Fence laws in Murray, Utah
What the Murray municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Murray sets no rule of its own, the Utah rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Murray, Utah, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Murray states no distance between a fence and a lot line, asks for no consent from the adjoining owner, and says nothing about which side the finished face or the posts point toward, and the answer turns on whether the city decides the fence is a hazard. The figure is 30 days, for time to move a fence after a determination.
- How tall
- In a Murray front yard setback a solid or opaque fence, wall, hedge or screen is held to three feet, and a non-solid one that is seventy-five percent open and presents no visual barrier to adjoining properties and streets gets 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 setback.
- Permits
- Murray lists eight fence height exceptions and keys almost all of them to what the lot adjoins, and the answer turns on what the lot adjoins and how big it is. The figure is 18 feet, for tallest recreational enclosure.
- 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
- Murray has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Where a fence, wall or hedge sits along a property line separating two lots and the ground differs on the two sides, Murray lets it be built to the maximum height permitted on either side of that line.
- Corner lots
- In all districts requiring a front yard, no obstruction to view may be placed on a corner lot inside a triangle formed by the street property lines and a line joining them twenty-five feet from where those lines meet, and the answer turns on whether the fence complies with the fence regulations. The figure is 25 feet, for leg of the clear view 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
- Murray makes it unlawful to erect or maintain a barbed wire fence or any similar device and then writes three exceptions, and the answer turns on the zone and how the wire is mounted. The figure is 6 feet, for height barbed wire has to start at.
- 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 Murray?
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Murray answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the city decides the fence is a hazard.
Murray states no distance between a fence and a lot line, asks for no consent from the adjoining owner, and says nothing about which side the finished face or the posts point toward. The grade differential section assumes a fence sits along the line and gives it the better of the two permitted heights. What the chapter adds instead is a power that survives compliance: code enforcement officials may require the removal or relocation of a fence which creates a hazard to the general public even where the fence complies with every provision of the chapter, in every zoning district. The judgment is made by those officials together with the City Engineer using line of sight visibility safety considerations. Failing to move the fence within thirty days of that determination is a misdemeanor, so the consequence is criminal rather than a civil penalty.
Code enforcement officials shall have the authority to require the removal or relocation of fences which create a hazard to the general public even when such fences comply with the provisions found in this chapter.
The answer turns on whether the city decides the fence is a hazard.
- an ordinary lot line
- No distance is stated.
- a fence the city calls a hazard
- Removed or relocated even if lawful.
- failing to move it
- A misdemeanor after thirty days. 30 days
Also on fences on the property line in Murray
- 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 Murray?
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Murray answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard and whether the fence is solid or open.
In a Murray front yard setback a solid or opaque fence, wall, hedge or screen is held to three feet, and a non-solid one that is seventy-five percent open and presents no visual barrier to adjoining properties and streets gets four. In an interior side yard a fence may go to six feet with standard fencing material, up to the minimum required front setback line for the zone or the front of the dwelling, whichever is less. Corner side yards and rear yards also get six feet. Non-residential lots get seven feet where the fence stands at least ten feet back from the front property or right-of-way line, with the same three and four foot figures inside that first ten feet, and six feet as the general figure on a corner lot. The three quarters open test is what decides the front of a Murray lot, and it is stricter than the half open test most cities use.
A maximum of four feet (4') in height when utilizing nonsolid fencing which is seventy-five percent (75%) open and presents no visual barriers to adjoining properties and streets. 2. A maximum of three feet (3') in height when utilizing solid or opaque type fencing, walls, hedges, or screens.
17.64.020.A, with B and 17.64.030
The answer turns on the yard and whether the fence is solid or open.
- a solid front yard fence
- Three feet. 3 ft
- one that is three quarters open
- Four feet. 75%
- a side or rear yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a non-residential lot set ten feet back
- Seven feet. 7 ft
Also on fence height in Murray
- 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 Murray?
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Murray answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the lot adjoins and how big it is.
Murray lists eight fence height exceptions and keys almost all of them to what the lot adjoins. A fence-type enclosure not on a property line, such as a tennis court, sport court, swimming pool enclosure or ball diamond backstop, may exceed six feet up to eighteen. A property abutting the interstate freeway system may build ten feet on the freeway line, and a residential property next to the UTA light rail right-of-way may do the same. A residential lot abutting a non-residentially zoned lot gets eight feet, as does any lot abutting a collector or arterial on a side or rear line, and so does any property over half an acre regardless of what is next to it. One exception is written for a single stretch of ground, between Fontaine Bleu Drive and Wheeler Historic Farm along the Jordan and Salt Lake City Canal. Any fence over seven feet is subject to the building permit requirements.
Properties exceeding one-half (1/2) acre in size may erect a fence to a height not exceeding eight feet (8').
The answer turns on what the lot adjoins and how big it is.
- a court or backstop off the line
- Up to eighteen feet. 18 ft
- a freeway or light rail line
- Ten feet. 10 ft
- half an acre or more
- Eight feet anywhere on it. 8 ft
- anything over seven feet
- Building permit requirements apply. 7 ft
Also on permits in Murray
- 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 Murray
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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 Murray 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 Murray
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Murray 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 Murray 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 Murray
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Murray answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where a fence, wall or hedge sits along a property line separating two lots and the ground differs on the two sides, Murray lets it be built to the maximum height permitted on either side of that line. So the owner takes whichever of the two answers is more generous, which is the opposite of the cities that read from the lower grade to protect the neighbor below. The rule is short and it settles the whole question: there is no averaging, no halfway point and no requirement to measure within a radius. It also means the maximum height on a sloping boundary depends on which zone each lot is in as much as on the ground itself, since the figure permitted on either side is what is being compared rather than the elevation.
Where a fence, wall, or hedge is located along a property line separating two (2) lots and there is a difference in the grade of the properties on the two (2) sides of the property line, the fence, wall, or hedge may be erected or allowed to the maximum height permitted on either side of the property line.
Also on how height is measured in Murray
- 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 Murray
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Murray answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence complies with the fence regulations.
In all districts requiring a front yard, no obstruction to view may be placed on a corner lot inside a triangle formed by the street property lines and a line joining them twenty-five feet from where those lines meet. Then comes the clause that changes the whole effect: the triangle does not reach fences which comply with the fence regulations, nor a reasonable number of trees or landscaping pruned high enough to permit unobstructed vision to drivers. So a fence that satisfies the height and openness rules is not caught by the triangle at all, which is the reverse of the usual arrangement where the triangle overrides everything. What does the work at a Murray corner instead is the driveway rule inside the residential section: where a driveway on an abutting property lies within ten feet, a fence may not sit in a triangle drawn ten feet behind the sidewalk unless it is three feet solid or four feet and three quarters open.
no obstruction to view shall be placed on any corner lot within a triangular area formed by the street property lines and a line connecting them at points twenty five feet (25') from the intersection of the street lines, except those fences which comply with the fence regulations and a reasonable number of trees or landscaping pruned high enough to permit unobstructed vision to vehicular drivers.
The answer turns on whether the fence complies with the fence regulations.
- the size of the triangle
- Twenty-five feet. 25 ft
- a fence that meets the fence rules
- Excepted from it.
- a driveway on the neighbor's lot
- A ten foot triangle behind the sidewalk. 10 ft
Also on corner visibility in Murray
- 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 Murray
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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 Murray 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 Murray
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Murray answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone and how the wire is mounted.
Murray makes it unlawful to erect or maintain a barbed wire fence or any similar device and then writes three exceptions. On commercial or industrial property the wire is allowed so long as it is attached at the top of a fence at a height of not less than six feet above the ground. On agricultural property it is allowed so long as it is not used in connection with a residential purpose. On residential property it is allowed only with prior approval from the Planning Commission, and in no circumstances may it extend into the required front yard setback. Electrified fencing is unlawful anywhere except agricultural areas, and even there the power source may not exceed twelve volts direct current, which is a specification rather than a ban and rules out mains-driven energizers.
Residential: Allowed only if prior approval is given by the Planning Commission. In a residential area, under no circumstances may the barbed wire extend into the required front yard setback.
The answer turns on the zone and how the wire is mounted.
- a commercial or industrial lot
- On top of a fence, from six feet up. 6 ft
- a residential lot
- Only with the Planning Commission.
- an electric fence
- Agricultural areas only, twelve volts DC.
Also on materials in Murray
- 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 Murray
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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 Murray 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 Murray
- 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
19 documents, of which 6 were published by Murray 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
- Murray CityMurray City Code, Title 17, Zoning, Section 17.64.100, Creation of Public Hazard Prohibited
- 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
- Murray CityMurray City Code, Title 17, Zoning, Section 17.64.020, Residential Fencing Regulations
- Murray CityMurray City Code, Title 17, Zoning, Section 17.64.090, Fence Height Exceptions
- 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
- Murray CityMurray City Code, Title 17, Zoning, Section 17.64.040, Grade Differential
- 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
- Murray CityMurray City Code, Title 17, Zoning, Section 17.64.060, Clear View of Intersecting Streets
- 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
- Murray CityMurray City Code, Title 17, Zoning, Section 17.64.080, Barbed Wire and Electrical Fencing Restrictions
- 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 Murray 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