Fence laws in Lehi, Utah
What the Lehi municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Lehi sets no rule of its own, the Utah rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Lehi, Utah, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Lehi sets no distance between a fence and a lot line and asks for no consent from the adjoining owner, so a fence may sit on the boundary, and the retaining wall paragraph expressly contemplates a wall on the line separating two lots, and the answer turns on whether utility equipment stands in the way.
- How tall
- Fences, walls and hedges in Lehi may not exceed six feet unless the code requires otherwise, the Land Use Authority approves, or an exception is granted, and the answer turns on the yard, and whether an exception has been granted. The figure is 6 feet, for fence away from the street.
- Permits
- Utah 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.
- 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
- Lehi has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Where the ground differs on the two sides of a fence, wall or hedge, Lehi measures the height from the natural grade of the property the fence stands on, and the answer turns on which lot the fence stands on and what is under it. The figure is 36 inches, for absolute limit inside a sight triangle.
- Corner lots
- In all zoning districts, nothing over three feet above the finished road grade may sit on a corner inside a triangle formed by the face of the curbs and a line joining them thirty-five feet from the intersection, and the answer turns on whether the corner is a street intersection or a driveway. The figure is 35 feet, for leg of the clear view triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Lehi states outright what several codes leave to be argued, and the answer turns on whether the wall sits inside a sight triangle.
- Materials
- Lehi splits the two wires that most codes treat together, and the answer turns on the zone and which wire is being used.
- 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 Lehi?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Lehi answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether utility equipment stands in the way.
Lehi sets no distance between a fence and a lot line and asks for no consent from the adjoining owner, so a fence may sit on the boundary, and the retaining wall paragraph expressly contemplates a wall on the line separating two lots. What it does require is room for the equipment that ends up in that strip. Any fence or wall has to either step around dry utility equipment, leaving the working clearances that equipment needs, or provide an access gate with the clearances required to reach, operate and maintain it. That is a real constraint on a fence run along a front or side boundary in a subdivision, where transformers and communication cabinets sit. Nothing in the section says which side the finished face or the posts point toward, and nothing divides the cost of a shared fence, so both remain matters between neighbors.
Any fence or wall shall either step around dry utility equipment providing required working clearances
The answer turns on whether utility equipment stands in the way.
- an ordinary lot line
- No distance is stated.
- a utility cabinet on the line
- Step around it, or fit a gate.
- orientation and cost
- Neither is addressed.
Also on fences on the property line in Lehi
- 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 Lehi?
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Lehi answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, and whether an exception has been granted.
Fences, walls and hedges in Lehi may not exceed six feet unless the code requires otherwise, the Land Use Authority approves, or an exception is granted. The first ground for an exception is stated rather than left to judgment: a fence between six and eight feet is granted where it is needed to enjoy a similar level of privacy that a six foot fence would normally provide but does not, because of differences in grade, or where safety conditions require a taller fence. That one is reviewed by the departments and approved by the Zoning Administrator. A second ground is open ended, with the applicant carrying the burden of proving the extra height is justified and the Planning Commission deciding after a public hearing. In the residential districts a fence on the front property line, within fifteen feet of it, or on a side yard line next to a street drops to thirty-six inches. A double frontage lot may carry six feet in the rear yard.
Fences, walls, and hedges shall not exceed six feet in height, unless otherwise required by Code, approval by the Land Use Authority, or an exception is granted according to the following:
The answer turns on the yard, and whether an exception has been granted.
- most of the lot
- Six feet. 6 ft
- an exception for grade or safety
- Up to eight feet. 8 ft
- within fifteen feet of the front line
- Thirty-six inches. 36 in
- a corner lot side yard
- Six feet, clear of the sight triangles.
Also on fence height in Lehi
- 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 Lehi?
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Utah answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Utah 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.
This one is Utah law, not Lehi law. All Utah findings
the 2021 edition of the International Residential Code, issued by the International Code Council;
Pool fence requirements in Lehi
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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 Lehi 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 Lehi
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Lehi 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 Lehi 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 Lehi
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Lehi answers this, but the answer changes depending on which lot the fence stands on and what is under it.
Where the ground differs on the two sides of a fence, wall or hedge, Lehi measures the height from the natural grade of the property the fence stands on. That reads in the owner favor rather than the neighbor favor, and it is the same rule Provo uses. Near the street the datum changes: the thirty-six inch limit within fifteen feet of a front property line is measured from the adjacent sidewalk or the finished grade rather than from the lot. The retaining wall rule then adds the two together in the other direction. Where a retaining wall holds a cut or a fill and sits on the line separating two lots, it may be topped by a fence, wall or hedge of the full height that would have been permitted if no retaining wall existed, in addition to the height of the wall. The one hard limit on that is a sight triangle, where nothing may pass thirty-six inches whatever is underneath it.
the height of the fence shall be measured from the natural grade of the property upon which it is located.
The answer turns on which lot the fence stands on and what is under it.
- a sloping boundary
- Read from the lot the fence is on.
- near the front line
- Read from the sidewalk instead.
- a fence on a retaining wall
- Full height on top of the wall.
- inside a sight triangle
- Thirty-six inches, whatever is underneath. 36 in
Also on how height is measured in Lehi
- 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 Lehi
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Lehi answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the corner is a street intersection or a driveway.
In all zoning districts, nothing over three feet above the finished road grade may sit on a corner inside a triangle formed by the face of the curbs and a line joining them thirty-five feet from the intersection. The code prints a figure and says in the caption that the hatched area may not be obstructed with landscaping, fencing, utilities or any other feature over three feet, so the rule reaches more than fences. The City Engineer or a designee may make exceptions, and may instead enforce the AASHTO sight triangle requirements, which can be larger. A driveway carries its own triangle of twenty feet measured from the point where the driveway meets the back of walk, and where a six foot side yard fence on a corner lot runs into it the code says the fence has to be built diagonally along the edge of that triangle to keep the clearance.
In all zoning districts, no obstruction to public or private street views in excess of three feet in height above the finished road grade shall be placed on any corner within a triangular area formed by face of curbs and a line connecting them 35 feet from the intersection
The answer turns on whether the corner is a street intersection or a driveway.
- a street intersection
- Thirty-five feet from the face of the curbs. 35 ft
- a driveway
- Twenty feet from the back of walk. 20 ft
- anything inside either
- Three feet. 3 ft
- the City Engineer
- May enforce the AASHTO triangle instead.
Also on corner visibility in Lehi
- 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 Lehi
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Lehi answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the wall sits inside a sight triangle.
Lehi states outright what several codes leave to be argued. Where a retaining wall protects a cut below or a fill above the natural grade and sits on the line separating two lots, the wall may be topped by a fence, wall or hedge of the same height that would otherwise have been permitted there if the retaining wall did not exist, and that height is in addition to the height of the wall. So a six foot fence on a four foot wall is a legal ten feet as measured from the low side, and the neighbor below has no claim under the fence rules. The sentence that follows is the only brake: in no case may a fence within a required sight triangle exceed thirty-six inches, measured from the adjacent sidewalk or finished grade. Retaining walls themselves are governed by their own chapter, Chapter 12-C.
such retaining wall may be topped by a fence, wall , or hedge of the same height that would otherwise be permitted at the location if no retaining wall existed in addition to the height of the retaining wall.
The answer turns on whether the wall sits inside a sight triangle.
- a retaining wall on the line
- A full height fence on top of it.
- the same wall inside a sight triangle
- Thirty-six inches total.
- the wall itself
- Chapter 12-C governs it.
Also on retaining walls in Lehi
- 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 Lehi
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Lehi answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone and which wire is being used.
Lehi splits the two wires that most codes treat together. Barbed wire fencing is allowed where it goes with an agricultural use in the three agricultural and rural zones, and in the light industrial and public facilities zones for security, and in any zone temporarily during construction. Razor wire is prohibited in all zones unless it is explicitly required by state or federal law for security purposes, which is a far narrower exception than the usual one for industrial property: wanting it is not enough, a law has to demand it. Nothing else in the section names a permitted material, so an ordinary fence may be built of anything at the stated heights. Certain fences are lifted out of the section altogether, with tennis court backstops and patio enclosures named, where the Zoning Administrator determines they create no hazard and break no other part of the code.
Razor wire fencing is prohibited in all zones unless explicitly required by state or federal law for security purposes.
The answer turns on the zone and which wire is being used.
- barbed wire
- Agricultural, light industrial and public facility zones.
- razor wire
- Only where a law requires it.
- a construction site
- Barbed wire temporarily, in any zone.
- a tennis backstop or patio enclosure
- Outside the section, with the administrator agreeing.
Also on materials in Lehi
- 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 Lehi
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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 Lehi 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 Lehi
- 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 Lehi 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
- Lehi CityLehi City Development Code, Chapter 12, Development Standards
- 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 Lehi 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