Fence laws in Kannapolis, North Carolina
What the Kannapolis municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Kannapolis sets no rule of its own, the North Carolina rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Kannapolis, North Carolina, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Fences and walls are allowed on the property line between two or more parcels held in private ownership, may stand in any required yard, and have to stay out of the public right-of-way, and the answer turns on what else occupies the line and what the fence would block. The figure is 10 degrees, for lean that counts as disrepair.
- How tall
- Kannapolis gives three figures and the first two both apply at the street, and the answer turns on the yard, the use, and whether the fence is in a sight triangle. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a front or corner side yard.
- Permits
- Kannapolis does not issue a fence permit as such, and the answer turns on what kind of fence it is and which review it comes up in.
- 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
- Kannapolis has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- The Kannapolis measurement rule is one of the most carefully drafted in this set and it settles three questions at once, and the answer turns on which side the ground is lower on, and whether a wall sits beneath. The figure is 18 inches, for post above the top of the fence.
- Corner lots
- Where a front yard, build-to-zone or corner lot side yard falls inside the line of sight or the sight triangle, the fence limit drops from four feet to two, and the answer turns on whether the fence falls inside the sight triangle. The figure is 2 feet, for fence inside a sight triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Kannapolis 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 general list runs to eight entries: masonry, concrete or stone; ornamental iron, though spiked tops need a security exemption plan in a residential zone; painted, pressure treated or rot-resistant wood such as cedar, cypress or teak; composites made to look like wood, metal or masonry; metal meaning wrought iron, welded steel or black aluminum; vinyl; walls clad to support living vegetation; and anything the applicant shows has a similar appearance and durability, and the answer turns on the district and whether the fence can be seen from the street.
- Livestock
- North Carolina puts the duty on the livestock owner everywhere in the state.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Kannapolis?
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Kannapolis answers this, but the answer changes depending on what else occupies the line and what the fence would block.
Fences and walls are allowed on the property line between two or more parcels held in private ownership, may stand in any required yard, and have to stay out of the public right-of-way. No consent from the adjoining owner is required anywhere in the section. A fence inside a utility easement needs written authorization from the easement holder or the city, and the city disclaims responsibility for repairing or replacing a fence it has to remove to reach an easement or a facility. Three other placement rules protect access rather than the boundary: a fence may not stand where it would prevent immediate view of or access to a fire hydrant or other firefighting water supply device, may not block required access to a building from a window or door, and may not block natural drainage flow where a stormwater management permit is required. Maintenance has a measurable edge, naming posts that lean more than ten degrees from vertical.
Fences and walls are allowed on the property line between two or more parcels of land held in private ownership.
5.5.D(1) and (2), with D(4), D(5) and D(8)
The answer turns on what else occupies the line and what the fence would block.
- two private lots
- On the line, with no consent needed.
- a utility easement
- Written authorization from the easement holder or the city.
- a leaning fence
- More than ten degrees off vertical needs repair. 10 degrees
Also on fences on the property line in Kannapolis
- 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 Kannapolis?
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Kannapolis answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the use, and whether the fence is in a sight triangle.
Kannapolis gives three figures and the first two both apply at the street. Within a required front yard, a build-to-zone or a corner lot side yard the maximum is four feet, and within those same areas where the fence falls inside the line of sight or the sight triangle it drops to two. In any other required yard, or in a corner side yard behind the front plane of the principal building, the maximum is six feet. Several uses sit outside the figures. Customary fencing forming part of a permitted tennis court, athletic field or other recreational facility is exempt from the height standards altogether. A major utility facility, wireless communication support structure or government office may go to ten feet in front, side and rear yards. Community gardens and urban farming take eight feet, and so does a fence screening a service or loading area where it meets the building setback.
Within a required front yard, build-to-zone, or corner lot side yard, the maximum allowable fence and wall height is four feet.
The answer turns on the yard, the use, and whether the fence is in a sight triangle.
- a front yard or corner lot side yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- any other required yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a utility, tower or government office
- Ten feet in every yard. 10 ft
- a community garden or urban farm
- Eight feet. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Kannapolis
- 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 Kannapolis?
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Kannapolis answers this, but the answer changes depending on what kind of fence it is and which review it comes up in.
Kannapolis does not issue a fence permit as such. Compliance with the fence standards is checked at three existing points in the development process: review of a site plan, review of a zoning clearance permit, and review of a certificate of compliance. Eight kinds of fence are exempt from the standards entirely, including fences supporting a structure, construction site barricades, tree protection fencing, landscaping berms without fences, noise attenuation walls put up by a public body along a road, erosion control fencing, fences at publicly operated parks and schools, and specialized livestock fencing in the agricultural and rural use classification. A retaining wall is exempt from everything in the section except the retaining wall subsection. Extra height, spiked ornamental iron in a residential zone and barbed or razor wire all run through the security exemption plan.
Review for compliance with the standards in this section shall occur during review of applications for a site plan (Section 2.5.B(1)), a zoning clearance permit (Section 2.5.C(1)), and a certificate of compliance (Section 2.5.C(2)).
5.5.C, with 5.5.B(2) and 5.5.L
The answer turns on what kind of fence it is and which review it comes up in.
- an ordinary fence
- Checked at site plan, zoning clearance or certificate of compliance.
- a retaining wall
- Only the retaining wall subsection applies.
- extra height, spikes or wire
- A security exemption plan.
Also on permits in Kannapolis
- 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 Kannapolis
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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 Kannapolis 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 Kannapolis
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Kannapolis 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 Kannapolis 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 Kannapolis
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Kannapolis answers this, but the answer changes depending on which side the ground is lower on, and whether a wall sits beneath.
The Kannapolis measurement rule is one of the most carefully drafted in this set and it settles three questions at once. Height runs from the top of the fence, defined as its highest point and not counting supporting columns or posts, down to grade on the side where the grade is the lowest, so a fence between two lots at different levels is judged from the low side. And the height of any retaining wall directly beneath the fence is expressly excluded, so a fence on a wall is measured as a fence rather than as the whole structure. Columns and posts are allowed to break the line by a fixed amount: they may be taller than the maximum so long as they do not extend more than eighteen inches above the top of the fence or wall.
Fence or wall height shall be measured from the top of the fence or wall, defined as the highest point, not including supporting columns or posts, above grade to grade on the side of the fence or wall where the grade is the lowest, but excluding the height of any retaining wall directly beneath the fence or wall.
The answer turns on which side the ground is lower on, and whether a wall sits beneath.
- two lots at different levels
- Measured from the lower side.
- a fence on a retaining wall
- The wall is left out of the figure.
- a column or post
- Eighteen inches above the fence. 18 in
Also on how height is measured in Kannapolis
- 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 Kannapolis
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Kannapolis answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence falls inside the sight triangle.
Where a front yard, build-to-zone or corner lot side yard falls inside the line of sight or the sight triangle, the fence limit drops from four feet to two. Two feet is among the lowest figures in this set and it applies to walls as well as fences. The dimensions of the triangle are not in the ordinance: fences and walls are subject to the sight triangle requirements in the Land Development Standards Manual, which is the engineering document the city keeps separately. So a homeowner has two numbers to satisfy, the four foot zoning figure and whatever the manual says the triangle is, and inside that triangle the two foot figure governs.
Within a required front yard, build-to-zone, or corner lot side yard where within the line of sight or the site triangle, the maximum allowable fence and wall height is two feet.
The answer turns on whether the fence falls inside the sight triangle.
- inside the line of sight or sight triangle
- Two feet. 2 ft
- the same yard outside the triangle
- Four feet.
- the triangle dimensions
- They are in the Land Development Standards Manual.
Also on corner visibility in Kannapolis
- 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 Kannapolis
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Kannapolis 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 Kannapolis 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 Kannapolis
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Kannapolis answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and whether the fence can be seen from the street.
The general list runs to eight entries: masonry, concrete or stone; ornamental iron, though spiked tops need a security exemption plan in a residential zone; painted, pressure treated or rot-resistant wood such as cedar, cypress or teak; composites made to look like wood, metal or masonry; metal meaning wrought iron, welded steel or black aluminum; vinyl; walls clad to support living vegetation; and anything the applicant shows has a similar appearance and durability. In the mixed use centers and corridors a shorter list governs anything visible from the street, with black vinyl-coated chain link allowed only for schools, recreational facilities, child care centers and similar outdoor uses. Prohibited are barbed and razor wire outside a security plan, a farm or a high-voltage substation, and a long list of improvised materials, allowed back only where they have been recycled and reprocessed into building materials sold to the public that resemble new material. Above-ground electric fencing is barred except for livestock in the AG and R1 districts, and a buried pet fence is expressly allowed.
Fences constructed of chicken wire, corrugated metal, fabric materials, fiberboard, garage door panels, plywood, rolled plastic, sheet metal, debris, junk, or waste materials, unless such materials are recycled and reprocessed for marketing to the general public as building materials designed to resemble new building materials (e.g., picket fencing made from recycled plastic and fiber)
The answer turns on the district and whether the fence can be seen from the street.
- improvised or scrap material
- Prohibited unless reprocessed into a sold building material.
- barbed or razor wire
- A security plan, a farm, or a substation.
- an above-ground electric fence
- Livestock in AG or R1 only, and buried pet fences are fine.
Also on materials in Kannapolis
- 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 Kannapolis
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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 Kannapolis 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 Kannapolis
- 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 Kannapolis 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 KannapolisKannapolis Development Ordinance, Article 5, Section 5.5, Fence and Wall Standards
- 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 Kannapolis 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