Fence laws in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
What the Harrisburg municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Harrisburg sets no rule of its own, the Pennsylvania rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Harrisburg answers the boundary question in two sentences and adds a condition that most codes leave out. The figure is 0 feet, for distance a fence has to keep from a lot line.
- How tall
- Harrisburg draws its residential line at the house as well as at the setback, and the answer turns on the district, and whether the fence stands in front of the dwelling. The figure is 4 feet, for fence or wall in a required front yard or in front of a dwelling.
- Permits
- Fences, walls and hedges are permitted by right in every zoning district, and the first general standard attached to that right is a building permit for all permanent fences and walls, with no height threshold and no material threshold, and the answer turns on where the fence stands and whether it meets the standards.
- Pool barriers
- Pennsylvania prints no pool barrier height of its own.
- Spite fences
- Harrisburg has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Section 7-307.9 states four feet, six feet, eight feet and three feet and never says what any of them is measured from, and the answer turns on whether the structure is a fence or an engineered retaining wall.
- Corner lots
- The sight triangle has to be graded and kept clear of obstructions between three and eight feet, and the code names structures, non-transparent fences, vegetation and signs as obstructions while excusing a sign post or utility post under a foot wide and the trunk of a deciduous tree, and the answer turns on what meets what at the intersection and how transparent the fence is. The figure is 8 feet, for top of the band kept free of sight obstructions.
- 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
- Harrisburg writes the allowed list district by district and it barely changes, and the answer turns on the district and the material.
- 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 Harrisburg?
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Harrisburg answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Harrisburg answers the boundary question in two sentences and adds a condition that most codes leave out. No fence or wall may be built inside the existing public right-of-way. A fence or wall may be constructed on a lot line, but may not be located in front of any required plantings, and the wall version of the rule spells out what that means: not in front of plantings required as part of a buffer yard or a planting strip. So where the code has already made somebody plant a screen, a fence cannot be put between that screen and the street and hide it. Two other placement rules sit alongside: no fence or wall may obstruct a drainage swale or any other needed easement without approval from the City, and a wall attached to a building is regulated as part of that building rather than as a wall.
No fence or wall shall be built within the existing public right-of-way. A fence or wall may be constructed on a lot lin e but shall not be located in front of any required plantings.
0 ftdistance a fence has to keep from a lot line
Also on fences on the property line in Harrisburg
- 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 Harrisburg?
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Harrisburg answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, and whether the fence stands in front of the dwelling.
Harrisburg draws its residential line at the house as well as at the setback. A fence or wall in the required front yard, or anywhere in front of the dwelling, is held to four feet in the RL and RM districts and on any lot used residentially. Anywhere else on such a lot the limit is six. The other districts each get a flat figure: four feet in OSR, six in RF, six in CN, CG, DC and INS, and eight in IND. The RF district adds a location rule rather than a height one, barring a fence in the front yard setback or in any yard abutting Front Street without a special exception permit. Walls are treated separately in the last subsection, where a wall in a required front yard in RL or RM is held to three feet, a foot lower than a fence, and an engineered retaining wall needed to hold back a slope is exempt from the code entirely.
Any fence or wall located in the required front yard of a lot, or located to the front of the dwelling, in a residential district shall not exceed four (4) feet in height.
The answer turns on the district, and whether the fence stands in front of the dwelling.
- in front of the dwelling
- Four feet. 4 ft
- behind it
- Six feet. 6 ft
- the IND district
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a wall in a front yard in RL or RM
- Three feet. 3 ft
Also on fence height in Harrisburg
- 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 Harrisburg?
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Harrisburg answers this, but the answer changes depending on where the fence stands and whether it meets the standards.
Fences, walls and hedges are permitted by right in every zoning district, and the first general standard attached to that right is a building permit for all permanent fences and walls, with no height threshold and no material threshold. Three further approvals sit behind particular circumstances. A fence in a Municipal Historic District needs a Certificate of Appropriateness under Chapter 317. A fence in a Special Flood Hazard Area needs a Floodplain Special Exception Permit under Chapter 315. And a fence that does not meet the standards of the chapter needs a Special Exception Permit under Chapter 7-323. A chain link fence in the OSR district needs one of those as well, which is the only place in this project where a common fencing material is sent to a hearing rather than allowed or banned outright.
A building permit is requ ired for all permanent fences and walls.
The answer turns on where the fence stands and whether it meets the standards.
- any permanent fence
- A building permit.
- a historic district
- A Certificate of Appropriateness.
- a flood hazard area
- A Floodplain Special Exception Permit.
- chain link in OSR
- A Special Exception Permit.
Also on permits in Harrisburg
- 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 Harrisburg
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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 Harrisburg law. All Pennsylvania findings
International Swimming Pool and Spa Code of 2021
Spite fence laws in Harrisburg
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Harrisburg 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 Harrisburg 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 Harrisburg
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Harrisburg answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the structure is a fence or an engineered retaining wall.
Section 7-307.9 states four feet, six feet, eight feet and three feet and never says what any of them is measured from. No grade is named, a berm is not addressed, and the section does not say whose side of a slope the height is read on. What it does settle, and settles more completely than almost any code in this project, is the retaining wall: an engineered retaining wall necessary to hold back a slope is exempt from the setback regulations and from the regulations of the code, and is permitted by right as needed in all districts. So the wall is not added to the fence, it is outside the calculation. The sight distance section takes a different approach and is precise, requiring the triangle to be graded, protecting the band from three to eight feet, and measuring the legs from the point where the street cartways intersect.
Engineered retaining walls necessary to hold back slopes are exempt from setback regulations and the regulatio ns of this Code
The answer turns on whether the structure is a fence or an engineered retaining wall.
- a fence height
- No datum named.
- an engineered retaining wall
- Outside the code.
- a wall attached to a building
- Regulated as part of the building.
- a sight triangle
- Graded, and measured from the cartways.
Also on how height is measured in Harrisburg
- 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 Harrisburg
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Harrisburg answers this, but the answer changes depending on what meets what at the intersection and how transparent the fence is.
The sight triangle has to be graded and kept clear of obstructions between three and eight feet, and the code names structures, non-transparent fences, vegetation and signs as obstructions while excusing a sign post or utility post under a foot wide and the trunk of a deciduous tree. Two details set Harrisburg apart. Where two streets meet, each of the two shorter legs is measured thirty feet back from where the street cartways intersect rather than from the lot lines, so the triangle is tied to the pavement. And where a triangle is required it has to be drawn on the development plans submitted to the City and on any plan recorded, where it becomes a permanent setback line for visual obstructions binding on present and future owners. A driveway serving only one or two dwelling units on a local street needs no triangle at all.
A triangular area as described in th is section shall be graded and shall be kept free of sight obstructions between a height of three (3) feet and eight (8) feet, including structures, non-transparent fences, vegetation, and signs
The answer turns on what meets what at the intersection and how transparent the fence is.
- the protected band
- Three feet up to eight. 8 ft
- two streets meeting
- Thirty feet back from the cartways. 30 ft
- a driveway for one or two homes
- No triangle required.
- a transparent fence
- Not named as an obstruction.
Also on corner visibility in Harrisburg
- 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 Harrisburg
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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 Harrisburg 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 Harrisburg
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Harrisburg answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and the material.
Harrisburg writes the allowed list district by district and it barely changes. Brick, stone, ornamental metal, wood and wood composite material in OSR and RF. The same list plus PVC in the residential districts and on any lot used residentially. Barbed, razor and other security wire fencing is prohibited in every district that gets a list, including the industrial one, which is stricter than most codes in this project. Across all districts one general standard bans the scavenged fence in seven words of examples: no fence may be built out of fabric, junk, junk vehicles, rolled wire, sheet metal, appliances, tanks or barrels. Chain link sits in an odd position, absent from the allowed lists and singled out in OSR as needing a special exception permit. Any fence has to be durably constructed and well maintained, and a deteriorated one has to be replaced or removed.
No fence shall be constructed out of fabric, junk, junk vehicles, rolled wire, sheet metal, appliances, tanks, or barrels.
The answer turns on the district and the material.
- a residential lot
- Brick, stone, metal, wood, composite or PVC.
- barbed or razor wire
- Prohibited in every district.
- junk and salvage
- Barred by name.
- a deteriorated fence
- Replaced or removed.
Also on materials in Harrisburg
- set in state lawA 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. 1899 Act 111, Section 1Pennsylvania · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Harrisburg
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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 Harrisburg 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 Harrisburg
- 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 Harrisburg 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 HarrisburgCity of Harrisburg 2014 Zoning Code, as amended 19 July 2021
- 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 Harrisburg 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