Fence laws in Herriman, Utah
What the Herriman municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Herriman sets no rule of its own, the Utah rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Herriman, Utah, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Double fences are prohibited in Herriman, and the code spells out what that means in practice: an owner who wants to build may need to tie into an existing fence on the adjoining lot rather than raise a second one beside it, and the answer turns on whether a fence already stands on the line.
- How tall
- Within a front yard setback or along a front lot line in a Herriman residential zone, a solid fence may not exceed three feet and an open-type fence, wrought iron being the example given, may not exceed four, and the answer turns on the yard and whether the fence is solid or open. The figure is 3 feet, for solid fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- Whether a full privacy fence may face a trail in Herriman depends on how wide the gap is, and the answer turns on how far apart the two properties across the trail are. The figure is 50 feet, for separation that allows a privacy fence on a trail.
- 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
- Herriman has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Where a difference in grade exists on either side of a fence or wall in Herriman, the height is measured from the average elevation of the finished grade of the adjoining properties at the fence line.
- Corner lots
- No obstruction to view over three feet may sit on a corner lot inside the triangular area formed by the right-of-way boundary lines and a line joining them thirty feet from the intersection, and the answer turns on whether the corner is a street intersection or a driveway. The figure is 30 feet, for leg of the corner visibility triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Utah 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. The figure is 4 feet, for depth of unbalanced fill at or above which a retaining wall needs a building permit. It reaches one and two family homes only.
- Materials
- Herriman allows decorative precast or integrally colored and textured block, brick, stone or other masonry; heavy-gauge vinyl or synthetic composite in beige, white or neutral colors; natural, treated or composite wood meant for weather-exposed construction; and decorative wrought iron, and the answer turns on the material and what the fence encloses. The figure is 30 days, for time to remove electric wire.
- 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 Herriman?
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Herriman answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether a fence already stands on the line.
Double fences are prohibited in Herriman, and the code spells out what that means in practice: an owner who wants to build may need to tie into an existing fence on the adjoining lot rather than raise a second one beside it. Three exceptions are named. A double fence is allowed next to an existing agricultural or animal use, and on a lot directly adjacent to school district property. The third covers the deadlock: where an adjoining owner is unwilling to allow an existing fence on or near the common line to be removed and replaced, the community development director may permit double fencing to mitigate reasonably anticipated detrimental impacts from incompatible land uses. So the rule pushes two neighbors toward one shared fence and gives the city a way out when they cannot agree. Once an improvement completion assurance is released, the abutting owner maintains the fence unless the city has specifically agreed to.
Double fences shall be prohibited except for the following: When located adjacent to an existing agricultural or animal use.
The answer turns on whether a fence already stands on the line.
- a line that already has a fence
- Tie into it rather than build a second.
- an agricultural use or school property next door
- A second fence is allowed.
- a neighbor who will not let the old fence go
- The director may permit double fencing.
Also on fences on the property line in Herriman
- 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 Herriman?
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Herriman answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard and whether the fence is solid or open.
Within a front yard setback or along a front lot line in a Herriman residential zone, a solid fence may not exceed three feet and an open-type fence, wrought iron being the example given, may not exceed four. Behind that the limit is eight feet, two above the common figure, and the code writes it as a prohibition rather than an allowance: a fence exceeding eight feet may not be built within a side or rear yard or along a side or rear lot line. A vinyl-coated chain link fence for a recreational use such as a tennis court, a sport court, a covered hot tub or a ball diamond backstop may go above eight feet on interior, side and rear lot lines, to a maximum of eighteen feet, provided it meets the accessory building setbacks for the zone. A fence on a corner lot next to a collector or arterial road has to be approved by the city engineer.
Front yard setback. Within a front yard setback or along a front lot line: A solid fence shall not exceed three feet in height; and An open-type fence, e.g., wrought iron, shall not exceed four feet in height.
The answer turns on the yard and whether the fence is solid or open.
- a solid front yard fence
- Three feet. 3 ft
- an open front yard fence
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a side or rear yard
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a court or backstop
- Eighteen feet of coated chain link. 18 ft
Also on fence height in Herriman
- 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 Herriman?
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Herriman answers this, but the answer changes depending on how far apart the two properties across the trail are.
Whether a full privacy fence may face a trail in Herriman depends on how wide the gap is. A full privacy fence is permitted along a trail where the minimum distance, at any arc or angle, between any point on the property line and the closest private property line opposite a park, trail or open space is fifty feet or more. Where it is less than fifty feet a full privacy fence is prohibited and a semi-private six foot fence with slats may be installed instead. Measuring at any arc or angle is what makes the rule work on a curving trail corridor. Vegetation on a fence along a trail has to be maintained by the abutting owner so it does not interfere with the use or maintenance of the trail. Where a lot is developed with a use incompatible with the abutting one, the new development has to install the fence, at six feet of solid vinyl between residential and agricultural uses and six feet of decorative masonry between residential and commercial.
Permitted. A full privacy fence may be installed along a trail if the minimum distance, at any arc or angle, between any point on a property line to the closest private property line opposite a park, trail, or open space is 50 feet or more.
The answer turns on how far apart the two properties across the trail are.
- fifty feet or more across
- A full privacy fence. 50 ft
- less than that
- Six feet, semi-private with slats.
- a new use next to an older incompatible one
- The new development builds the fence. 6 ft
Also on permits in Herriman
- 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 Herriman
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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 Herriman 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 Herriman
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Herriman 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 Herriman 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 Herriman
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Herriman answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where a difference in grade exists on either side of a fence or wall in Herriman, the height is measured from the average elevation of the finished grade of the adjoining properties at the fence line. That splits the difference between the two owners rather than favoring either, and it is read at the line itself rather than at some distance back, so a berm pushed up a few feet away does not change the number. The chapter states no separate datum for level ground, so the same sentence effectively governs every fence in the city, and it says nothing about posts, caps or ornaments, which means there is no allowance for anything that stands above the fence. Nothing addresses a fence built on top of a retaining wall either, so the average grade at the fence line is the whole of the measurement rule.
When a difference in grade exists on either side of a fence or wall, the height of the fence or wall shall be measured from the average elevation of the finished grade of adjoining properties at the fence line.
Also on how height is measured in Herriman
- no rule, documents checkedUtah 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. Utah Code 10-20-505Utah · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Herriman
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Herriman answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the corner is a street intersection or a driveway.
No obstruction to view over three feet may sit on a corner lot inside the triangular area formed by the right-of-way boundary lines and a line joining them thirty feet from the intersection. The same thirty foot rule is stated again for plant material, monument signs and other obstructions along a right-of-way. At a driveway or automobile accessway the triangle is smaller and drawn differently, running twelve feet along the property line and twelve feet along the driveway line from where the side driveway line meets the property or side street line, and nothing over three feet may sit inside that either. A fence on a corner lot or parcel next to a collector or arterial road needs the approval of the city engineer, so the classification of the street rather than the size of the triangle is what brings a second reviewer into it.
No obstruction to view which exceeds three feet in height shall be placed on a corner lot within the triangular area formed by a right-of-way boundary line and the line connecting them at points 30 feet from the intersection of the right-of-way boundary line.
The answer turns on whether the corner is a street intersection or a driveway.
- a street corner
- Thirty feet from the intersection. 30 ft
- a driveway
- Twelve feet each way. 12 ft
- anything inside either
- Three feet. 3 ft
- a corner on a collector or arterial
- The city engineer approves the fence.
Also on corner visibility in Herriman
- 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 Herriman
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Utah answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Utah 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.
This one is Utah law, not Herriman law. All Utah findings
Retaining walls retaining less than four feet (1219mm) of unbalanced fill, unless supporting a surcharge or requiring design per Section R404.4.
4 ftdepth of unbalanced fill at or above which a retaining wall needs a building permit
Fence materials allowed in Herriman
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Herriman answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and what the fence encloses.
Herriman allows decorative precast or integrally colored and textured block, brick, stone or other masonry; heavy-gauge vinyl or synthetic composite in beige, white or neutral colors; natural, treated or composite wood meant for weather-exposed construction; and decorative wrought iron. Chain link is prohibited in all zones with or without slats, which is stricter than most, alongside plastics other than vinyl, scrap lumber and metal, anything never made for fencing such as roofing panels, corrugated or sheet metal, tarps or plywood, and barbed, concertina and razor wire. Three exceptions are then written back in. Vinyl-coated chain link is allowed for recreational uses. Straight-line barbed wire on wood or metal posts may enclose an agricultural use of five acres or more registered as protected greenbelt under the Utah Farmland Assessment Act. And electric wire may run along the top of an approved fence round a large animal corral, but has to come off within thirty days of the animals leaving, and is never allowed between incompatible uses or along a public right-of-way.
Electric fence wire may also be used if attached along the top of an approved fence material. Electrically charged fence wire must be removed within 30 days of the time when large animals no longer live on the property.
The answer turns on the material and what the fence encloses.
- chain link
- Prohibited, with or without slats.
- a tennis or sport court
- Vinyl-coated chain link is allowed.
- a registered greenbelt of five acres or more
- Straight-line barbed wire.
- electric wire after the animals go
- Thirty days to take it down. 30 days
Also on materials in Herriman
- 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 Herriman
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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 Herriman 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 Herriman
- 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 Herriman 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
- Herriman CityHerriman City Code, Title 10, Land Development Code, Chapter 10-21, Fences
- 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 Herriman 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