational vehicle park.
The proposed retaining wall design shall be submitted by the property owner/applicant to the community development department for approval consideration.
The answer turns on what is being built and whose approval it needs.
- a retaining wall
- Its design goes to community development.
- a shared wall
- Neighbor consent with the building permit.
- unusual topography
- The Director may adjust the height.
- a golf course fence over sixteen feet
- The Director may allow it.
Also on permits in Las Cruces
- set in state lawNew Mexico runs one permit rule for the whole state through the Construction Industries Division. That rule opens with a list of work that needs no permit. On the commercial list are sheds under 120 square feet, small walls that hold back earth, low sidewalks and a few other items. A fence does not appear anywhere on it. 14.5.2.9 NMACNew Mexico · Building code
- set in state lawFor a house, the New Mexico permit rule points at section R105 of the International Residential Code and then edits the list of exemptions item by item. Item 2 is deleted, so that exemption has no force in New Mexico. Items 5 and 6 are deleted as well, and items 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are kept. 14.5.2.9 NMACNew Mexico · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Las Cruces
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New Mexico answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New Mexico puts a pool barrier rule in its statewide residential building code. An outdoor pool, hot tub or spa needs a barrier all the way around it. The top of that barrier stands at least 48 inches above the ground, measured on the side facing away from the pool.
This one is New Mexico law, not Las Cruces law. All New Mexico findings
The top of the barrier shall be at least 48 inches (1219 mm) above grade measured on the side of the barrier which faces away from the swimming pool.
48 inminimum height of a residential pool barrier
Also on pool barriers in Las Cruces
- set in state lawThe same New Mexico section limits the gaps in a pool barrier. No opening may let a four inch ball through. Other parts of the section hold the gap under the barrier to two inches and set mesh limits for chain link. 14.7.3 NMACNew Mexico · Building code
Spite fence laws in Las Cruces
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Las Cruces law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
New Mexico has no spite fence statute. A full text search of New Mexico Statutes Annotated 1978 on the site the Compilation Commission runs returns nothing for the phrase, and neither does a search of the New Mexico appellate reports. Chapter 77 Article 16 is the only fence article the state has, and it is about keeping livestock out: what counts as a lawful fence, and who can recover when animals get in. Nothing in it turns on why a fence was built.
This one is New Mexico law, not Las Cruces law. All New Mexico findings
Documents read before writing that:
- NMSA 1978 Sections 77-16-1 to 77-16-9New Mexico Compilation Commission
- NMSA 1978 Section 3-18-6New Mexico Compilation Commission
How fence height is measured in Las Cruces
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Las Cruces answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Las Cruces measures a wall or fence, including a retaining wall, on the side at the lowest non-artificially raised grade level. Three decisions sit in that one sentence. Taking the lowest side means the number regulated is the one the neighbor down the slope sees, which is the opposite of the choice several other cities in this project make. The words non-artificially raised mean fill placed to gain height is disregarded, so a berm under a fence buys nothing. And naming the retaining wall puts a combination of wall and fence inside the same measurement rather than treating them separately. Where the ground varies, the grade average is used instead of the lowest point, and the Community Development Director or designee may grant height adjustments in unusual physical situations such as substantial topographic variation. Barbed wire is folded into the same total, being counted in the overall measurement of the fence.
The height measurement of a wall or fence, including a retaining wall, shall be made on the side of the wall or fence at the lowest non-artificially raised grade level. In cases of topographic variations, the grade average shall be used for wall/fence height measurement.
Also on how height is measured in Las Cruces
- set in state lawNew Mexico prints a measuring rule in its own residential code, and it is the only fence height in state law that says which side of the fence the tape goes on. A pool barrier stands at least forty eight inches above the ground, taken on the side facing away from the pool, with no more than two inches of gap at the bottom on that same side. Where the pool wall itself sits above the ground, the barrier may start at the top of the pool wall. Nothing in the code carries that thinking over to an ordinary yard fence. 14.7.3 NMAC, Section R4505.2New Mexico · Building code
Fence rules for corner lots in Las Cruces
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Las Cruces does not set this. It leaves it to Chapter 32, Article VI of the Las Cruces Municipal Code, the design standards that set the clear sight triangle.
Section 38-60 gives the corner rule one line and sends it away: all clear sight triangle requirements can be found in Chapter 32, Article VI of the Municipal Code, which is the design standards chapter rather than the zoning one. So no leg length, no protected band of height, no datum and no exception for an open fence appears in the fence section itself. Where the requirement bites is in the corner lot allowance, which lets a wall reach eight feet on the secondary front yard behind the primary required front setback and then adds that the clear sight triangle requirements shall be met, so the triangle can take back height the table has just given. The same chapter holds the retaining wall requirements, which the fence section also refers out rather than restating.
All clear sight triangle requirements can be found in chapter 32, article VI of the Municipal Code.
The code hands this to Chapter 32, Article VI of the Las Cruces Municipal Code, the design standards that set the clear sight triangle, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Las Cruces
- set in state lawNew Mexico keeps its view rule in the highway beautification rules rather than in a zoning law. Part 18.21.5 bans a sign placed so that it hides a driver view of traffic coming toward them, merging, or crossing at an intersection. The same part keeps 500 feet clear around an interchange or a street level crossing on a highway with controlled access. Both rules are about signs on state highways, not fences, so a fence at a corner is a city or county matter. 18.21.5 NMACNew Mexico · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Las Cruces
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New Mexico answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New Mexico throws out the national code's test for a wall that holds back earth and writes its own. No permit is needed when the wall holds back less than 36 inches of unbalanced fill and the whole wall stands six feet or less from the bottom of the footing to the top. Unbalanced fill is the difference between the ground level on the high side and the ground level on the low side, so it is a smaller number than the height of the wall whenever dirt sits against the low side. A wall holding back a surcharge, meaning extra weight resting on the ground behind it, needs a permit whatever its size, and so does one holding back class I, II or III-A liquids. The same wording runs on the commercial list and on the house list, and the house list gets there by rewriting item 3 of section R105.2 of the International Residential Code.
This one is New Mexico law, not Las Cruces law. All New Mexico findings
Section R105.2 (3) - Retaining walls that retain less than 36 inches (915mm) of unbalanced fill, and have a total height equal to or less than six feet from top of wall to bottom of footing. Retaining walls supporting a surcharge load or impounding class I, II, or III-A liquids are not exempt from permit.
36 inunbalanced fill a retaining wall may hold back with no permit
Fence materials allowed in Las Cruces
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Las Cruces answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the yard and the kind of wire.
Barbed wire and similar containment wire is permitted only where it sits at least six feet above the highest adjacent ground surface, and it counts toward the overall height of the fence rather than sitting above the limit for free. It is allowed only in the holding, flood control, EE, RE, REM, O-2, C-2, C-3, M1, M2 and M-3 districts. In the EE and REM districts, on airport property, and along interstate highways, containment wire such as horse wire, no climb wire and access-prohibiting wire may go at any height up to eight feet. And in no district may it stand in a required front yard, with three exceptions: utility substations, agricultural uses and equestrian uses. Beyond that the section defines rather than restricts, calling a fence an artificially constructed barrier of posts, wire, wood, steel, cable or similar material and a wall one of solid material such as brick, block, rock or concrete.
Permitted only when located at least six feet above the highest adjacent ground surface and will be included in the overall measurement of the fence or wall
The answer turns on the district, the yard and the kind of wire.
- barbed wire where allowed
- Six feet up, and it counts toward the total. 6 ft
- a required front yard
- None, except a substation, farm or stable.
- EE and REM land, the airport, an interstate
- Containment wire at any height, up to eight feet.
- a wall as opposed to a fence
- Solid material: brick, block, rock or concrete.
Also on materials in Las Cruces
- no rule, documents checkedNew Mexico does not say what a fence may be built from. The two rules where a material limit would sit were read in full. The permit rule names sheds, walls that hold back earth, water tanks, sidewalks, pools, shade cloth, playground equipment, awnings and low partitions, and never a fence material. The residential building code runs through foundations, walls, roofs and building with earth, and never uses the word fence. Barbed wire, electric wire and razor wire are neither banned nor required. 14.5.2 NMACNew Mexico · Building code
Livestock and boundary fence law in Las Cruces
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New Mexico answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
New Mexico is a fence out state, and the state livestock agency says so plainly. The farmer builds the fence, not the animal owner. Anyone whose crops or land would be harmed by roaming animals puts up a fence that meets the state definition of a legal fence.
This one is New Mexico law, not Las Cruces law. All New Mexico findings
Every gardener, farmer, planter or other person having lands or crops that would be injured by trespassing animals, shall make a sufficient fence about his land in cultivation, or other lands that may be so injured, the same to correspond with the requirements of the laws of this state prescribing and defining a legal fence.
NMSA 1978 Section 77-16-1, as quoted by the agency
Also on agricultural fencing in Las Cruces
- set in state lawThe same agency page gives the other half of the rule. Where livestock may lawfully roam, keeping them off a piece of land is the job of the person who owns that land. The animal owner does not have to fence them in there. Owners duty to enclose property, as quoted by the agencyNew Mexico · Agency guidance
Documents behind this page
7 documents, of which 1 was published by Las Cruces itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- New Mexico Compilation CommissionNew Mexico Statutes Annotated 1978, Chapter 3, Municipalities
- City of Las CrucesLas Cruces Land Development Code, Part III, Chapter 38, Zoning, Section 38-60, Walls and fences
- New Mexico State Records Center and ArchivesNew Mexico Administrative Code, 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code
- New Mexico State Records Center and ArchivesNew Mexico Administrative Code, Permits
- New Mexico Compilation CommissionNew Mexico Statutes Annotated 1978, Chapter 77, Animals and Livestock, Article 16, Fences
- New Mexico State Records Center and ArchivesNew Mexico Administrative Code, Title 18, Chapter 21, Part 5, Outdoor Advertising
- New Mexico Livestock BoardNew Mexico Livestock Board, Frequently Asked Questions, Is New Mexico a fence out state
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 Las Cruces publishes, plus the New Mexico rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in New Mexico 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