Fence laws in Georgetown, Texas
What the Georgetown municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Georgetown sets no rule of its own, the Texas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Georgetown, Texas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A drainage easement and a floodway are closed to a Georgetown fence outright, and a fence proposed inside the hundred year flood plain needs a Flood Plain Development Permit.
- How tall
- Four feet in a Georgetown front yard, and at least half open, and the answer turns on the use, which setback the fence is in, and what it abuts. The figure is 4 feet, for front yard fence on a house lot.
- Permits
- A new fence inside the Georgetown city limits needs a permit, with agricultural use and pet, livestock or garden fencing inside an existing perimeter fence left out.
- Pool barriers
- Texas requires a 48 inch fence around some pools, measured from the ground on the outside of the fence. The figure is 48 inches, for pool yard enclosure at a multiunit rental complex or property owners association pool.
- Spite fences
- Georgetown has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Georgetown measures from the ground on the higher side of the fence.
- Corner lots
- Inside a Georgetown sight triangle a fence fails on either count, and the answer turns on whether the corner is two streets or a street and an alley. The figure is 25 feet, for sight triangle at the intersection of two streets.
- Retaining walls
- A Georgetown retaining wall over three feet has to be designed by an engineer, which is a lower trigger than most Texas cities use, and the answer turns on whether the wall retains earth or is a fence wall. The figure is 3 feet, for retaining wall height above which an engineer is required.
- Materials
- Georgetown publishes both lists and then adds a construction rule.
- Livestock
- Texas says what a farm fence has to look like. The figure is 4 feet, for minimum height of a sufficient fence under the stock law. It reaches counties and areas that have adopted the local option stock law under Subchapter B only.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Georgetown?
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Georgetown answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A drainage easement and a floodway are closed to a Georgetown fence outright, and a fence proposed inside the hundred year flood plain needs a Flood Plain Development Permit. A masonry wall with a poured foundation near a public utility easement or near buried or above ground utility equipment goes to the Development Engineer before it is approved, and may need a License to Encroach. On non-residential land a fence in a required setback beside a right of way may not sit in a public or landscape easement.
Fences may not be located within a drainage easement or floodway area.
Also on fences on the property line in Georgetown
- set in state lawTexas sets no statewide rule for splitting the cost of a fence on a boundary. What the Agriculture Code does say is that a joint owner of a dividing fence cannot pull it out without the other owner agreeing, and that a person who wants to detach a fence from a neighbor fence has to give six months of written notice first. The notice goes to the owner of the attached fence or to that person's agent, attorney, or lessee. Agric. Code 143.122Texas · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Georgetown?
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Georgetown answers this, but the answer changes depending on the use, which setback the fence is in, and what it abuts.
Four feet in a Georgetown front yard, and at least half open. In a side setback six feet, dropping to five where it abuts an alley and four where it abuts a local or collector street. In a rear setback six feet, five against an alley, and a ten foot setback where the rear faces a local or collector street. An apartment complex gets six feet in front and eight at the sides and rear, and a non-residential lot four feet in front and eight elsewhere. Single family, two family and townhome side and rear fences can rise to eight feet in the circumstances Section 8.07.040(B)(4) sets out.
Fences within the front yard must be 50% opened (i.e. wrought iron or picket fence).
The answer turns on the use, which setback the fence is in, and what it abuts.
- a single family, two family or townhome front yard
- Four feet, at least half open. 4 ft
- a side setback, generally
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a side or rear setback abutting an alley
- Five feet. 5 ft
- a side setback abutting a local or collector street
- Four feet. 4 ft
- an apartment complex side or rear setback
- Eight feet. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Georgetown
- no rule, documents checkedTexas does not limit how tall a fence at a house can be. The only heights in state law are for farm fences, such as the five foot fence required around cropland. For a fence at a house, the city sets the limit. Agric. Code ch. 143Texas · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Georgetown?
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Georgetown answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A new fence inside the Georgetown city limits needs a permit, with agricultural use and pet, livestock or garden fencing inside an existing perimeter fence left out. Repairs are exempt up to a third of the facing of the existing fence, and any addition in height or length, or moving the fence, needs a fresh permit. Every new fence, including a replacement, is inspected afterwards, and the city aims to process a complete application in ten business days.
For minor alterations to an existing fence, such as replacements of pickets, panels, posts or other materials, a permit is only required if the changes exceed one third (1/3) of the facing of the existing fence.
Also on permits in Georgetown
- set in state lawTexas has no fence permit rule of its own. Instead it made one national code, the International Residential Code as it stood on May 1, 2012, the building code for every city in the state. So the permit rule for a fence comes from that code and not from a Texas statute. Cities can then change it, which is why the answer differs from one city to the next. Local Gov't Code 214.212(a)Texas · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Georgetown
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Texas answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Texas requires a 48 inch fence around some pools, measured from the ground on the outside of the fence. It does not cover most homes. Section 757.002 applies the law only to a pool run by the owner of an apartment complex or by a property owners association. A pool at a single family home is not covered, and the city rule applies there instead.
This one is Texas law, not Georgetown law. All Texas findings
The height of the pool yard enclosure must be at least 48 inches as measured from the ground on the side away from the pool.
Health & Safety Code 757.003(b)
48 inpool yard enclosure at a multiunit rental complex or property owners association pool
Spite fence laws in Georgetown
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Georgetown law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Texas has no law about spite fences. Both chapters that could hold one were read start to finish. The fence chapter of the Agriculture Code covers livestock and farm land. The building chapter of the Local Government Code covers permits. Neither one mentions a fence built to bother a neighbor. That leaves a nuisance lawsuit or a city ordinance.
This one is Texas law, not Georgetown law. All Texas findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Agric. Code ch. 143Texas Legislature
- Local Gov't Code ch. 214Texas Legislature
How fence height is measured in Georgetown
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Georgetown answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Georgetown measures from the ground on the higher side of the fence. On sloping land that is the side that gives the smaller reading, so the fence ends up taller than the stated number as seen from below. The city also settles which side is the front on an awkward lot: the front is the shortest street frontage, and where the lot is square or an odd shape the Planning Director decides.
Fence height is to be measured from the ground level on the higher side of the fence or wall.
Also on how height is measured in Georgetown
- left to the townTexas gives two fence heights and never says where to measure from. A farm fence around cropland has to be five feet tall. A farm fence under the stock law has to be four feet. The word ground does not appear anywhere in that chapter. For a fence at a house, Chapter 211 of the Local Government Code lets the city set the height rule, so the city decides how it is measured too. Tex. Loc. Gov't Code 211.003(a)(1)Texas · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Georgetown
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Georgetown answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the corner is two streets or a street and an alley.
Inside a Georgetown sight triangle a fence fails on either count. More than twenty five percent solid is too much, and more than three feet is too tall, so an open fence and a low fence are both needed rather than one or the other. The triangle reaches twenty five feet from the right of way where two streets meet and eight feet where a street meets an alley.
no fence or wall more than 25% solid or more than 3 feet tall shall be located within 25 feet of the right-of-way at the intersection of two streets or within 8 feet of the intersection of a street and an alley.
The answer turns on whether the corner is two streets or a street and an alley.
- the intersection of two streets
- Twenty five feet from the right of way. 25 ft
- the intersection of a street and an alley
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- anything standing inside either triangle
- No more than three feet tall and no more than twenty five percent solid. 3 ft
Also on corner visibility in Georgetown
- left to the townTexas has a whole chapter about seeing around corners, and it does not reach fences. Chapter 255 lets a county set the sight distance at an intersection on a county road outside city limits, and ban anything that blocks the view. But that ban covers plants, loose dirt and other items, not a building or structure fixed to the ground. A fence is fixed to the ground, so a county order under this chapter does not apply to it. Inside a city, the city decides. Tex. Transp. Code 255.002Texas · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Georgetown
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Georgetown answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the wall retains earth or is a fence wall.
A Georgetown retaining wall over three feet has to be designed by an engineer, which is a lower trigger than most Texas cities use. A masonry, stone, rock or brick fence wall needs signed and sealed details only at eight feet or taller, and so does any pre-engineered wall product. So the earth-holding wall is treated as the harder problem, and it is.
Masonry, stone, rock and brick walls that are eight (8) feet or taller and pre-engineered walls/products require fence details signed and sealed by an engineer. Please note that retaining walls that are over three (3) feet in height must be designed by an Engineer.
The answer turns on whether the wall retains earth or is a fence wall.
- a retaining wall
- Designed by an engineer over three feet. 3 ft
- a masonry, stone, rock or brick fence wall
- Signed and sealed details at eight feet or taller. 8 ft
Also on retaining walls in Georgetown
- left to the townTexas has no rule of its own for a wall that holds back earth. It made the International Residential Code, as that code stood on May 1, 2012, the building code for every city in the state, and it does not print any of that code's text. So whatever that edition says about a retaining wall is what applies in Texas. Cities can change it after a public hearing, which is why the rule differs from one city to the next. Tex. Loc. Gov't Code 214.212(a)Texas · Statute
Fence materials allowed in Georgetown
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Georgetown answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Georgetown publishes both lists and then adds a construction rule. Wood, stone, rock, concrete block, masonry brick, brick, decorative wrought iron, chain link and welded wire are allowed, and plywood, paper, plastic, fiberglass panels, chicken wire, fabric and sheet, roll or corrugated metal are not. The finished face goes toward every public street and every piece of public parkland. A chain link, welded wire or picket fence needs at least two support rails, spaced at least half the height of the fence apart. Barbed wire is out on residential lots under two acres, and on industrial and utility land it may top a six foot fence as long as the whole thing stays under eight.
Fences may be made of wood, stone, rock, concrete block, masonry brick, brick, decorative wrought iron, chain link, welded wire, or other similar material. Prohibited materials include plywood, paper, plastic, fiberglass panels, chicken wire, fabric, or sheet, roll or corrugated metals.
Also on materials in Georgetown
- set in state lawTexas only says what a fence has to be made of inside a county or area that has voted to stop animals roaming loose. There a fence works if it keeps out the animals that are still allowed to roam, and the law gives four ways to build one. Barbed wire takes three wires on posts no more than thirty feet apart, with a stay between each pair. Pickets go no more than six inches apart. Boards take three boards. Rails take four. All four have to stand at least four feet tall. Barbed wire is allowed outright, and voters in an area can decide that three barbed wires on their own are enough. Tex. Agric. Code 143.028Texas · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Georgetown
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Texas answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Texas says what a farm fence has to look like. It has to be at least four feet tall, and there are four ways to build one. Barbed wire takes three wires on posts no more than thirty feet apart, with at least one stay between each pair of posts. Pickets have to be no more than six inches apart. Boards take three boards, each at least five inches wide and one inch thick. Rails take four rails.
This one is Texas law, not Georgetown law. All Texas findings
In order to be sufficient, a fence must be at least four feet high and comply with the following requirements: (1) a barbed wire fence must consist of three wires on posts no more than 30 feet apart, with one or more stays between every two posts; (2) a picket fence must consist of pickets that are not more than six inches apart;
4 ftminimum height of a sufficient fence under the stock law
Also on agricultural fencing in Georgetown
- depends, see the pageTexas has no single answer for who has to build the fence. Each county votes on it, and an area inside a county can vote on its own. The vote decides whether the animals it names are allowed to roam loose, and it only applies where the vote was held. Agric. Code 143.024(a)Texas · Statute
- set in state lawIn a county that has not voted, the farmer builds the fence, not the animal owner. Anyone farming or gardening cleared land has to put up a fence at least five feet tall that hogs cannot get through. Agric. Code 143.001Texas · Statute
Documents behind this page
6 documents, of which 1 was published by Georgetown itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Texas LegislatureTexas Agriculture Code, Chapter 143, Subchapter F, Removal of Adjoining Fences
- City of Georgetown, Development ServicesFences, residential permits, setting out Unified Development Code Section 8.07
- Texas LegislatureTexas Local Government Code, Chapter 214, Municipal Regulation of Housing and Other Structures
- Texas LegislatureTexas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 757, Pool Yard Enclosures
- Texas LegislatureTexas Local Government Code, Title 7, Chapter 211, Municipal Zoning Authority
- Texas LegislatureTexas Transportation Code, Title 6, Subtitle C, Chapter 255, County Regulation of Sight Distances
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 Georgetown publishes, plus the Texas rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Texas 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