Fence laws in Canton, Ohio
What the Canton municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Canton sets no rule of its own, the Ohio rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Canton, Ohio, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A Canton fence or wall is permitted in any required yard or along the edge of one, and it may be placed up to the lot line, so no setback of its own applies, and the answer turns on what the fence sits next to. The figure is 0 feet, for setback from a lot line.
- How tall
- Canton gives each yard its own number rather than the usual two, and the answer turns on the yard and the district. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- Canton lists fences by name among the things that need a zoning permit, alongside buildings, signs, swimming pools and changes in the use of land, and the answer turns on whether the work is a repair or a replacement. The figure is 33 percent, for share of a fence that may be replaced as repair.
- Pool barriers
- Ohio requires a 48 inch barrier around a public swimming pool, measured from the ground to the top of the fence. The figure is 48 inches, for perimeter barrier around a public swimming pool.
- Spite fences
- Canton has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Canton answers all three of the questions a height limit usually leaves open. The figure is 6 inches, for how far a post may rise above the fence.
- Corner lots
- On a corner lot in any Canton district nothing over three feet may stand inside the triangle formed by the two intersecting street lines and a line joining points twenty-five feet from the corner along each of them, and the answer turns on whether the fence is inside the triangle. The figure is 3 feet, for height limit inside the corner triangle.
- Retaining walls
- A retaining wall four feet tall or less needs no approval in Ohio, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall. The figure is 4 feet, for retaining wall height at or below which no approval is required. It reaches one, two and three family dwellings only.
- Materials
- Canton asks for traditional fencing material and gives examples: wrought iron, chain link, pressure treated lumber, cedar, redwood, PVC and vinyl, all of it weather resistant, and a fence has to be one approved and uniform type of building material, and the answer turns on the material and the district. The figure is 45 degrees, for angle barbed wire leans into the fenced area.
- Livestock
- Ohio names one build as the standard for a fence on a line where livestock are kept, and calls it a preferred partition fence. The figure is 48 inches, for height above the ground of the barbed wire strands on a woven wire preferred partition fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Canton?
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Canton answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence sits next to.
A Canton fence or wall is permitted in any required yard or along the edge of one, and it may be placed up to the lot line, so no setback of its own applies. Three limits sit alongside that. The fence may not encroach on a public right-of-way or on a no build zone, no gate may swing out over a right-of-way, and the supporting members have to be positioned so they are not visible from the adjoining property, unless the fence is designed so that both sides look alike. The maintenance rule repeats the supporting member rule and raises the standard from similar to identical in appearance on both sides. The same rule also puts the ground between a fence and the property line on the appropriate owner to keep, which answers the strip that gets forgotten when a fence stands a foot inside the line.
Supporting members for wall and fences shall be located so as to not be visible from the adjoining property unless the fence is designed such that the supporting members are similar in appearance on both sides of the fence or wall;
Section 1134.02(b)(1)(A), (E), (F) and (H)
The answer turns on what the fence sits next to.
- a lot line
- A fence may go right up to it. 0 ft
- the posts
- Hidden from the neighbor, or matched on both sides.
- a right-of-way
- No fence and no swinging gate over it.
- the strip behind the fence
- Kept by the owner it belongs to.
Also on fences on the property line in Canton
- set in state lawWhere a fence already stands on the line between two Ohio properties, both owners keep it in good repair in equitable shares, which means each pays a fair part rather than a strict half. Where no fence has ever stood there, section 971.07 puts the whole cost on the owner who builds it. That owner then files a sworn statement of the cost with the county recorder and can claim a share back later. Section 971.04 lets the two owners sign their own written agreement, and that agreement replaces the statute. ORC 971.06(A)Ohio · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Canton?
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Canton answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard and the district.
Canton gives each yard its own number rather than the usual two. A fence or wall may be four feet in the front yard, six feet in the side yard and eight feet in the rear yard. Eight feet at the rear is taller than most cities in this set allow without a variance, and the six foot side yard number sits between the front and rear limits rather than matching the rear. In the B-3 through I-2 districts the limit may be raised to ten feet with the prior written approval of the Zoning Inspector. Snow fencing is allowed only between the first of November and the thirty-first of March, and only to stop drifting snow rather than for any purpose an ordinary fence would serve.
Such fence or wall may be four feet in height in the front yard, six (6) feet in height in the side yard, and eight feet in height in the rear yard;
Section 1134.02(b)(1)(B) and (C)
The answer turns on the yard and the district.
- a front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a side yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a rear yard
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a business or industrial district
- Ten feet with written approval. 10 ft
Also on fence height in Canton
- no rule, documents checkedOhio sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. Chapter 971 is about who pays for a fence on the line and never caps one. The six foot figure in the Residential Code of Ohio is the point where approval starts being needed, not a ceiling. Cities and townships set the height. ORC ch. 971Ohio · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Canton?
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Canton answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the work is a repair or a replacement.
Canton lists fences by name among the things that need a zoning permit, alongside buildings, signs, swimming pools and changes in the use of land. The application goes to the Zoning Inspector with a plot plan in duplicate showing the street that reaches the lot, the lot numbers of the property and the ones abutting it, the actual dimensions of the lot and its yards, and the location and size of what is proposed. Where physical improvement of the land is involved the lot and the building location have to be staked out on the ground before work starts, and every dimension on the filed plans has to be based on an actual survey. A conforming application gets a permit within fifteen days. The rule people miss is about repair: replacing more than a third of the surface area of a fence inside twelve months counts as a replacement and needs its own permit.
In the event any fence maintenance replaces an amount of the surface area of the existing fence in an amount exceeding thirty-three percent (33%) of the surface area of the existing fence within a 12-month period, this shall be considered a replacement that will require a Zoning Permit and compliance with all regulations of this chapter.
Section 1134.02(b)(3)(C), with Section 1194.02(g)
The answer turns on whether the work is a repair or a replacement.
- a new fence
- A zoning permit, fences named in the list.
- repairing a third or less
- Ordinary maintenance. 33%
- the plot plan
- In duplicate, dimensions from an actual survey.
- a conforming application
- Fifteen days to a permit. 15 days
Also on permits in Canton
- set in state lawA fence six feet tall or less needs no building approval in Ohio. Ohio calls the step approval rather than a permit, and the Residential Code of Ohio puts a fence at or under six feet on the list of work that skips it. The same list covers a detached shed under 200 square feet, a retaining wall under four feet with no extra load pressing on the dirt behind it, and a sidewalk or driveway no more than thirty inches above the ground. Work that skips approval still has to meet every other rule in the code. OAC 4101:8-1-01, Section 102.10Ohio · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Canton
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Ohio answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Ohio requires a 48 inch barrier around a public swimming pool, measured from the ground to the top of the fence. It is a health department rule and it reaches a public pool that is newly built or heavily rebuilt. Gates have to lock, and a gate the public uses closes and latches on its own with the latch at least 38 inches up. Horizontal pieces on the outside face that would make the barrier easy to climb are not allowed. The Residential Code of Ohio has no swimming pool chapter of its own.
This one is Ohio law, not Canton law. All Ohio findings
The perimeter barrier shall be at least forty-eight inches in height from the ground to the top of the fence.
48 inperimeter barrier around a public swimming pool
Spite fence laws in Canton
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Canton law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Ohio has no spite fence law. Chapter 971 is the fence chapter and every section in it deals with fences on the line, cost shares, fence viewers and township trustees. Chapter 3767 is the nuisance chapter and it never names a fence. A fence built out of ill will is handled by a nuisance lawsuit or by a city or township rule.
This one is Ohio law, not Canton law. All Ohio findings
Documents read before writing that:
- ORC ch. 971Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules
- ORC ch. 3767Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules
How fence height is measured in Canton
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Canton answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Canton answers all three of the questions a height limit usually leaves open. Height is measured from the established grade line to the highest point of the fence. The height may not be artificially increased by the use of mounding, unless a zoning district rule requires the mound, which closes the trick of building the ground up and then the fence on top of it. And the posts are excluded from the measurement, but only up to a point: a post may rise no more than six inches above the fence or wall. So a decorative post cap is allowed and a run of tall columns is not. What the section still does not settle is a fence built on top of a retaining wall, where the established grade line could reasonably be read as either the upper or the lower side.
The height of a fence shall be measured from the established grade line to the highest point of the fence. The height of the fence may not be artificially increased by the use of mounding unless otherwise required by the zoning district regulations. The height of the fence or wall shall not include the posts, except, however, the posts may not exceed the fence or wall height by more than six (6) inches.
6 inhow far a post may rise above the fence
Also on how height is measured in Canton
- left to the townOhio never says what the height of a fence at a house is measured from. The one measured height in the fence chapter is the 48 inches from the ground up to the barbed wire on a preferred partition fence, and that is a farm rule. For everything else, section 713.06 lets a city planning commission split the city into zones and set the height of buildings and other structures in each one, and section 519.02 gives township trustees the same power outside a city. The city or township rule is where the measuring point is written. ORC 713.06Ohio · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Canton
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Canton answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is inside the triangle.
On a corner lot in any Canton district nothing over three feet may stand inside the triangle formed by the two intersecting street lines and a line joining points twenty-five feet from the corner along each of them. The rule names plantings, structures, fences, walls and obstructions to vision together, so a hedge is treated the same as a board fence. Unlike many cities Canton offers no escape for an open or see through fence: three feet is three feet whatever the design. Enforcement is written into the same sentence, with the Zoning Inspector or a designee able to order the obstruction removed at the expense of the owner after an inspection. The fence section adds a second, looser rule that applies away from corners, requiring that no fence be placed so as to interfere with the line of sight of drivers on public streets or coming out of driveways.
On a corner lot in any district, no planting, structure, fence, walls or obstructions to vision more than three feet in height shall be placed or maintained with the triangular area formed by the intersecting street lines and straight line connecting the points of said street lines, each of which points is 25 feet distant from the point of intersection.
The answer turns on whether the fence is inside the triangle.
- inside the triangle
- Three feet, whatever it is made of. 3 ft
- the triangle itself
- Twenty-five feet along each street line. 25 ft
- an open fence
- No exception for seeing through it.
- a driveway
- Nothing may block a driver pulling out.
Also on corner visibility in Canton
- set in state lawOhio has a state rule about blocking a driver view, and it covers signs rather than fences. Section 5547.04 makes a sign or poster put up near a public highway an obstruction when it hides the view of drivers at a curve or where roads cross, and the county commissioners enforce that. The section names no triangle and no distance, and it says nothing about a fence. O.R.C. 5547.04Ohio · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Canton
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Ohio answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A retaining wall four feet tall or less needs no approval in Ohio, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall. The pass is gone if the wall carries a surcharge, which means an extra load pressing on the dirt behind it. Ohio calls the step approval rather than a permit. A wall that skips approval still has to meet every other rule in the code.
This one is Ohio law, not Canton law. All Ohio findings
Retaining walls which are not over four feet (1219 mm) in height
OAC 4101:8-1-01, Section 102.10
4 ftretaining wall height at or below which no approval is required
Fence materials allowed in Canton
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Canton answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and the district.
Canton asks for traditional fencing material and gives examples: wrought iron, chain link, pressure treated lumber, cedar, redwood, PVC and vinyl, all of it weather resistant, and a fence has to be one approved and uniform type of building material. Scrap, refuse, pallets and cattle fencing are prohibited, and so is anything not generally considered permanent fencing. Chicken wire is out except as an animal resistant garden enclosure. Electric fences are prohibited in every district, with invisible and radio controlled pet fences expressly carved out. Barbed wire, razor wire and concertina wire are prohibited everywhere except the I-1 and I-2 industrial districts, and even there the rules are tight: no more than twelve inches of it, angled forty-five degrees into the fenced area and away from any neighbor, sidewalk or right-of-way, with the top strand no higher than the fence limit and the lowest strand no lower than seven feet. No fence may carry graffiti, advertising without a sign permit, or lettering other than house numbers up to four inches.
Barbed wire, razor wire, concertina wire, and/or other similar or sharp edged material are prohibited in all Zoning Districts except I-1 and I-2.
The answer turns on the material and the district.
- an ordinary fence
- Traditional weather resistant materials.
- barbed wire in industry
- Twelve inches, angled in at forty-five degrees. 45 degrees
- an electric fence
- Prohibited, except an invisible pet fence.
- chicken wire
- Garden enclosures only.
Also on materials in Canton
- set in state lawOhio says what a fence on the line is made of through one defined term, the preferred partition fence. Woven wire, standard or high tensile, with one or two strands of barbed wire on top, meets it on its own. So does a high tensile fence of at least seven strands that is not electric. A barbed wire fence, an electric fence or a live fence, meaning a row of growing plants, counts only when the owners on both sides agree in writing to allow it. Ohio Rev. Code 971.01(F)Ohio · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Canton
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Ohio answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Ohio names one build as the standard for a fence on a line where livestock are kept, and calls it a preferred partition fence. It is woven wire, standard or high tensile, carrying one or two strands of barbed wire that sit at least 48 inches off the ground. A high tensile fence of seven strands or more that is not electric also counts. Either build follows federal conservation practice standard 382. A barbed wire, electric or live fence counts only when both owners agree to it in writing.
This one is Ohio law, not Canton law. All Ohio findings
"Preferred partition fence" means a partition fence that is a woven wire fence, either standard or high tensile, with one or two strands of barbed wire located not less than forty-eight inches from the ground or a nonelectric high tensile fence of at least seven strands and that is constructed in accordance with the United States natural resources conservation service conservation practice standard for fences, code 382.
48 inheight above the ground of the barbed wire strands on a woven wire preferred partition fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Canton
- set in state lawOhio requires the preferred partition fence around a field or pen where livestock are kept when that field touches the line with another owner. An owner may build something stronger and pays the extra cost alone. The rule does not reach two owners who signed a written agreement to do it another way, and it does not reach a fence that was already standing when the section took effect. ORC 971.02(A)Ohio · Statute
- set in state lawOhio puts the duty on the livestock owner and not on the neighbor. An owner who is careless and lets livestock get out of the pen pays for all the harm they do on someone else's land, whether that is injury, death or damage to property. The section never asks the neighbor to have a fence first. ORC 971.18Ohio · Statute
Documents behind this page
12 documents, of which 2 were published by Canton itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Ohio Laws and Administrative RulesOhio Revised Code, Chapter 971, Fences
- City of CantonCodified Ordinances of Canton, Part Eleven, Chapter 1134, General Provisions, Section 1134.02, Fences and Walls
- Ohio Laws and Administrative RulesOhio Revised Code, Chapter 971, Fences
- Ohio Board of Building StandardsOhio Administrative Code, Rule 4101:8-1-01, Administration, Residential Code of Ohio
- Ohio Laws and Administrative RulesOhio Administrative Code, Rule 3701-31-05.1, Design criteria for new construction or substantial alteration of a public swimming pool on or after April 1, 2011
- Ohio Laws and Administrative RulesOhio Revised Code, Chapter 3767, Nuisances
- Ohio Laws and Administrative RulesOhio Revised Code, Title 7, Chapter 713, Planning
- Ohio Legislative Service CommissionOhio Revised Code, Title 55, Chapter 5547, County Highways, Use and Obstruction
- City of CantonCodified Ordinances of Canton, Part Eleven, Chapter 1134, General Provisions, Section 1134.01, Visibility at Intersections in All Zoning Districts
- Ohio General AssemblyOhio Revised Code, Title 9, Chapter 971, Fences
- Ohio General AssemblyOhio Revised Code, Title 9, Chapter 971, Fences
- Ohio General AssemblyOhio Revised Code, Title 9, Chapter 971, Fences
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 Canton publishes, plus the Ohio rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Ohio 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