Fence laws in South Jordan, Utah
What the South Jordan municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where South Jordan sets no rule of its own, the Utah rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in South Jordan, 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
- A maximum six foot fence or hedge may be installed and maintained between a dwelling and a rear or side lot line in South Jordan, and the answer turns on the yard and whether the fence obscures the view. The figure is 6 feet, for fence between the house and a rear or side line.
- Permits
- No wall, collector street fence, or fence over six feet that requires a permit may be built, rebuilt, remodeled, relocated or altered in South Jordan without first obtaining the required permits or approvals from the city, and the application has to come with construction plans, exterior elevation plans and site plans drawn to scale showing the lot dimensions, the size and setbacks of existing and proposed structures and of adjacent ones, and the answer turns on what the fence is and where it stands. The figure is 6 feet, for height at which a permit is required.
- 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
- South Jordan has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- South Jordan defines fence height as the vertical distance from the ground to the top of the fence panel, and says in the same definition what a panel is: the portion of fence between the poles or supports. The figure is 3 feet, for setback of a fence from the top of a retaining wall.
- Corner lots
- No visual obstruction over three feet, landscape materials included, may sit inside a ten foot triangle formed by the edge of a driveway and the street right-of-way line, or inside a thirty foot triangle formed by lines measured from the top back curb of the intersecting streets, or from the edge of asphalt where there is no curb, and the answer turns on whether the corner is a street intersection or a driveway. The figure is 30 feet, for leg of the intersection clear vision area.
- 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
- A front yard fence in South Jordan has to be decorative wrought iron, simulated wrought iron or non-obscuring vinyl picket if it is to reach four feet, and masonry or solid vinyl only at three, and the answer turns on where the fence stands and what it separates. The figure is 6 feet, for masonry fence along a hazardous area.
- 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 South Jordan?
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 South Jordan 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 South Jordan
- 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 South Jordan?
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South Jordan answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard and whether the fence obscures the view.
A maximum six foot fence or hedge may be installed and maintained between a dwelling and a rear or side lot line in South Jordan. The front is split by what the fence is made of rather than by a single number. A non-visually obscuring decorative wrought iron, simulated wrought iron or non-obscuring vinyl picket fence may reach four feet and may run along a side lot line out to the right-of-way or sidewalk of a neighborhood street. A masonry or solid vinyl fence, or a hedge, may also run to the line but may not be greater than three feet. So the more open the fence, the taller it may be. Along a collector street the same idea repeats with a third option: six feet is allowed parallel to the right-of-way if it is set back ten feet from the sidewalk with approved landscaping.
Rear And Side Yard Fencing: A maximum six foot (6') high fence and/or hedge may be installed and maintained between a dwelling and a rear or side lot line.
17.20 and the fencing standards repeated in each zone
The answer turns on the yard and whether the fence obscures the view.
- a rear or side lot line
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a see through front yard fence
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a solid front yard fence or hedge
- Three feet. 3 ft
- a collector street frontage
- Six feet, ten feet back and landscaped. 10 ft
Also on fence height in South Jordan
- 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 South Jordan?
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South Jordan answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence is and where it stands.
No wall, collector street fence, or fence over six feet that requires a permit may be built, rebuilt, remodeled, relocated or altered in South Jordan without first obtaining the required permits or approvals from the city, and the application has to come with construction plans, exterior elevation plans and site plans drawn to scale showing the lot dimensions, the size and setbacks of existing and proposed structures and of adjacent ones. An ordinary back yard fence at six feet is outside that. Two other fences are required rather than permitted. A swimming pool has to sit at least five feet from the property lines and be completely enclosed by a non-climbable fence or wall of at least six feet, with openings no larger than thirty-six square inches and gates that are self-closing and self-latching. And a commercial, office, industrial or multi-family construction site has to carry a temporary six foot chain link or similar safety fence for the whole of the project, kept in excellent condition and locked when unattended.
No building, sign, structure, wall or collector street fence or fence over six feet (6') tall requiring a permit shall be constructed, reconstructed, remodeled, relocated or altered without first obtaining required permits or approvals from the City.
17.04.150, with 17.04.250 and 16.04.200
The answer turns on what the fence is and where it stands.
- a fence over six feet or on a collector street
- Permits and scaled plans. 6 ft
- a swimming pool
- Six feet, non-climbable, openings under thirty-six square inches.
- a construction site
- Six feet of chain link, locked when unattended.
Also on permits in South Jordan
- 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 South Jordan
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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 South Jordan 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 South Jordan
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South Jordan 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 South Jordan 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 South Jordan
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South Jordan answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
South Jordan defines fence height as the vertical distance from the ground to the top of the fence panel, and says in the same definition what a panel is: the portion of fence between the poles or supports. So the reading is taken at the panel rather than at the post, and minimal fence poles or supports may extend no higher than six inches above it. The front yard rules tighten that to four inches for a post or pillar there, and cap a brick pillar at eighteen inches square, no closer than ten feet on center. The definition then adds a separation rule most codes leave out: fencing constructed above a retaining wall has to be located at least three feet from the top of that wall. So a fence cannot sit on the edge of a wall and read as one structure, and the three feet leaves a shelf between them.
HEIGHT, FENCE: The vertical distance from the ground to the top of the fence panel (portion of fence between the fence poles or supports). Minimal fence poles or supports may extend no higher than six inches (6") above the fence panel. Fencing constructed above a retaining wall shall be located a minimum of three feet (3') from the top of said retaining wall.
17.08, definition of HEIGHT, FENCE
3 ftsetback of a fence from the top of a retaining wall
Also on how height is measured in South Jordan
- 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 South Jordan
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South Jordan answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the corner is a street intersection or a driveway.
No visual obstruction over three feet, landscape materials included, may sit inside a ten foot triangle formed by the edge of a driveway and the street right-of-way line, or inside a thirty foot triangle formed by lines measured from the top back curb of the intersecting streets, or from the edge of asphalt where there is no curb. Two things are expressly excluded from the ban. A mature tree pruned at least seven feet above the ground may stand there, and so, on the face of the sentence, may a fence, which is unusual enough to be worth noting because most codes catch fences first. The City Engineer may approve or require a smaller or larger triangle based on traffic speeds, flow, volumes and other traffic related variables, so the thirty feet is a default rather than a fixed figure.
No visual obstruction above three feet (3’) tall including landscape materials, except for mature trees which are pruned at least seven feet (7') above the ground and fences, shall be located within a ten foot (10') triangular area formed by the edge of a driveway and the street right-of-way line or within a thirty foot (30') triangular area formed by lines measured from the top back curb of the intersecting streets
The answer turns on whether the corner is a street intersection or a driveway.
- a street intersection
- Thirty feet from the back of curb. 30 ft
- a driveway
- Ten feet. 10 ft
- a pruned mature tree
- Excluded, above seven feet.
- the City Engineer
- May make the area bigger or smaller.
Also on corner visibility in South Jordan
- 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 South Jordan
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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 South Jordan 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 South Jordan
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South Jordan answers this, but the answer changes depending on where the fence stands and what it separates.
A front yard fence in South Jordan has to be decorative wrought iron, simulated wrought iron or non-obscuring vinyl picket if it is to reach four feet, and masonry or solid vinyl only at three. Along a collector street the list widens to reinforced non-obscuring vinyl picket or split rail, decorative wrought iron, or decorative precast concrete or integrally colored and textured block, brick, stone or other masonry with an approved cap, and masonry fences there have to carry an architectural pattern in earth tone colors. Where uses or zones clash the code specifies masonry outright: a minimum six foot decorative precast or integrally colored and textured block, brick, stone or other masonry fence with an approved cap along hazardous areas such as railroads, canals, ditches and flood channels, and again between a development and any adjacent parcel allowed to keep large animals, with the City Engineer approving the design for that purpose.
A minimum six foot (6') tall, decorative precast or integrally colored and textured block, brick, stone or other masonry fence and/or wall, with an approved cap fence, or wall, shall be installed along hazardous areas as identified by the Planning Commission such as railroads, canals, ditches, flood channels, waterways, etc.
The answer turns on where the fence stands and what it separates.
- a four foot front yard fence
- Wrought iron or non-obscuring picket.
- a masonry or solid vinyl fence at the front
- Three feet.
- a railroad, canal or flood channel
- Six feet of capped masonry. 6 ft
- a neighbor keeping large animals
- The same, with the City Engineer approving.
Also on materials in South Jordan
- 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 South Jordan
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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 South Jordan 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 South Jordan
- 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
15 documents, of which 2 were published by South Jordan 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
- City of South JordanSouth Jordan Municipal Code, Title 17, Planning and Zoning Code
- 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
- City of South JordanSouth Jordan Municipal Code, Section 16.04.200, Fencing
- 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 South Jordan 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