Fence laws in Sandy, Utah
What the Sandy municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Sandy sets no rule of its own, the Utah rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Sandy, Utah, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Utah splits the cost of a fence on the line between two owners. The figure is 50 percent, for share of an existing fence value paid by a later adjoining owner when it becomes a partition fence.
- How tall
- In any required side or rear yard in Sandy a fence may not exceed six feet, and the answer turns on the yard and whether the fence is solid or open. The figure is 6 feet, for fence in a side or rear yard.
- Permits
- Where a subdivider builds on property abutting an arterial street in Sandy, the code makes them construct a wall along the back property line of the abutting lots at their own expense, and an arterial is defined as any public road with a right-of-way of eighty-four feet or more, with eight named streets listed as examples, and the answer turns on whether the subdivision backs onto an arterial. The figure is 20 feet, for closest spacing of pilasters.
- 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
- Sandy has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Sandy measures a fence from the highest grade, so where the ground differs across a boundary the taller side sets the number and the fence ends up shorter as the lower neighbor sees it. The figure is 11 feet, for fence and retaining wall combined.
- Corner lots
- Sandy handles the corner with a distance rather than a triangle a homeowner has to draw, and the answer turns on how far the fence stands from the intersection. The figure is 60 feet, for distance from the intersection that frees the height.
- Retaining walls
- A retaining wall on the line separating two lots in Sandy may not exceed five feet, and the answer turns on how deep the cut or fill is. The figure is 5 feet, for tallest single retaining wall on a line.
- Materials
- Acceptable fence materials in Sandy are lumber, vinyl, chain link, wrought iron, precast concrete panels, concrete block, or another solid durable material the Director approves, so the list is open at one end, and the answer turns on the location and what the fence is for.
- 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 Sandy?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Utah answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Utah 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.
This one is Utah law, not Sandy law. All Utah findings
the owner of the adjoining land shall, before making the enclosure, pay to the owner of the existing fence one-half of the value of all that part of the fence that will become a partition fence.
50%share of an existing fence value paid by a later adjoining owner when it becomes a partition fence
Also on fences on the property line in Sandy
- 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 Sandy?
Compare fence height across all 50 states
Sandy answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard and whether the fence is solid or open.
In any required side or rear yard in Sandy a fence may not exceed six feet. In a required front yard the answer depends on how much light passes through: a solid fence stops at three feet and an open one, wrought iron being the example given, gets four. A fence on a slope may go to seven feet provided its average height is no greater than six feet six inches, which lets the top run level across falling ground. Fence posts, gate posts, pillars and support columns may extend twelve inches above the maximum where they are separated by at least six linear feet of fencing and are no more than eighteen inches in diameter or width, and gate posts may stand as close as three feet apart with no more than one gate per fence frontage. A commercial front yard fence between the building and the front property line has to be decorative iron, or decorative iron with brick pillars, at up to six feet.
Front Yards. Fences in required front yards shall be allowed provided that solid type fences shall not exceed three feet, and open type fences (e.g., wrought iron) shall not exceed four feet.
21-28-3, Fences; Residential Standards
The answer turns on the yard and whether the fence is solid or open.
- a side or rear yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a solid front yard fence
- Three feet. 3 ft
- an open front yard fence
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a fence on a slope
- Seven feet, averaging six feet six. 7 ft
Also on fence height in Sandy
- 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 Sandy?
Compare permits across all 50 states
Sandy answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the subdivision backs onto an arterial.
Where a subdivider builds on property abutting an arterial street in Sandy, the code makes them construct a wall along the back property line of the abutting lots at their own expense, and an arterial is defined as any public road with a right-of-way of eighty-four feet or more, with eight named streets listed as examples. The Planning Commission approves the wall only on three performance criteria: a durable or useful life of at least twenty years, a wind load of at least eighty miles an hour, and maintenance free for at least five years. Four further requirements follow. The wall has to be broken roughly every twenty to thirty feet by pilasters, columns, jogs or another variation to give a visual breaking point. Chain link, chain link with slats, picket and wood are all excluded. An anti-graffiti coating is required as approved by the Parks and Recreation Department. And the structural design goes to the City Engineer.
Durable or useful life of at least 20 years duration; Wind load of at least 80 miles per hour; and Maintenance free for at least five years duration.
21-28-9, Walls Along Arterial Highways
The answer turns on whether the subdivision backs onto an arterial.
- the life of the wall
- Twenty years.
- the pilasters
- Every twenty to thirty feet. 20 ft
- graffiti
- An anti-graffiti coating is required.
- a sports court or patio enclosure
- Outside the chapter, with the Director agreeing.
Also on permits in Sandy
- 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 Sandy
Compare pool barriers across all 50 states
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 Sandy 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 Sandy
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Sandy 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 Sandy 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 Sandy
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Sandy answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Sandy measures a fence from the highest grade, so where the ground differs across a boundary the taller side sets the number and the fence ends up shorter as the lower neighbor sees it. The second sentence caps what a retaining wall can add: the combined height of a fence and a retaining wall may not exceed eleven feet. That is a generous ceiling by the standards of this set, and it is written as a total rather than as an exemption, so the wall counts. The commercial standards use the same idea on a side or rear line, holding a fence to six feet measured from the highest elevation on either side, and the arterial wall section allows a combined retaining and barrier wall of eight feet where soil retention is needed. Posts are treated separately and may run twelve inches above the fence when spaced six feet apart.
Measurement of Fence Height. The height of a fence shall be measured from the highest grade. The combined height of a fence and retaining wall shall not exceed 11 feet, unless otherwise allowed herein
21-28-3, Measurement of Fence Height
11 ftfence and retaining wall combined
Also on how height is measured in Sandy
- 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 Sandy
Compare corner visibility across all 50 states
Sandy answers this, but the answer changes depending on how far the fence stands from the intersection.
Sandy handles the corner with a distance rather than a triangle a homeowner has to draw. On a corner lot, in the side yard setback fronting a street, six feet is allowed beyond sixty feet from the intersection measured from the intersecting extended curb lines, and within that sixty feet the fence has to meet the front yard figures instead, which means three feet solid or four feet open. A second and smaller rule covers the neighbor driveway: a clear view zone has to be kept free of fencing, except a see-through fence or a view obscuring one no higher than three feet, where a driveway on the adjacent lot sits within ten feet of the shared property line, and that zone is a triangle drawn ten feet back from where the shared interior line meets the right-of-way. The commercial standards send the question to the AASHTO publications and note that sixty feet is often sufficient but increases significantly near the inside of a horizontal curve.
In the side yard setback that fronts on a street, height up to six feet shall be allowed beyond 60 feet from the intersection measured from the intersecting extended curb lines. Height within the 60 foot area shall conform to the requirements of a front yard setback.
21-28-3, Corner Lots, with 21-28-5
The answer turns on how far the fence stands from the intersection.
- beyond sixty feet from the corner
- Six feet. 60 ft
- inside that sixty feet
- Three feet solid, four open.
- a driveway on the next lot
- A ten foot clear view zone. 10 ft
- a commercial corner
- Sized by AASHTO, and larger on a curve.
Also on corner visibility in Sandy
- 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 Sandy
Compare retaining walls across all 50 states
Sandy answers this, but the answer changes depending on how deep the cut or fill is.
A retaining wall on the line separating two lots in Sandy may not exceed five feet. Where the cut or fill to be held back is deeper than that, the wall has to be stepped, with each step separated horizontally by at least five feet, so a ten foot drop becomes two walls and a five foot planted shelf rather than one tall face. The uppermost wall may then be topped by a fence, wall or hedge of the height that would have been permitted there if no retaining wall existed. The Planning Commission may grant a special exception where stepping would cause an unreasonable hardship, and the code gives its own example: where stepping would eat the side or rear yard and leave the owner with a strip of unusable space under five feet, or where it is impractical because of adjoining uses.
Where a retaining wall protects a cut below or a fill above the natural grade and is located on the line separating lots or properties, such retaining wall shall not exceed five feet. For cuts/fills to be retained that exceed five feet, retaining walls shall be stepped and separated horizontally by a minimum of five feet.
The answer turns on how deep the cut or fill is.
- a single wall on the line
- Five feet. 5 ft
- a deeper cut
- Stepped, with five feet between.
- the top wall
- A full height fence on top of it.
- a hardship
- The Planning Commission may excuse the stepping.
Also on retaining walls in Sandy
- 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 Sandy
Compare materials across all 50 states
Sandy answers this, but the answer changes depending on the location and what the fence is for.
Acceptable fence materials in Sandy are lumber, vinyl, chain link, wrought iron, precast concrete panels, concrete block, or another solid durable material the Director approves, so the list is open at one end. Barbed wire runs the other way: fences containing strands of barbed wire or similar fencing designed to prevent intrusions are prohibited unless the Director specifically approves them for public safety, health or welfare, and the section names fencing for farm animals and public utility stations as examples of what may qualify. On a hillside lot in the sensitive area overlay the palette narrows to a color rule, with only dark brown, dark green or black vinyl coated chain link allowed, stated so the fence blends into the native landscape. A wall along an arterial may not be chain link, chain link with slats, picket or wood at all.
Fences containing strands of barbed wire or other similar fencing designed to prevent intrusions are prohibited unless specifically approved by the Director for public safety, health, or welfare.
21-28-3, Approved Fencing Materials, with 21-28-7 and 21-28-4
The answer turns on the location and what the fence is for.
- an ordinary fence
- Six named materials, plus what the Director allows.
- barbed wire
- Prohibited unless the Director approves it.
- a hillside lot
- Dark coated chain link only.
- a wall along an arterial
- No chain link, picket or wood.
Also on materials in Sandy
- 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 Sandy
Compare agricultural fencing across all 50 states
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 Sandy 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 Sandy
- 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 Sandy 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
- 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
- Sandy CitySandy City Municipal Code, Title 21, Land Development Code, Chapter 21-28, Fencing
- 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 Sandy 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