Fence laws in Draper, Utah
What the Draper municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Draper sets no rule of its own, the Utah rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Draper, Utah, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Draper sets no distance between an ordinary fence and a lot line, so a fence up to six feet may sit on the boundary, and the answer turns on how tall the structure is and what it is near. The figure is 9 feet, for height a street tree has to be pruned to.
- How tall
- A fence, wall or other visual obstruction in a required Draper front yard may not exceed four feet, and one behind the front wall plane may not exceed six, in each case unless a greater height is allowed by a conditional use permit, and the answer turns on where the fence stands and whether a permit is granted. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a required front yard.
- Permits
- Every retaining wall in Draper needs a building permit before construction or alteration unless it falls into one of four exemptions, and each exemption is stated as a combination of height and slope rather than height alone, and the answer turns on the height of the wall and the slopes around it. The figure is 4 feet, for height below which a wall may be exempt.
- Pool barriers
- Utah requires a fence around the whole edge of a public pool, the pool deck and any extra deck. The figure is 6 feet, for minimum height of the barrier around a public pool, measured from the outside.
- Spite fences
- Draper has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Draper never says what a fence height is measured from. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Corner lots
- In every Draper zone requiring a front yard, no obstruction to view over three feet may sit on a corner lot inside a triangle formed by the right-of-way boundary and a line joining points thirty feet from where those boundaries meet, and the answer turns on whether the corner is a street junction or a driveway. The figure is 30 feet, for leg of the corner visibility triangle.
- Retaining walls
- A single retaining wall in Draper may not exceed nine feet of exposed height, and where a wall varies along its length the height is the largest measurement anywhere on it, and the answer turns on whether the walls are one terrace or separate walls. The figure is 9 feet, for tallest single retaining wall.
- Materials
- Draper names no material for an ordinary fence, so wood, vinyl, metal and masonry are all available at the stated heights, and barbed wire, razor wire and electric fencing go unmentioned in the fence section, and the answer turns on how close the wall is to a street. The figure is 30 feet, for distance from a street that triggers the finish rule.
- Livestock
- In Utah the owner of the animal pays for damage it does on someone else's land.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Draper?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Draper answers this, but the answer changes depending on how tall the structure is and what it is near.
Draper sets no distance between an ordinary fence and a lot line, so a fence up to six feet may sit on the boundary. Above six feet the answer changes: any visual obstruction over six feet has to meet the setback requirements for accessory buildings unless a conditional use permit says otherwise, so the taller fence comes in off the line. No wall at all may be built within a utility easement without the prior written permission of every affected utility company. Retaining walls are held further back still, at least seven feet from any property line adjacent to a street. Trees are handled separately and by distance from the road rather than from the boundary: every mature tree within fifteen feet of a street curb, or the edge of the pavement where there is none, has to be pruned clear of branches to at least nine feet above the curb.
Any such visual obstruction over six feet (6') in height must meet the setback requirements for accessory buildings unless otherwise permitted by a conditional use permit, except that no wall shall be constructed within a utility easement without the prior written permission of all affected utility companies.
9-27-080.E, with D and 9-27-085.F.6
The answer turns on how tall the structure is and what it is near.
- a fence up to six feet
- No setback from the line.
- anything taller
- The accessory building setbacks.
- a utility easement
- Written permission from every company.
- a mature tree near the curb
- Pruned to nine feet. 9 ft
Also on fences on the property line in Draper
- set in state lawUtah splits the cost of a fence on the line between two owners. Each side pays in step with how much land it fences in. If one owner built the fence first and a neighbor later fences land against it, that neighbor pays half the value of the shared part before doing it. An owner who stops farming the land gives notice and waits 30 days before pulling any of the fence out. Utah Code 4-26-102Utah · Statute
- set in state lawUtah has a second cost rule for grazing land and big game country. One owner can make the neighbor pay half the cost of the fence. The cost has to be reasonable, the kind of fence has to be one that is common in that area, and the bill cannot run past the price of posts, wire and connectors. A neighbor who refuses can be sued for the half. Utah Code 4-26-103Utah · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Draper?
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Draper answers this, but the answer changes depending on where the fence stands and whether a permit is granted.
A fence, wall or other visual obstruction in a required Draper front yard may not exceed four feet, and one behind the front wall plane may not exceed six, in each case unless a greater height is allowed by a conditional use permit. The line is the front of the house rather than a yard boundary. Anything between six and ten feet is allowed only behind that front wall plane and only on a conditional use permit, so the extra four feet is available but costs a hearing. Over ten feet nothing is permitted at all, trees excepted. A visual obstruction over six feet also has to meet the setback requirements for accessory buildings unless the conditional use permit says otherwise, which pulls it in from the boundary, and no wall may be built inside a utility easement without prior written permission from every affected utility company.
When located within the required front yard a fence, wall, or other visual obstruction, not including trees shall not exceed four feet (4') in height unless a greater height is allowed by a conditional use permit or as otherwise permitted in this title.
The answer turns on where the fence stands and whether a permit is granted.
- a required front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- behind the front wall plane
- Six feet. 6 ft
- six to ten feet
- A conditional use permit, and behind the house only. 10 ft
- over six feet
- The accessory building setbacks apply.
Also on fence height in Draper
- no rule, documents checkedUtah sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The construction code statute names which code editions apply and gives no fence height. The fence chapter of the farming code covers splitting cost and fencing bison, not yard fences. Cities and counties set the height. Utah Code 15A-2-103Utah · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Draper?
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Draper answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height of the wall and the slopes around it.
Every retaining wall in Draper needs a building permit before construction or alteration unless it falls into one of four exemptions, and each exemption is stated as a combination of height and slope rather than height alone. A wall under four feet of exposed height is exempt where the slopes in front and behind are gentler than ten to one within ten feet of it. A non-tiered wall under three feet is exempt where the back slope is no steeper than two to one and the front no steeper than four to one. A tiered arrangement under three feet per wall is exempt where every slope is gentler than ten to one within ten feet. And any wall under fifty square feet is exempt. Every wall that does need a permit has to be designed by an engineer licensed in Utah, and a maintenance plan is required with the application. The city geologic hazards ordinance adds a global stability analysis on steeper slopes.
Retaining walls less than four feet (4') in exposed height with less than ten horizontal to one vertical (10H:1V) (horizontal:vertical) front and back slopes within ten feet (10') of the wall;
The answer turns on the height of the wall and the slopes around it.
- a low wall on gentle ground
- No building permit. 4 ft
- a wall under fifty square feet
- Exempt whatever the slope.
- any wall that needs a permit
- Designed by a licensed engineer.
- the application
- A maintenance plan goes with it.
Also on permits in Draper
- set in state lawUtah uses one construction code across the whole state and names the exact editions in the statute, including the 2024 International Building Code and the 2021 International Residential Code. State changes to those codes sit in a separate chapter of the same title. Utah changes only three items on the list of home work that needs no permit, covering walls that hold back earth, low decks and small storage containers. The fence item on that list is model code text that Utah leaves alone, so it is printed on no Utah state site. Utah Code 15A-2-103Utah · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Draper
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Utah answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Utah requires a fence around the whole edge of a public pool, the pool deck and any extra deck. It stands at least six feet tall, measured on the outside face. No opening can pass a four inch ball, and horizontal rails sit at least 45 inches apart. Gates close and latch on their own, and at least one gate swings outward so people can get out.
This one is Utah law, not Draper law. All Utah findings
is at least six feet in height measured from the exterior side of the barrier
6 ftminimum height of the barrier around a public pool, measured from the outside
Spite fence laws in Draper
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Draper law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Utah has no spite fence law. The fence chapter of the farming code covers splitting cost and fencing bison, and nothing else. The stray animal chapter covers animals that wander onto other land. Neither one gives a neighbor a claim over a fence put up out of spite, and neither sets a height that starts one.
This one is Utah law, not Draper law. All Utah findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Utah Code 4-26-101 through 4-26-104Utah State Legislature
- Utah Code 4-25-101 through 4-25-406Utah State Legislature
How fence height is measured in Draper
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Draper law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Utah never says what a fence height is measured from, at any level of its code. The fence sections in title 4 are about deals between neighbors and how the cost of a shared fence is split, and they carry no dimension at all. The land use act was renumbered in 2025 into title 10, chapter 20, and the zoning power it hands a city covers putting up, building, rebuilding, changing, repairing and using buildings and structures, with no mention of height. Height turns up in that chapter only in what makes a structure one that no longer fits the rules, and in the standards a city may put on a charter school. Neither place says what a height starts from, so the city ordinance decides.
This one is Utah law, not Draper law. All Utah findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Utah Code 10-20-505Utah Legislature
- Utah Code 4-26-102Utah Legislature
Fence rules for corner lots in Draper
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Draper answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the corner is a street junction or a driveway.
In every Draper zone requiring a front yard, no obstruction to view over three feet may sit on a corner lot inside a triangle formed by the right-of-way boundary and a line joining points thirty feet from where those boundaries meet. A reasonable number of trees pruned high enough for a driver to see under is excepted, and so are monument identification signs where the title permits them. Then comes the clause that settles a recurring argument: for the purpose of locating fences, walls, landscaping and similar obstructions, a corner lot has one front, defined as the side parallel with the wall of the house containing the primary entrance. So the second street frontage is not a second front yard. At a driveway or automobile accessway the limit is the same three feet inside a triangle drawn twelve feet along the property line and twelve feet along the driveway.
In all zones which require a front yard, no obstruction to view in excess of three feet (3') in height shall be placed on any corner lot within a triangular area formed by the right of way boundary and the line connecting them at points thirty feet (30') from the intersection of the right of way boundary line
The answer turns on whether the corner is a street junction or a driveway.
- a street corner
- Thirty feet. 30 ft
- a driveway
- Twelve feet each way. 12 ft
- which side is the front on a corner lot
- The one parallel with the primary entrance wall.
- a pruned tree or a monument sign
- Excepted.
Also on corner visibility in Draper
- no rule, documents checkedUtah sets no corner triangle in state law. The two sections of the highway protection act that come closest were read in full. One bans putting a structure or object inside the right of way of a state highway, county road or city street without a permit, which turns on the right of way line and not on what a driver can see. The other bans blocking traffic on a sidewalk or a highway. The fence chapter of the farming code covers fences on a property line and livestock and never mentions a corner. Cities and counties set the triangle. Utah Code 72-7-102Utah · Statute
Retaining wall rules in Draper
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Draper answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the walls are one terrace or separate walls.
A single retaining wall in Draper may not exceed nine feet of exposed height, and where a wall varies along its length the height is the largest measurement anywhere on it. Inside a front setback area each wall stops at four feet, except in the Hillside Sensitive Lands Overlay Zone where the front setback figure rises to the full nine. Terracing is permitted and the combined height of all the walls may not exceed eighteen feet. The separation rules are written as ratios of the tallest wall rather than as fixed distances: walls set apart by at least twice the height of the taller one, face to face, count as separate walls rather than a terrace, and inside a terrace the minimum horizontal separation is half the height of the tallest wall, measured from the back of the lower wall to the face of the higher one. Every retaining wall has to stand at least seven feet from any property line adjacent to a street.
A single retaining wall shall not exceed nine feet (9') in height. Within the front setback area, each retaining wall shall not exceed four feet (4') in height, except in the Hillside Sensitive Lands Overlay Zone where each retaining wall within the front setback area shall not exceed nine feet (9') in height.
The answer turns on whether the walls are one terrace or separate walls.
- a single wall
- Nine feet of exposed height. 9 ft
- inside a front setback
- Four feet, or nine on a hillside lot. 4 ft
- a terrace of walls
- Eighteen feet combined. 18 ft
- a wall near a street
- Seven feet back from the line. 7 ft
Also on retaining walls in Draper
- set in state lawUtah writes its own permit rule for a wall that holds back earth and puts it in the statute in place of the model code line. It measures the dirt rather than the wall. A wall holding back less than four feet of unbalanced fill needs no permit. Unbalanced fill is the dirt piled on the high side with nothing on the low side to push back. The pass is gone in two cases: where the wall carries a surcharge, meaning an extra load pressing on the dirt behind it, and where the wall is big enough that Section R404.4 of the residential code calls for a design. Utah changes only three items on that no permit list, and this is the first of them. Utah Code 15A-3-202(5)(a)Utah · Statute
Fence materials allowed in Draper
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Draper answers this, but the answer changes depending on how close the wall is to a street.
Draper names no material for an ordinary fence, so wood, vinyl, metal and masonry are all available at the stated heights, and barbed wire, razor wire and electric fencing go unmentioned in the fence section. Where the code does specify a material is on a retaining wall within thirty feet of a street. Such a wall has to be colored or carry a decorative or architectural finish, with rock wall, board form and split face given as examples, and plain exposed poured concrete is not permitted. The same walls also have to be planted: the area in front of each one needs at least five shrubs for every twenty linear feet of planting area, watered by drip irrigation to keep the soil from eroding. So the rule that decides what a Draper wall looks like is about the street rather than about the property line, and it applies to the face the public sees.
Retaining walls shall be colored, feature decorative or architectural finishes such as, but not limited to, rock wall, board form, or split face. Plain exposed poured concrete shall not be permitted.
The answer turns on how close the wall is to a street.
- a wall within thirty feet of a street
- Colored or finished, never plain concrete. 30 ft
- the ground in front of it
- Five shrubs every twenty feet, on drip irrigation. 20 ft
- an ordinary fence
- No material is named either way.
Also on materials in Draper
- set in state lawUtah sets no material rule for an ordinary fence. Its one material rule is about bison. An outside fence meant to hold bison has to reach at least eight feet, and the fence sections and gates have to be a mesh of high tensile steel wire of at least fourteen and one half gauge, with squares no bigger than six inches by six inches, or a material just as strong. The posts get their own rule: treated wood at least four inches across, or something as strong, standing at least six feet two inches above the ground. Utah Code 4-26-104Utah · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Draper
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Utah answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
In Utah the owner of the animal pays for damage it does on someone else's land. That covers cattle, a horse, a donkey, a mule, a sheep, a goat or a pig. The owner is off the hook when the land was not fenced in by a lawful fence, in a county or city that has passed a fence ordinance. A second exception covers animals that come in off an old livestock trail onto land without a good enough fence.
This one is Utah law, not Draper law. All Utah findings
The owner of any cattle, horse, ass, mule, sheep, goat, or swine that trespasses upon the premises of another person, except in cases where the premises are not enclosed by a lawful fence in a county or municipality that has adopted a fence ordinance, is liable in a civil action to the owner or occupant of the premises for any damage inflicted by the trespass.
Also on agricultural fencing in Draper
- set in state lawUtah never says in state law what a lawful fence is, so there is no statewide wire count and no statewide height. Each county decides. A county can pass an ordinance on fencing farms, subdivisions and other private land so grazing animals stay off it, and a county that passes one has to spell out in it what counts as a lawful fence. A county can also split itself into parts with a different fence rule in each. Utah Code 4-25-204Utah · Statute
- set in state lawUtah does set hard numbers for one kind of livestock fence, and it is the bison fence. An outside fence meant to hold bison reaches at least eight feet above the ground, in both the fence sections and the gates. The mesh runs no wider than six inches by six inches, in high tensile steel wire of at least 14 and one half gauge, which is wire made to take more pull before it gives. Posts go no more than 20 feet apart and sit at least two feet in the ground. Utah Code 4-26-104Utah · Statute
Documents behind this page
14 documents, of which 1 was published by Draper itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 26, Enclosures and Fences, Section 102
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 26, Enclosures and Fences, Section 103
- Draper CityDraper City Code, Title 9, Section 9-27-080, Fences and Visual Obstructions
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 15A, State Construction and Fire Codes Act, Chapter 2, Section 103
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 26, Enclosures and Fences
- Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Population Health, Environmental HealthUtah Administrative Code, Rule R392-302, Public Pool Design, Construction, and Operation, Section 17, Fencing and Barriers
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 25, Estrays
- Utah LegislatureUtah Code, Title 10, Chapter 20, Municipal Land Use, Development, and Management Act
- Utah LegislatureUtah Code, Title 72, Chapter 7, Protection of Highways Act, Part 1, Protection of Rights-Of-Way
- Utah LegislatureUtah Code, Title 72, Chapter 7, Protection of Highways Act, Part 1, Protection of Rights-Of-Way
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 15A, Chapter 3, Part 2, Statewide Amendments to International Residential Code, Section 202
- Utah LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 26, Enclosures and Fences
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 25, Estrays, Section 205
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 25, Estrays, Section 204
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 Draper publishes, plus the Utah rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Utah 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