Fence laws in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
What the Bethlehem municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Bethlehem sets no rule of its own, the Pennsylvania rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Because the fence rules operate as exemptions from the yard requirements, a fence inside the stated heights is free of the setbacks entirely and may stand on any lot line, and the answer turns on whether an easement runs where the fence goes. The figure is 0 feet, for setback stated between a fence and a property line.
- How tall
- Bethlehem states its fence heights as exemptions rather than as limits, and the answer turns on the yard, the district, and where the house already sits. The figure is 4 feet, for fence or wall in a required front yard.
- Permits
- Zoning permits have to be secured before starting any construction, erection or alteration of any building, structure or part of one, which reaches a fence without naming it, and the answer turns on how the City packages the permit and whether a site plan is asked for. The figure is 12 months, for life of a zoning permit before work has to start.
- Pool barriers
- Pennsylvania prints no pool barrier height of its own.
- Spite fences
- Bethlehem has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Every fence figure in Bethlehem carries its datum in the same sentence: four feet or less above the natural grade in front, not over six feet above the natural grade at the side and the rear.
- Corner lots
- In any district, nothing may be maintained between a plane three feet above curb level and a plane ten feet above it so as to interfere with traffic visibility across the corner, inside the triangle bounded by the street lot lines fifteen feet from where they meet, and the answer turns on how open the fence is and what kind of ways meet at the corner. The figure is 3 feet, for bottom of the protected plane above curb level.
- Retaining walls
- A retaining wall four feet tall or less needs no permit in Pennsylvania, so long as it carries no surcharge, which means no extra load pressing on the dirt behind it. The figure is 4 feet, for height at or below which a retaining wall needs no permit, measured from the lowest level of grade to the top of the wall. It reaches residential buildings only.
- Materials
- A wire fence is lawful in Pennsylvania, with or without barbs, and an act of 1899 says so in two short sections.
- Livestock
- A fence made in whole or in part of wire, with or without barbs, counts as a legal fence under every Pennsylvania act about building and keeping up a fence on the line.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Bethlehem?
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Bethlehem answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether an easement runs where the fence goes.
Because the fence rules operate as exemptions from the yard requirements, a fence inside the stated heights is free of the setbacks entirely and may stand on any lot line. The provision that does real work concerns easements, and it is one of the more practical in this project. Where a fence is placed within an easement, the City may require a gate to be built so the easement can be reached, a fence may not obstruct drainage in a drainage easement, and where a fence is allowed in an easement the owner takes on the responsibility of removing it if that is needed to do work the easement authorizes. So the fence is permitted and the cost of it being in the way stays with the owner. Up to a third of a required minimum rear yard may also be occupied by an unenclosed ground floor porch or wood deck.
If a fence is placed within an easement, the City may require the construction of a gate to allow access for the easement purposes. A fence shall not obstruct drainage in a drainage easement.
The answer turns on whether an easement runs where the fence goes.
- an ordinary lot line
- No setback, the yard rules do not apply. 0 ft
- an easement
- A gate may be required.
- a drainage easement
- The water still has to run.
- work under the easement
- The owner takes the fence out.
Also on fences on the property line in Bethlehem
- no rule, documents checkedNo rule about a fence on the line appears in the published Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code. The two chapters that were read set permit rules and adopt model codes, and neither one says who pays for a fence on a boundary. The Pennsylvania line fence rule is not part of the consolidated statutes. It sits in an act of 1905, which makes the owners of improved and occupied land each build and keep up an equal part of the fence on the line between them. 34 Pa. Code 403.62Pennsylvania · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Bethlehem?
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Bethlehem answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the district, and where the house already sits.
Bethlehem states its fence heights as exemptions rather than as limits. The front yard rule says the front yard requirement does not apply to a fence or wall of four feet or less above natural grade, and the side and rear rules say the same for six feet, so a fence within the figure is simply outside the yard requirements and a fence over it is a structure that has to meet the setback. Decorative fence posts may rise six inches above either number. Industrial districts get a flat ten feet. Two refinements handle awkward lots: where an existing principal building already sits closer than the required front yard, the four foot limit applies only between the building and the street, and on a corner lot required to keep a larger side yard along a street, the four foot limit applies only from the front lot line to the front wall of the house.
the provisions of Section 1318.09 shall not apply to front fences or walls of 4 feet or less height above the natural grade in the required front yard
The answer turns on the yard, the district, and where the house already sits.
- a required front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a side or rear yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- an industrial district
- Ten feet. 10 ft
- decorative posts
- Six inches more. 6 in
Also on fence height in Bethlehem
- no rule, documents checkedPennsylvania sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The six foot figure in the Uniform Construction Code is the point where a permit starts being needed, not a ceiling, so a taller fence is allowed with a permit unless local zoning says otherwise. The code adoption section names no height at all. Municipal zoning sets the limit. 34 Pa. Code 403.62Pennsylvania · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Bethlehem?
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Bethlehem answers this, but the answer changes depending on how the City packages the permit and whether a site plan is asked for.
Zoning permits have to be secured before starting any construction, erection or alteration of any building, structure or part of one, which reaches a fence without naming it. Bethlehem is unusually candid about how the permit is packaged: at the option of the City, a zoning permit may be a separate permit or may simply be the zoning portion of a City Construction Permit. The application is made in writing by the owner or an agent on the city’s form, and issuance is subject to review and approval by every City department listed on the permit. A site plan drawn to scale showing existing and proposed features and lot lines is required for any new or expanded building or other improvement when the Zoning Officer asks for one. A permit lapses after twelve months unless work has started or the City has granted a written extension. Fees follow the schedule Council enacts.
Zoning permits shall be secured prior to starting any construction, erection or alteration of any building, structure or portion thereof.
The answer turns on how the City packages the permit and whether a site plan is asked for.
- any structure
- A zoning permit first.
- the form it takes
- Separate, or part of a construction permit.
- a site plan
- When the Zoning Officer asks.
- a permit left unused
- Void after twelve months. 12 months
Also on permits in Bethlehem
- set in state lawA fence six feet tall or less needs no building permit anywhere in Pennsylvania. The state writes that exemption into its own regulation instead of leaving it inside the model code, and it holds as long as the work breaks no other law or ordinance. The same list exempts a retaining wall under four feet with no extra load pressing on the dirt behind it, and a factory built pool less than 24 inches deep. 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)(1)Pennsylvania · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Bethlehem
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Pennsylvania answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Pennsylvania prints no pool barrier height of its own. The Uniform Construction Code takes in a list of model codes by reference, and one of them is the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code of 2021, which holds the barrier height and the gate rules for a pool at a house. The same section takes in the International Residential Code of 2021. So the number sits in that model code rather than in the Pennsylvania regulation.
This one is Pennsylvania law, not Bethlehem law. All Pennsylvania findings
International Swimming Pool and Spa Code of 2021
Spite fence laws in Bethlehem
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Bethlehem law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Pennsylvania has no spite fence law. The Uniform Construction Code chapters that reach a fence treat it as construction work and draw a permit line by height, with nothing about why the fence was built. A Pennsylvania claim over a fence put up to annoy a neighbor runs on a nuisance case in court and on local zoning.
This one is Pennsylvania law, not Bethlehem law. All Pennsylvania findings
Documents read before writing that:
- 34 Pa. Code 403.62Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin
- 34 Pa. Code 403.21Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin
How fence height is measured in Bethlehem
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Bethlehem answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Every fence figure in Bethlehem carries its datum in the same sentence: four feet or less above the natural grade in front, not over six feet above the natural grade at the side and the rear. Natural grade rather than finished grade is the stricter choice, because an owner who brings in fill to raise a yard does not raise the point the fence is measured from with it. The features listed beside fences use a different reference and the ordinance keeps them separate: a terrace, step, uncovered porch or wheelchair ramp is measured to three feet above grade level in the front yard and above the average ground level at the side and rear. The corner rule switches to the street, protecting the space between a plane three feet above curb level and a plane ten feet above it. What the ordinance does not address is a fence standing on a retaining wall or a berm.
the provisions of Section 1318.14 shall not apply to fences or walls not over 6 feet high above the natural grade
Also on how height is measured in Bethlehem
- left to the townPennsylvania has no state fence height and no state rule for how one is measured. Every local zoning power in the state comes from the Municipalities Planning Code, and section 603 lets a local ordinance control the size, height, bulk and location of structures. A fence is a structure rather than a building, so that clause reaches it. The borough, township or city ordinance is the only document that says what six feet is counted from. MPC Section 603(b)(2), 53 P.S. 10603(b)(2)Pennsylvania · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Bethlehem
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Bethlehem answers this, but the answer changes depending on how open the fence is and what kind of ways meet at the corner.
In any district, nothing may be maintained between a plane three feet above curb level and a plane ten feet above it so as to interfere with traffic visibility across the corner, inside the triangle bounded by the street lot lines fifteen feet from where they meet. Two things are written out of the rule in the same sentence: a fence that is more than fifty percent non-opaque, and the trimmed trunk of a canopy tree. So an open fence is outside the corner rule regardless of its height. In the CB and CL districts the triangle shrinks from fifteen feet to eight. A private accessway meeting a street gets an eight foot triangle with visual obstructions limited to three feet above street grade, and where that accessway meets an alley instead the triangle drops to three feet. Two alleys meeting, or a street meeting an alley, get their own lengths.
no structure, fence (other than a fence that is more than 50 percent non- opaque), planting (other than a trimmed canopy tree trunk), or other structure shall be maintained between a plane 3 feet above curb level and a plane 10 feet above curb level
The answer turns on how open the fence is and what kind of ways meet at the corner.
- a solid fence at a corner
- Three feet above curb level. 3 ft
- a fence over half non-opaque
- Outside the rule. 50%
- the triangle itself
- Fifteen feet along each street lot line. 15 ft
- a CB or CL district
- Eight feet.
Also on corner visibility in Bethlehem
- set in state lawPennsylvania uses the words corner sight distance, and they sit in the traffic rules rather than in a zoning ordinance. Section 212.6 lets the Department order a property owner to cut back or take out a tree, plant, shrub or other thing that is a traffic hazard on a state highway, and lets a local authority do the same on any highway inside its own lines. The section gives one example of a hazard, something that drops the corner sight distance below the minimum for a driver pulling out of a side road or a driveway. It draws no triangle and leaves the minimum to the standards. 67 Pa. Code 212.6Pennsylvania · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Bethlehem
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Pennsylvania answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A retaining wall four feet tall or less needs no permit in Pennsylvania, so long as it carries no surcharge, which means no extra load pressing on the dirt behind it. Pennsylvania prints that exemption in its own regulation rather than leaving it inside the model code, and it counts the four feet from the lowest level of grade to the top of the wall. The model code counts from the bottom of the footing instead, so a wall with a deep footing gets more room here. The exemption only holds if the work breaks no other law or ordinance.
This one is Pennsylvania law, not Bethlehem law. All Pennsylvania findings
Retaining walls that are not over 4 feet in height measured from the lowest level of grade to the top of the wall unless the wall supports a surcharge.
4 ftheight at or below which a retaining wall needs no permit, measured from the lowest level of grade to the top of the wall
Fence materials allowed in Bethlehem
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Pennsylvania answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A wire fence is lawful in Pennsylvania, with or without barbs, and an act of 1899 says so in two short sections. The first makes it lawful for any land owner in the state to build and keep a wire fence along any highway, then hands the limits to each town by making that right subject to whatever the local authorities restrict or ban. The second makes a wire fence a lawful fence on the line under every other fence act in the state, so long as it reaches the height those acts call for.
This one is Pennsylvania law, not Bethlehem law. All Pennsylvania findings
That it shall and is hereby declared to be lawful for any land owner within this Commonwealth to construct, build and maintain, along any of the highways of this Commonwealth, fences made in whole or in part of wire, with or without barbs, subject at all times to such restrictions and prohibitions as may be imposed by the municipal authorities relative thereto.
Also on materials in Bethlehem
- no rule, documents checkedThe zoning ordinance names no permitted fence material and prohibits none. Barbed wire does not appear anywhere in it. Razor wire does not appear. An electric fence does not appear. Wood, vinyl, masonry and chain link are not named in the fence sections. What the ordinance regulates instead is opacity, and only at a corner, where a fence more than fifty percent non-opaque is written out of the traffic visibility rule. Away from a corner there is no opacity requirement either, so a six foot solid fence along a rear line and a six foot chain link fence are the same thing in law. The closest the ordinance comes to a material rule for a fence is in the buffer yard provisions, where the type of all fences to be placed in a buffer yard is reviewed, and in the tower rules, which require a commercial tower base to be fenced to at least eight feet. Sections 1318.12, 1318.16 and 1318.17Bethlehem · Zoning code
Livestock and boundary fence law in Bethlehem
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Pennsylvania answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A fence made in whole or in part of wire, with or without barbs, counts as a legal fence under every Pennsylvania act about building and keeping up a fence on the line. The act sets no wire count, no post spacing and no height of its own. It sends the height back to whatever the line fence act calls for.
This one is Pennsylvania law, not Bethlehem law. All Pennsylvania findings
A fence, in whole or in part of wire, with or without barbs, is hereby declared to be a legal and lawful fence, within the meaning and provisions of any act of the Legislature of this State relative to the building, constructing and maintaining of line fences, provided that such wire fence shall be of the height required by such act or acts.
1899 Act 111, Section 2 (29 P.S. 32)
Also on agricultural fencing in Bethlehem
- left to the townPennsylvania never prints a fence specification. The line fence act makes the owners of improved and occupied land each build and keep up an equal part of the fence on the line between them. When one of them says the other's half is not good enough, a person decides it rather than a table of numbers. The county surveyor acts as fence viewer, looks at the fence, and reports whether it is good enough. If it is, the one who complained pays the surveyor. If it is not, the matter goes to a justice of the peace, who gives the other owner forty days to build or repair. 1905 Act 118, Section 1 (29 P.S. 41)Pennsylvania · Statute
Documents behind this page
8 documents, of which 1 was published by Bethlehem itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin34 Pa. Code Chapter 403, Administration, Permit requirements and exemptions
- Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin34 Pa. Code Chapter 403, Administration, Uniform Construction Code
- City of BethlehemCity of Bethlehem Zoning Ordinance
- Pennsylvania General AssemblyPennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act of July 31, 1968, P.L.805, No.247
- Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania Code, Title 67, Transportation, Chapter 212, Official Traffic Control Devices
- Pennsylvania General AssemblyMaking Wire Fences Legal, Act of May 2, 1899, P.L. 163, No. 111
- Pennsylvania General AssemblyAct No. 111 of 1899, Making Wire Fences Legal, enacted May 2, 1899, Section 2 as amended April 7, 1976, P.L.807, No.31
- Pennsylvania General AssemblyAct No. 118 of 1905, Regulating Line Fences, enacted April 14, 1905
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 Bethlehem publishes, plus the Pennsylvania rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Pennsylvania 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