Fence laws in Erie, Pennsylvania
What the Erie municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Erie sets no rule of its own, the Pennsylvania rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Erie, Pennsylvania, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- The zoning ordinance sets no distance between a fence and a lot line, regulating only what stands within the required yard space and how tall it may be. The figure is 0 feet, for distance a fence has to keep from the property line.
- How tall
- Erie picks a number nobody else in this project uses, and the answer turns on the district, and whether the lot sits on a district boundary. The figure is 6.5 feet, for fence, hedge or enclosure in a residential district.
- Permits
- Section 205.10 sets heights and says nothing about an application, a fee or an inspection, so the zoning ordinance names no fence permit of its own, and the answer turns on whether the work needs a building permit and whether a plot plan is required. The figure is 3 feet, for minimum fence height required around an urban or market garden.
- Pool barriers
- Pennsylvania prints no pool barrier height of its own.
- Spite fences
- Erie has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Erie answers both parts of the measuring question and its choice of datum is the harsh one for the lower neighbor.
- Corner lots
- Erie writes its corner rule around a definition it supplies itself, and the answer turns on how open the fence is and how close it stands to the corner or driveway. The figure is 30 inches, for height above the top of the curb allowed for a sight-obstructing fence.
- 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 Erie?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Erie answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The zoning ordinance sets no distance between a fence and a lot line, regulating only what stands within the required yard space and how tall it may be. The Bureau of Building Standards and Safety answers the question directly on the city website, in the same paragraph that gives the heights: an enclosure may be placed up to, but not exceed, the property line. That is permission to build on the boundary and a warning about the other half of the problem, since a fence a few inches over the line is a trespass on the neighbor rather than a zoning violation, and the city treats a disputed boundary as a civil matter and refers people to a private surveyor. The same page notes that the fence details are set out in the zoning ordinance, which it cites as Article 2 section 204.19, while the current text of that provision carries the number 205.10.
Maximum height is 6'6" in a Residential District and 8'6" in a Non-Residential District. Any enclosure may be placed up to, but Not Exceed the property line.
What are the restrictions on putting up a fence?
0 ftdistance a fence has to keep from the property line
Also on fences on the property line in Erie
- 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 Erie?
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Erie answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, and whether the lot sits on a district boundary.
Erie picks a number nobody else in this project uses. In a residential district any fence, hedge or enclosure within the required yard space is held to six feet six inches, and in a non-residential district to eight feet six inches. The extra six inches on top of the usual six and eight feet is not explained anywhere in the section. The rule for a lot on the edge of two districts runs the opposite way to most codes: where a boundary line separates them, the less restrictive eight foot six inch height is permitted, so the stricter district does not pull the fence down. Hedges are treated identically to fences throughout, which means a planted screen along a residential yard is also capped at six feet six inches. Chain link fencing protecting a utility substation, a pump house or a reservoir may be increased in height for safety and security, with no ceiling given.
In a residential district any fence, hedge or enclosure within the required yard space shall not exceed a height of six feet six inches. In a nonresidential district any fence, hedge or enclosure within the required yard space shall not exceed a height of eight feet six inches.
The answer turns on the district, and whether the lot sits on a district boundary.
- a residential district
- Six feet six inches. 6.5 ft
- a non-residential district
- Eight feet six inches. 8.5 ft
- a district boundary line
- The taller limit applies.
- a utility substation
- Chain link may go higher.
Also on fence height in Erie
- 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 Erie?
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Erie answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the work needs a building permit and whether a plot plan is required.
Section 205.10 sets heights and says nothing about an application, a fee or an inspection, so the zoning ordinance names no fence permit of its own. What the Bureau of Building Standards and Safety states is broader and covers the fence by implication: every building permit requires zoning approval, including a permit for interior renovation, though only some need a plot plan, and the examples given are a change of use, new parking and an addition. The practical route is therefore the building permit counter rather than a fence-specific process, with the Zoning Officer consulted on whether a plot plan is needed. One approval elsewhere in the ordinance does attach to a fence directly: an urban garden or market garden has to be fenced, at a minimum of three feet, and the fence has to keep the clear sight triangle.
All building permits require zoning approval, including those for interior renovations. However, only some will require a plot plan (change of use, new parking, additions, etc.).
Do building permits require zoning approval?
The answer turns on whether the work needs a building permit and whether a plot plan is required.
- a fence permit of its own
- None named in the ordinance.
- any building permit
- Zoning approval behind it.
- a plot plan
- Only for some work.
- an urban garden
- A fence is required, three feet up. 3 ft
Also on permits in Erie
- 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 Erie
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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 Erie law. All Pennsylvania findings
International Swimming Pool and Spa Code of 2021
Spite fence laws in Erie
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Erie 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 Erie 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 Erie
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Erie answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Erie answers both parts of the measuring question and its choice of datum is the harsh one for the lower neighbor. Height is measured from the maximum grade level on either side of the property to the top of the fence, hedge or enclosure, so where two yards sit at different levels the higher ground sets the number and the owner on the low side sees a fence taller than the figure in the code. Montgomery does the reverse and reads from the lowest ground on either side, which costs the upper owner instead. The second half of the rule closes the stacking loophole: where a fence and a wall are combined, the top of the whole assembly is held to the same maximum, so a wall cannot be used as a base to gain height. A hedge is measured the same way, which is unusual, since a growing screen is rarely given an explicit datum.
The height of any fence, hedge or enclosure shall be measured from the maximum grade level on either side of the property to the top of the fence, hedge or enclosure.
Also on how height is measured in Erie
- 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 Erie
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Erie answers this, but the answer changes depending on how open the fence is and how close it stands to the corner or driveway.
Erie writes its corner rule around a definition it supplies itself. A fence, hedge or enclosure that is not see-through and obstructs vision may not exceed thirty inches above the top of the curb where it stands within fifteen feet of a driveway or alley meeting a front property line, or within fifteen feet of the point where two front property lines meet. Then the section defines the escape: seventy percent of the fence area has to be open for it to count as see-through. So an open chain link or a widely spaced picket fence is outside the rule entirely and may stand at the full district height on the corner, while a solid board fence drops to two and a half feet. The distances are measured from property lines rather than curb lines, and the datum for the height is the top of the curb, so the two halves of the rule are read from different places.
Seventy percent of the fence, hedge or enclosure’s area shall be open to be considered "see-through."
The answer turns on how open the fence is and how close it stands to the corner or driveway.
- a solid fence near the corner
- Thirty inches above the curb. 30 in
- a fence seventy percent open
- The rule does not reach it. 70%
- a driveway or alley
- Fifteen feet from the front line. 15 ft
- two front property lines meeting
- Fifteen feet from the point.
Also on corner visibility in Erie
- 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 Erie
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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 Erie 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 Erie
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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 Erie 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 Erie
- no rule, documents checkedSection 205.10 names no permitted material and prohibits none. Barbed wire does not appear. Razor wire does not appear. An electric fence does not appear. Wood, vinyl and masonry are not mentioned. Chain link appears once and not as a permission or a ban: chain link fences protecting utility substations, pump houses and reservoirs may be increased in height for safety and security, which is a height allowance attached to a material rather than a material rule. The only other place the section approaches the question is the see-through test, which asks how much of a fence is open rather than what the closed part is made of, and reaches the same problem from the other side. A dumpster in the C, R or W districts has to be screened on at least three sides, with nothing said about what the screen is built from. Section 205.10Erie · Zoning code
Livestock and boundary fence law in Erie
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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 Erie 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 Erie
- 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
9 documents, of which 2 were published by Erie 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 Erie Bureau of Building Standards and SafetyCity of Erie Bureau of Building Standards and Safety, General FAQ
- City of ErieCity of Erie Zoning Ordinance, Article 2, District Regulations, Section 205.10
- 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 Erie 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