Fence laws in Goose Creek, South Carolina
What the Goose Creek municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Goose Creek sets no rule of its own, the South Carolina rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Goose Creek, South Carolina, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Goose Creek has no statute splitting the cost of a fence on the boundary. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- How tall
- The table for a fence or wall in a required yard runs three rows, and the answer turns on the required yard, the development type and the use. The figure is 7 feet, for maximum height of a fence or wall in a required side or rear yard.
- Permits
- Goose Creek writes no fence permit, and the answer turns on what the work is and whether the building code calls for a permit.
- Pool barriers
- South Carolina fences every outdoor public swimming pool. The figure is 4 feet, for minimum fence height around an outdoor Type B, C, D or F public swimming pool.
- Spite fences
- Goose Creek has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- There are two measuring rules and they cover different fences, and the answer turns on whether the fence is doing a screening job or an ordinary one. The figure is 8 feet, for height no part of a fence or wall may exceed.
- Corner lots
- The fence rule says a fence may not obstruct vision within the sight triangle, and the definitions article is where the triangle is described, and the answer turns on what is at the corner and who is judging the line.
- Retaining walls
- Goose Creek leaves retaining walls to the 2021 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, whose Sections R105.2 and R404 South Carolina leaves unchanged. It reaches one and two family dwellings only.
- Materials
- A fence has to relate to the building and its context, and then the ordinance names what that means: brick, masonry stone, wrought iron, wood, vinyl, cementitious composite, or anything else the Zoning Administrator approves, and the answer turns on the material, the yard and the district.
- Livestock
- South Carolina puts the duty on the animal owner.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Goose Creek?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Goose Creek law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
South Carolina has no statewide law about a fence on the line. The Code of Laws never says how two neighbors split the cost of a fence on a shared line, and it sets no notice steps before one goes up. A phrase search of the whole Code of Laws returns nothing for partition fence, division fence, boundary fence, lawful fence, joint expense or fence viewers. Splitting that cost is left to a private agreement between the neighbors and to local rules.
This one is South Carolina law, not Goose Creek law. All South Carolina findings
Documents read before writing that:
- S.C. Code Title 47, Chapter 7South Carolina General Assembly
- S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 1South Carolina General Assembly
- S.C. Code Title 27South Carolina General Assembly
Also on fences on the property line in Goose Creek
- no rule, documents checkedThe fence rules are written around the required yard and never around the boundary. The table sets a height for a side or rear yard, for a second front yard and for a front yard, and no row of it states how close to the line the fence may come. Nothing elsewhere in the ordinance supplies a fence setback either. What the ordinance does state is where a fence may not be: it may not extend within a street right of way, a gate may not swing outward over a sidewalk or into the right of way, and in a cottage neighborhood development no fence may be placed within a no-build easement. A fence inside a utility easement takes the consent of the easement holder and the approval of the Zoning Administrator. So a fence may stand on a property line at the height the yard allows, and the distances the code does state are all measured from the street or from an easement rather than from a neighbor. Section 5.5(D)Goose Creek · Zoning code
How tall can a fence be in Goose Creek?
Compare fence height across all 50 states
Goose Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on the required yard, the development type and the use.
The table for a fence or wall in a required yard runs three rows. Seven feet in a side or rear yard, four feet in the second front yard of a corner lot, and four feet in any other front yard. Seven is a foot more than the six most cities settle on. Three notes sit under the table and each of them moves the answer. A retaining wall may go over the maximum so long as it does not unreasonably impede visibility of street traffic from vehicles leaving driveways. The Zoning Administrator may allow six feet in the second front yard of a corner lot where the nearby buildings sit at a similar setback. And posts and wall columns may rise thirty six inches above the table, provided no part of the fence or wall passes eight feet, so the post allowance is worth three feet on a four foot fence and one foot on a seven foot one. Industrial uses are exempt from the maximum heights altogether. A cottage neighborhood development has its own, tighter pair of numbers written in inches.
A fence or wall located in a required yard shall comply with the height standards and shall not extend within street right -of-way or obstruct vision within the sight triangle.
The answer turns on the required yard, the development type and the use.
- a side or rear yard
- Seven feet. 7 ft
- any front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- posts and columns
- Thirty six inches more, capped at eight feet. 36 in
- a cottage neighborhood
- Thirty six inches out front, seventy two behind. 72 in
Also on fence height in Goose Creek
- no rule, documents checkedSouth Carolina sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. Title 6, Chapter 9 hands the choice of a building code to the Building Codes Council and says nothing about the height of a yard fence, and Title 27 has no fence chapter at all. Cities and counties set the height. S.C. Code Title 6, Chapter 9South Carolina · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Goose Creek?
Compare permits across all 50 states
Goose Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the work is and whether the building code calls for a permit.
Goose Creek writes no fence permit. It writes one zoning permit and pins it to a list of triggers: a change in use, land disturbance, a building permit, construction, the expansion of any building, parking lot or other facility for which a building permit is required, or the placement of signage. A fence reaches that list through construction and through land disturbance rather than by being named, and the building permit trigger is circular in a useful way, since whether a fence needs a building permit is decided by the adopted building code rather than by this ordinance. The application is a site development plan showing the ability and intent to meet every zoning standard. Two discretionary calls sit on top of it for fences specifically: the Zoning Administrator may approve a material not on the list and may allow six feet in the second front yard of a corner lot, and the Building Official may demand the manufacturer standards.
A zoning permit and/or zoning approval shall be required prior to any change in use, land disturbance, building permit, construction, or expansion of any building, parking lot, or other facility for which a building permit is required, or placement of any signage.
The answer turns on what the work is and whether the building code calls for a permit.
- any construction or land disturbance
- A zoning permit first.
- the building permit itself
- The adopted building code decides.
- an unlisted material
- The Zoning Administrator may approve it.
- six feet on a corner
- The Zoning Administrator may allow it.
Also on permits in Goose Creek
- set in state lawSouth Carolina writes no building code of its own. Section 6-9-50 directs the South Carolina Building Codes Council to adopt the latest International Code Council codes by reference, the residential code among them, and section 6-9-10 makes every city and county in the state enforce them. So the fence permit exemption sits inside that adopted residential code. The code is sold by the International Code Council and is not posted on a South Carolina state site, so the exemption wording is not quoted here. S.C. Code 6-9-50(A)South Carolina · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Goose Creek
Compare pool barriers across all 50 states
South Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
South Carolina fences every outdoor public swimming pool. A Type A or Type E pool takes a chain link fence or equal barrier at least six feet tall. A Type B, C, D or F pool takes a fence at least four feet tall, measured from the outside of the pool area. Gates latch on their own and can be locked, and no gap in the fence may let a four inch ball through. The rule is health regulation R.61-51 and it covers public pools.
This one is South Carolina law, not Goose Creek law. All South Carolina findings
All outdoor Type "B", "C", "D" and "F" public swimming pools (including the deck area) shall be enclosed by a minimum four foot fence as measured from the exterior of the pool area.
4 ftminimum fence height around an outdoor Type B, C, D or F public swimming pool
Spite fence laws in Goose Creek
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Goose Creek law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
South Carolina has no spite fence law. The word spite does not appear anywhere in the Code of Laws, and no section limits a fence built to annoy a neighbor or sets a height that triggers one. A claim of that kind would rest on court rulings or a city ordinance.
This one is South Carolina law, not Goose Creek law. All South Carolina findings
Documents read before writing that:
- S.C. Code Title 27South Carolina General Assembly
- S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 1South Carolina General Assembly
How fence height is measured in Goose Creek
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Goose Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is doing a screening job or an ordinary one.
There are two measuring rules and they cover different fences. A fence used to reduce the width of a buffer yard is measured from the side facing away from the property being screened, which is the rule that matters where the ground is not level, because it reads the height from the neighbor the fence is protecting rather than from the site it stands on. The post rule is the other one: a post or wall column may rise thirty six inches above the table so long as no part of the fence passes eight feet, which is a measurement of the fence against itself. Neither rule reaches an ordinary back yard fence. The seven foot and four foot figures in the table carry no datum at all. No grade is named, no curb, no finished ground level. A berm is named as a screening component and never as something a fence stands on, and a fence running down a slope is not addressed.
Fence or wall height shall be measured from the side of the fence facing away from the property being screened.
Section 5.4, buffer yard width reduction table note
The answer turns on whether the fence is doing a screening job or an ordinary one.
- a fence reducing a buffer yard
- From the far side.
- a post or column
- Thirty six inches over, eight feet absolute. 8 ft
- an ordinary fence
- No datum named.
- a berm or a slope
- Not addressed.
Also on how height is measured in Goose Creek
- left to the townSouth Carolina sets one fence height in state law and never says six feet from what. The solar energy facility standards in the planning chapter require a perimeter fence of at least six feet, with no measuring point attached to it. For every other kind of property the answer is local. Section 6-29-720 lets a city or county zoning ordinance control the size, location, height, bulk and orientation of buildings and other structures, and that ordinance is where the measuring point is written. S.C. Code 6-29-720(A)(2)South Carolina · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Goose Creek
Compare corner visibility across all 50 states
Goose Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on what is at the corner and who is judging the line.
The fence rule says a fence may not obstruct vision within the sight triangle, and the definitions article is where the triangle is described. It is formed by the two roads or rights of way and a third line, and has to be kept clear of obstructions, which the definition says includes landscaping, signs and site elements, so as not to impair visibility for pedestrian or vehicular traffic. What the definition never does is say how long that third line is or where its endpoints fall, so the shape is named without being drawn and the answer on the ground comes from the reviewer. No protected band of height is stated either, and no exception is made for an open fence. The one place the ordinance does put a number on a sight rule near the street is the parking lot screen along a street buffer, which is held between two and a half and three feet, and the retaining wall note, which asks only that visibility from a car leaving a driveway not be unreasonably impeded.
A triangle at an intersection, formed by the two roads or rights -of-way and a third line, which must be kept clear of obstructions
Section 9, Definitions, Sight Triangle
The answer turns on what is at the corner and who is judging the line.
- a fence at a corner
- It may not obstruct the sight triangle.
- the size of the triangle
- The third line is never given a length.
- a retaining wall
- Judged against cars leaving driveways.
- a parking lot street screen
- Two and a half to three feet.
Also on corner visibility in Goose Creek
- left to the townSouth Carolina draws no corner triangle of its own. Chapter 6-29 writes the zoning grant broadly and lets each city and county fill it in. The grant covers the size, location and height of structures and signs, the size of yards and open spaces, and site plan items such as landscaping and curb cuts. A corner triangle fits inside that list. S.C. Code 6-29-720South Carolina · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Goose Creek
Compare retaining walls across all 50 states
Goose Creek does not set this. It leaves it to the 2021 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, whose Sections R105.2 and R404 South Carolina leaves unchanged.
South Carolina writes no retaining wall rule of its own. The Building Codes Council adopts the 2021 International Residential Code and lists every change it made to that code, section by section, in Regulation Chapter 8. That list of changes was read end to end. It covers wind design, seismic design, fire separation, definitions and other items, and it never touches Section R105.2, the list of work that needs no permit, or Section R404, which covers foundation and retaining walls. So the rule that applies here is the model code text, which is sold by the International Code Council and is not printed on a South Carolina state site.
This one is South Carolina law, not Goose Creek law. All South Carolina findings
This code is identical to the 2021 Edition of the International Residential Code except for the following modifications:
The code hands this to the 2021 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, whose Sections R105.2 and R404 South Carolina leaves unchanged, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Goose Creek
Compare materials across all 50 states
Goose Creek answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, the yard and the district.
A fence has to relate to the building and its context, and then the ordinance names what that means: brick, masonry stone, wrought iron, wood, vinyl, cementitious composite, or anything else the Zoning Administrator approves. Prohibited are hazardous fences and fences built of fabric, fiberboard, garage door panels, plywood, rolled plastic, or vinyl or plastic tarps, which is a list of what people improvise a fence out of rather than a list of proper materials. Every fence has to be built so the finished side faces outward, and the Building Official may require the manufacturer design and standards to be produced in certain cases. Chain link gets its own carve out rather than a ban: it is allowed in a side or rear yard in the RSF and RM districts, but not in a secondary front yard, and industrial uses are exempt from the chain link rule entirely. A screening fence elsewhere in the ordinance has to be a closed fence made of wood, with the material approved by the Zoning Administrator.
Fences shall relate to the building and context and be constructed of brick, masonry stone, wrought iron, wood, vinyl, cementitious composite materials, or other Zoning Administrator approved materials.
The answer turns on the material, the yard and the district.
- masonry, iron, wood or vinyl
- Named and allowed.
- chain link
- Side or rear yard in RSF and RM only.
- tarps, plywood or garage door panels
- Prohibited.
- the finished side
- It faces outward.
Also on materials in Goose Creek
- no rule, documents checkedSouth Carolina never says what a fence may be built from. There is no fence chapter and no definition of a lawful fence. The two chapters closest to the question were read end to end. The stray and trespassing livestock chapter deals with catching, holding and selling loose animals and with who pays for the damage they do, and it never says what a fence is made of. The general agriculture chapter is a list of offenses and has nothing on fences. Neither one mentions barbed wire, razor wire or an electric fence. S.C. Code 47-7-10 to 47-7-170South Carolina · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Goose Creek
Compare agricultural fencing across all 50 states
South Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
South Carolina puts the duty on the animal owner. An owner or manager may not let a domestic animal of any kind get past the edge of the land they own, lease, occupy or control, whether on purpose or through carelessness. Each offense carries a fine of up to twenty five dollars or up to twenty five days in jail.
This one is South Carolina law, not Goose Creek law. All South Carolina findings
It shall be unlawful for the owner or manager of any domestic animal of any description wilfully or negligently to permit any such animal to run at large beyond the limits of his own land or the lands leased, occupied or controlled by him.
Also on agricultural fencing in Goose Creek
- set in state lawA damages claim in South Carolina does not depend on a fence. When a domestic animal is found on land belonging to somebody else, the owner of that animal owes all the damage plus the cost of catching and keeping it, and the animal itself stands as security for that debt ahead of other claims. The landowner or tenant may seize a trespassing animal and hold it. S.C. Code 47-7-130South Carolina · Statute
- no rule, documents checkedSouth Carolina never describes a lawful fence. Title 47 has no fence chapter, and its livestock chapter runs from stray animals through trespassing stock to impounding without setting a height, a wire count, a board count or a post spacing. Title 46, the agriculture title, has no fence chapter either. The gap leaves no hole, because damages for a trespassing animal in South Carolina never turned on an enclosure, so there was nothing for a fence standard to measure. S.C. Code Title 47, Chapter 7South Carolina · Statute
Documents behind this page
10 documents, of which 1 was published by Goose Creek itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 47, Chapter 7, Estrays; Livestock Trespassing or Running at Large
- South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 46, Chapter 1, General Provisions; Offenses
- South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 27, Property and Conveyances, chapter list
- City of Goose CreekCity of Goose Creek, Title XV Land Usage, Chapter 151, Unified Development Ordinance
- South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 6, Chapter 9, Building Codes
- South Carolina Department of Environmental ServicesSouth Carolina Code of Regulations, R.61-51, Public Swimming Pools
- South Carolina LegislatureSouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 6, Chapter 29, South Carolina Local Government Comprehensive Planning Enabling Act of 1994
- South Carolina Building Codes CouncilSouth Carolina Code of Regulations, Chapter 8, International Residential Code
- South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 47, Animals, Livestock and Poultry, chapter list
- South Carolina General AssemblySouth Carolina Code of Laws, Title 46, Agriculture, chapter list
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 Goose Creek publishes, plus the South Carolina rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in South 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