Fence laws in Greensboro, North Carolina
What the Greensboro municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Greensboro sets no rule of its own, the North Carolina rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Greensboro, North Carolina, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Greensboro permits fences and walls in required setbacks, subject to the standards of this section, and says nothing at all about consent from the adjoining owner, a setback from the boundary itself, which way the good side faces, or who pays, and the answer turns on what the fence would block or impede. The figure is 2 feet, for clearance from a building wall.
- How tall
- Greensboro measures its residential rule by distance from the road rather than by yard, and the answer turns on the use and how close the fence is to a street right-of-way. The figure is 4 feet, for fence near a street right-of-way.
- Permits
- Greensboro allows low-voltage electrified fencing in the Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial districts at a maximum of twelve volts primary voltage, and writes four conditions around it rather than requiring an approval, and the answer turns on the district and what kind of fence it is. The figure is 10 feet, for tallest low-voltage electrified fence.
- Pool barriers
- The North Carolina pool safety statute is for public pools, and its scope section leaves out a private pool at a single family home used only by the people living there and their guests.
- Spite fences
- Greensboro has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Greensboro writes the measurement rule to close the two easiest ways round a height limit, and the answer turns on whether the thing measured is the fence, a post, or the ground under it. The figure is 18 inches, for post above the built height of the fence.
- Corner lots
- The Greensboro visibility rule is written as a standard rather than a triangle, and its reach is what makes it unusual, and the answer turns on what the fence stands at the intersection of. The figure is 15 feet, for strip along the street where four feet applies.
- Retaining walls
- Greensboro leaves retaining walls to the North Carolina Residential Code, a volume of the North Carolina State Building Code adopted by the Residential Code Council.
- Materials
- The allowed list is six entries long and ends open: masonry or stone, ornamental metal, chain-link or woven wire, plastic or vinyl, wood, or similar materials, and the answer turns on the material, the district and what the fence encloses. The figure is 6 feet, for lowest barbed wire strand above grade.
- Livestock
- North Carolina puts the duty on the livestock owner everywhere in the state.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Greensboro?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Greensboro answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence would block or impede.
Greensboro permits fences and walls in required setbacks, subject to the standards of this section, and says nothing at all about consent from the adjoining owner, a setback from the boundary itself, which way the good side faces, or who pays. What it does regulate is what a fence must stay clear of. It may not block access from doors or windows, and has to stand at least two feet from building walls except where it projects from one. It may not be placed or maintained where it will alter or impede the natural flow of water in any stream, creek, drainage swale or ditch. Fences in easements are handled by Section 30-7-1.6 and fences in tree conservation areas by Section 30-12-1.5(F), both outside this section. Maintenance is the owner obligation: a fence has to be kept safe and plumb to the ground, and one that is not has to be repaired, replaced or demolished.
Fences or walls may not block access from doors or windows. Fences or walls must be located at least 2 feet from building walls except where fences or walls project from a building wall.
30-9-4.7, with 30-9-4.2 and 30-9-4.8
The answer turns on what the fence would block or impede.
- a building wall
- Two feet clear, unless the fence springs from it. 2 ft
- a stream, swale or ditch
- Nothing that alters or impedes the natural flow.
- an easement or tree conservation area
- Governed by other sections.
Also on fences on the property line in Greensboro
- no rule, documents checkedNorth Carolina had a boundary fence law and threw it out. Chapter 68 still prints the heading Article 2, Division Fences, and the only thing under it says sections 68-6 through 68-14 were repealed by Session Laws 1971, chapter 741. Article 1, Lawful Fences, went at the same time. Nothing took their place, so the state has no rule at all on splitting the cost of a fence on the line. N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Greensboro?
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Greensboro answers this, but the answer changes depending on the use and how close the fence is to a street right-of-way.
Greensboro measures its residential rule by distance from the road rather than by yard. Nothing may exceed four feet within fifteen feet of any public or private street right-of-way, and away from that strip the ceiling is seven feet, which is a foot more than most cities allow. One exception lifts the roadside figure to six feet: a lot whose rear or side yard adjoins a major or minor thoroughfare, where there is no driveway access and no sight distance interference. Recreational and agricultural uses take eight feet, rising to twelve where the fence meets the principal building setbacks or stands fifteen feet from all property lines, and higher still for a ballfield backstop, tennis court or driving range the Planning Director approves. Commercial, industrial, institutional and office uses take eight feet on the same setback condition.
Except as provided in this subsection, no fence or wall may exceed 4 feet in height within 15 feet of any public or private street right-of-way. On lots where the rear or side yard adjoins a major thoroughfare or a minor thoroughfare and there is no driveway access and no sight distance interference, no fence or wall may exceed 6 feet in height within 15 feet of the thoroughfare right-of-way. Otherwise, no fence or wall may exceed 7 feet in height.
The answer turns on the use and how close the fence is to a street right-of-way.
- within fifteen feet of a street
- Four feet. 4 ft
- anywhere else on a residential lot
- Seven feet. 7 ft
- a rear or side yard on a thoroughfare with no driveway
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a nonresidential use
- Eight feet unless it meets the building setbacks. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Greensboro
- no rule, documents checkedNorth Carolina sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The fence chapter that once held fence standards was repealed, and what is left is about livestock. The building permit statute draws its line at a dollar amount and names no height at all. The city or county development rules set the limit. N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Greensboro?
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Greensboro answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and what kind of fence it is.
Greensboro allows low-voltage electrified fencing in the Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial districts at a maximum of twelve volts primary voltage, and writes four conditions around it rather than requiring an approval. The electrified fence may not exceed ten feet. It has to sit inside, or be enclosed by, a non-electrified fence or wall of at least six feet. The two have to be separated by at least six inches at their closest point. And the electrified fence has to be identified by a warning sign at a rate of at least one sign per fifty linear feet of fencing. Elsewhere in the section approval sits with the Planning Director, who may approve a similar facility for the height exemptions and a taller enclosure for a ballfield backstop, tennis court or driving range. Fences within required planting yards are reviewed and approved as part of the landscaping plan, and fences in Historic District Overlays have to meet the guidelines for that overlay.
the electrified fence must be identified by a warning sign displayed at the rate of at least one sign per 50 linear feet of fencing.
30-9-4.7, Low-Voltage Electrified Fencing, with 30-9-4.6.D
The answer turns on the district and what kind of fence it is.
- an electrified fence in an industrial district
- Twelve volts, ten feet, wrapped and signed. 10 ft
- the enclosing fence
- Six feet tall, six inches clear of the live one. 6 in
- a fence in a required planting yard
- Reviewed with the landscaping plan.
Also on permits in Greensboro
- set in state lawNorth Carolina decides its home permit rule by price, not by height. Work on a single family home that costs forty thousand dollars or less and is done to the current State Building Code needs no permit. A short list of exceptions is left out of that, such as work on load bearing structures or changes to plumbing, heating or electrical systems. An ordinary yard fence costs far less than forty thousand dollars and hits none of those exceptions. N.C.G.S. 160D-1110(c)North Carolina · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Greensboro
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North Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The North Carolina pool safety statute is for public pools, and its scope section leaves out a private pool at a single family home used only by the people living there and their guests. It goes further than most states. The pool stays outside the statute even when guests book it through a rental app or pay a fee. One condition comes with that. Where money changes hands for access, the pool has to be kept in good and safe working order. The fence rule for a pool at a house comes from the North Carolina State Building Code instead.
This one is North Carolina law, not Greensboro law. All North Carolina findings
A private pool serving a single family dwelling and used only by the residents of the dwelling and their guests, regardless of whether their guests gain use of the private pool through a sharing economy platform or pay a fee for its use.
Spite fence laws in Greensboro
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Greensboro law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
North Carolina has no spite fence law. What is left of the fence chapter covers livestock running loose, penning up stray animals, and the ponies on the Outer Banks. It names no height and says nothing about why a fence went up. The building permit statute does not cover it either. A claim about a fence built to annoy a neighbor rests on nuisance law made by judges, and on city and county zoning.
This one is North Carolina law, not Greensboro law. All North Carolina findings
Documents read before writing that:
- N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina General Assembly
- N.C.G.S. 160D-1110North Carolina General Assembly
How fence height is measured in Greensboro
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Greensboro answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the thing measured is the fence, a post, or the ground under it.
Greensboro writes the measurement rule to close the two easiest ways round a height limit. Height is read at the highest point of the fence section, not counting columns or posts, from the grade on the side nearest the abutting property or street, so the neighbor ground or the road sets the datum rather than the builder own. Then, in a single sentence, any retaining wall or berm below the fence is counted as part of the overall fence or wall height, which means raising the ground first gains nothing at all. Safety railings required by the North Carolina Building Code are left out of the measurement. Columns and posts have their own allowance and their own guard against abuse: they may not extend more than eighteen inches above the built height of the fence, and they have to be at least four feet apart except at gates.
Fence and wall height is to be measured at the highest point, not including columns or posts, of the fence/wall section as measured from the grade on the side nearest the abutting property or street. Any retaining wall or berm below the fence is considered part of the overall fence or wall height.
The answer turns on whether the thing measured is the fence, a post, or the ground under it.
- the datum
- The grade on the side nearest the neighbor or the street.
- a wall or berm under the fence
- Counted as part of the height.
- a column or post
- Eighteen inches above the fence, four feet apart. 18 in
Also on how height is measured in Greensboro
- left to the townNorth Carolina never says where a fence height is measured from. What is left of Chapter 68 is about stock law fences and penned animals, and it carries no measuring rule. G.S. 160D-702 lets a local government set the height of buildings and other structures. The same section blocks a local government from controlling some design details of a house, and then puts height back outside that block, so height stays a local power. The point the measuring starts from goes with it. G.S. 160D-702(a)North Carolina · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Greensboro
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Greensboro answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence stands at the intersection of.
The Greensboro visibility rule is written as a standard rather than a triangle, and its reach is what makes it unusual. No fence may be placed or retained so as to obstruct sight at any intersection of two or more of the following: public streets, private streets, private driveways or private drives. Because private driveways are on that list, the rule catches the point where a driveway meets a street and even where two driveways meet each other, not only a public corner. The four foot limit within fifteen feet of a street right-of-way does the dimensional work alongside it, and the six foot thoroughfare allowance is expressly conditioned on there being no sight distance interference, so a fence that would block a view cannot claim it.
No fence may be placed or retained in such a manner as to obstruct sight at any intersection of two or more of the following: public streets, private streets, private driveways or private drives.
30-9-4.7, Obstruction of View, with 30-9-4.6.A
The answer turns on what the fence stands at the intersection of.
- any street or driveway intersection
- Nothing that obstructs sight.
- within fifteen feet of a street
- Four feet, as a fixed limit. 15 ft
- the six foot thoroughfare allowance
- Only where there is no sight distance interference.
Also on corner visibility in Greensboro
- left to the townNorth Carolina has no clear view triangle in state law. Chapter 160D gathers local development power in one place and lets a local government set the height of structures and the size of yards and open spaces, so a corner rule comes from there. Chapter 136, the highways chapter, covers something else. It talks about seeing past a sign only for political signs put in the right of way, and it sets sight distance standards for driveway permits. Neither one is a rule about a fence on private land. G.S. 160D-702North Carolina · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Greensboro
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Greensboro does not set this. It leaves it to the North Carolina Residential Code, a volume of the North Carolina State Building Code adopted by the Residential Code Council.
North Carolina prints no retaining wall rule in its General Statutes. The Building Code Council and the Residential Code Council write and adopt the North Carolina State Building Code, and one of its volumes is the North Carolina Residential Code. Whether a wall that holds back earth needs a permit, and how it has to be built, both sit in that volume and not in the statute.
This one is North Carolina law, not Greensboro law. All North Carolina findings
The Building Code Council and Residential Code Council may prepare and adopt, in accordance with the provisions of this Article, a North Carolina State Building Code.
The code hands this to the North Carolina Residential Code, a volume of the North Carolina State Building Code adopted by the Residential Code Council, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Greensboro
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Greensboro answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, the district and what the fence encloses.
The allowed list is six entries long and ends open: masonry or stone, ornamental metal, chain-link or woven wire, plastic or vinyl, wood, or similar materials. Four kinds are prohibited. Fences built primarily of barbed or razor wire, except to enclose livestock for agricultural purposes. Fences carrying electrical current, with the same agricultural exception and one for low-voltage industrial fencing. Fences of readily flammable material such as paper, cloth or canvas. And fences topped with barbed or razor wire in residential, C-N, C-L, MU and TN districts, except those serving a public institution for public safety or security. Where barbed wire is allowed on top, the bottom strand has to sit at least six feet above grade. In the UMU, AO and NS districts a further set applies between the principal structure and the right-of-way, barring chain link, solid fencing, barbed or razor wire, any wall over three feet, and even a chain link gate.
fences or walls topped with barbed wire or razor wire in residential, C-N, C-L, MU- and TN zoning districts, except those serving a public institution for public safety or security purposes.
30-9-4.4 and 30-9-4.5, with 30-9-4.7 and 30-9-4.9
The answer turns on the material, the district and what the fence encloses.
- barbed or razor wire
- Prohibited except around livestock, and never on top in most districts.
- barbed wire where it is allowed on top
- The bottom strand six feet above grade. 6 ft
- a UMU, AO or NS district frontage
- No chain link, no solid fence, no wall over three feet. 3 ft
Also on materials in Greensboro
- set in state lawNorth Carolina sets one standard for a battery charged security fence and takes the question away from cities. The fence ties into a monitored alarm, sits on land not set aside for homes, and runs off a battery of no more than 12 volts. Its charger has to meet the International Electrotechnical Commission standard. It stands inside a fence or wall that carries no current and is at least 5 feet tall, reaches 10 feet, and carries WARNING-ELECTRIC FENCE signs no more than 30 feet apart. A city may not ban one on land that is not zoned for homes only. N.C.G.S. 160A-194.1North Carolina · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Greensboro
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North Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
North Carolina puts the duty on the livestock owner everywhere in the state. Letting livestock run loose is a Class 3 misdemeanor. Livestock here means horses and other animals like them, cattle, sheep, goats, llamas and swine. Anyone may catch and pen an animal found running loose and get back the cost of keeping it plus any damage, and none of that depends on whether the land was fenced.
This one is North Carolina law, not Greensboro law. All North Carolina findings
If any person shall allow his livestock to run at large, he shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
Also on agricultural fencing in Greensboro
- no rule, documents checkedNorth Carolina no longer says what a lawful fence is anywhere in state law. Chapter 68 is called Fences and Stock Law, and sections 68-1 through 68-14, where the old fence specification sat, were repealed in 1969 and 1971. What is left is the livestock law, the process for penning and selling a stray animal, and the Outer Banks sections. None of them set a height, a wire count, a board count or a post spacing. Money owed under the chapter does not depend on the land being fenced, so there is nothing left for a fence standard to hang on. N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina · Statute
Documents behind this page
8 documents, of which 1 was published by Greensboro itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 68, Fences and Stock Law
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160D, Article 11, Building Permits
- City of GreensboroGreensboro Land Development Ordinance, Article 9, Section 30-9-4, Fences and Walls
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 130A, Article 8, Part 10, Public Swimming Pools
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160D, Local Planning and Development Regulation
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 143, Article 9, Section 143-138, North Carolina State Building Code
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160A, Section 160A-194.1, Regulation of battery-charged security fences
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 68, Fences and Stock Law, Article 3, Livestock Law
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 Greensboro publishes, plus the North Carolina rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in North Carolina 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