Fence laws in St. George, Utah
What the St. George municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where St. George sets no rule of its own, the Utah rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in St. George, Utah, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- No fence approved under the chapter may be erected beyond a property line or on the public right-of-way, so a fence may reach the line but nothing of it may cross, and the answer turns on what the fence is standing next to. The figure is 1 foot, for distance from a sidewalk that triggers the strip.
- How tall
- St, and the answer turns on the zone, the yard and the class of street. The figure is 6 feet, for fence in a side or rear yard.
- Permits
- A permit is required before construction for any fence or retaining wall built in a front setback, unless it is already shown in detail on approved site development plans, and the answer turns on where the structure stands and what it is built of. The figure is 4 feet, for wall height that triggers a permit.
- 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
- St. George has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Because so much in St, and the answer turns on which part of the fence is being measured. The figure is 24 inches, for widest support post.
- Corner lots
- St. George leaves corner clearance to the sight distance triangle, which the fence chapter names but does not dimension.
- Retaining walls
- St, and the answer turns on how tall the wall is and how far back it stands. The figure is 4 feet, for retaining wall in a residential front setback.
- Materials
- Barbed wire, razor ribbon and similar fencing material are prohibited in every St, and the answer turns on the zone and how the wire is strung. The figure is 7 feet, for combined fence and barbed wire height.
- 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 St. George?
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St. George answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence is standing next to.
No fence approved under the chapter may be erected beyond a property line or on the public right-of-way, so a fence may reach the line but nothing of it may cross. A practical rule follows: where a fence is installed within one foot of a public sidewalk, concrete or gravel has to be installed between the fence and the sidewalk to stop weeds growing in the gap, and maintaining the strip between the back of sidewalk and the property line is the responsibility of the owner or the homeowners association. The chapter then lists clearances from utility equipment that most codes leave to a utility company: five feet from a pad-mount transformer or four way vault, ten feet from the door side of pad-mount switch gear and five from the other sides, five feet from a fire hydrant, three feet from a water meter box, a video or communication pedestal or a streetlight, and seven and a half feet from a power pole.
No fence approved under this chapter shall be erected beyond a property line or on the public right-of-way. If a fence is installed within one foot (1') of a public sidewalk, concrete or gravel shall be installed between the fence and the sidewalk to prevent weeds from growing in this area.
The answer turns on what the fence is standing next to.
- a property line
- Up to it, never past it.
- within a foot of a sidewalk
- A concrete or gravel strip behind it. 1 ft
- a power pole
- Seven and a half feet clear.
- a fire hydrant
- Five feet clear. 5 ft
Also on fences on the property line in St. George
- 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 St. George?
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St. George answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone, the yard and the class of street.
St. George holds a fence to six feet four inches in the side and rear yards, which is an odd figure and it recurs through the whole chapter. In the front yard setback the limit is four feet, and within the front ten feet behind the sidewalk, or behind the property line where there is no sidewalk, only a decorative fence such as a picket or wrought iron fence at least fifty percent open is allowed at all. The large lot and agricultural zones get a different answer: a fence up to six feet four inches may stand in the front yard setback there provided it is at least half open and is not within ten feet of the sidewalk. On a minor arterial or larger street any lot may build to six feet four inches in the front setback. A chain link or mesh fence enclosing a tennis court or other court game area may reach twelve feet on interior side and rear lines, but not in a front or street side setback.
A. No fence shall exceed six feet (6') four inches (4") in height in the side and rear yards. B. In the front yard setback, no fence shall exceed four feet (4') in height.
The answer turns on the zone, the yard and the class of street.
- a side or rear yard
- Six feet four inches. 6 ft
- a front yard setback
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a large lot or agricultural zone
- Six feet four inches, if half open and set back. 50%
- a tennis court
- Twelve feet of mesh, away from the street. 12 ft
Also on fence height in St. George
- 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 St. George?
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St. George answers this, but the answer changes depending on where the structure stands and what it is built of.
A permit is required before construction for any fence or retaining wall built in a front setback, unless it is already shown in detail on approved site development plans. Separately, a rockery, segmental block, reinforced concrete or CMU retaining wall of four feet or more may not be built without a permit, on the same exception. The application has to include a site plan showing property lines, sidewalks, buildings, heights and the locations of all fences and retaining walls, plus a landscape and drainage plan for the walls. Where the wall is a big one the documents run further, to a dimensioned grading plan, cross sections showing rock or block size for each lift, reinforcing, backfill and drainage, and a site-specific geotechnical report. Concrete and CMU wall height is measured from the top of the footing, while rockery and segmental block walls are measured from the exposed face to finished grade at the base.
Rockery, segmental block, reinforced concrete, or CMU retaining walls four feet (4') or greater in height shall not be constructed without first obtaining a permit from the city of St. George unless shown in detail on an approved site development plan.
The answer turns on where the structure stands and what it is built of.
- anything in a front setback
- A permit first.
- a retaining wall of four feet or more
- A permit, and drawings. 4 ft
- a safety net over six feet
- A building department permit. 6 ft
Also on permits in St. George
- 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 St. George
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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 St. George 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 St. George
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St. George 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 St. George 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 St. George
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St. George answers this, but the answer changes depending on which part of the fence is being measured.
Because so much in St. George turns on whether a fence is half open, the code says exactly where that is measured: opacity is read on the fence panel between structural supports. The posts are then bounded separately so they cannot be used to close the fence up, with support posts, columns and similar structural elements limited to twenty-four inches in width or diameter and required to stand at least ten feet apart. A fence made of narrow panels between fat piers therefore fails on the piers rather than on the panels. One more sentence closes the other common route to extra height: berms may not be used to artificially increase the maximum allowed fence height, so the ground under a fence is not a way to add to it. A combined fence and retaining wall is capped at eight or ten feet depending on how far back the wall stands.
Opacity is measured based on the fence panel between structural supports. Support posts, columns, or similar structural elements shall not exceed twenty-four inches (24") in width or diameter and shall be separated by a minimum distance of ten feet (10').
The answer turns on which part of the fence is being measured.
- openness
- Measured on the panel, not the whole fence.
- a post or column
- Twenty-four inches wide, ten feet apart. 24 in
- a berm under the fence
- It may not be used to add height.
Also on how height is measured in St. George
- 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 St. George
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St. George does not set this. It leaves it to the sight distance triangle, which the fence chapter names but does not dimension.
The fence chapter states the height and not the shape. No obstruction to view in excess of three feet may be placed within the sight distance triangle, and the triangle itself is named rather than drawn, so the dimensions sit outside the fence chapter. What the chapter does add is where the same idea bites elsewhere. A solid fence round a development without individual lots may run to six feet four inches in the front setback but has to drop to three feet at every driveway entrance and intersection, in the same manner as the clear view requirement, and has to stand ten feet back from the sidewalk. So the three foot figure is the one to remember at a corner and at a driveway alike, and the missing piece is how far back from the junction it reaches.
No obstruction to view in excess of three feet (3') in height shall be placed within the “sight distance triangle.”
The code hands this to the sight distance triangle, which the fence chapter names but does not dimension, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in St. George
- 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 St. George
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St. George answers this, but the answer changes depending on how tall the wall is and how far back it stands.
St. George sizes its retaining wall rules by distance from the street. In a residential front yard setback no retaining wall may exceed four feet, and in a commercial or manufacturing one six feet, with no retaining wall at all within the front ten feet behind the sidewalk. On a street side a wall under four feet may be built if set back at least five feet from the back of sidewalk, and a combination fence and retaining wall there may not exceed eight feet. A wall of four feet or more has to stand ten feet back, and the combination may then reach ten. A wall below street grade may not exceed ten feet, has to sit ten feet back from the right-of-way, and may not put any part of itself, geogrid and footings included, in the utility easement. The slope from sidewalk grade to the face of the wall may not be steeper than ten to one.
In a residential zone in the required front yard setback, no retaining wall shall exceed four feet (4') in height. In a commercial or manufacturing zone in the required front yard setback, no retaining wall shall exceed six feet (6') in height.
The answer turns on how tall the wall is and how far back it stands.
- a residential front setback
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a wall under four feet on a street side
- Five feet back, eight feet combined. 5 ft
- a wall of four feet or more
- Ten feet back, ten feet combined. 10 ft
- the front ten feet behind the sidewalk
- No retaining wall at all.
Also on retaining walls in St. George
- 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 St. George
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St. George answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone and how the wire is strung.
Barbed wire, razor ribbon and similar fencing material are prohibited in every St. George zone except the agricultural, manufacturing and two commercial zones, and in the residential estates zone they are allowed only for an agricultural use. Where they are permitted, three conditions follow. The wire has to be pulled straight and may not be rolled or coiled, which rules out concertina. Straight strands on top of a fence or wall may not take the combined fence and wire height past seven feet, so the wire eats into the fence allowance rather than sitting above it. And in the commercial zones wire may not be used within the twenty foot front setback area or along any common lot line with a residential zone or development. Nothing else in the chapter names a permitted material, so an ordinary fence may be built of anything at the stated heights and openness.
Barbed wire, razor ribbon and similar fencing material is prohibited in all zones except agricultural, manufacturing and C-2 and C-3 zones.
The answer turns on the zone and how the wire is strung.
- most zones
- Prohibited.
- where it is allowed
- Pulled straight, never coiled.
- fence and wire together
- Seven feet. 7 ft
- a commercial front setback
- No wire within twenty feet. 20 ft
Also on materials in St. George
- 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 St. George
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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 St. George 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 St. George
- 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
16 documents, of which 3 were published by St. George 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
- City of St. GeorgeSt. George City Code, Title 10, Zoning Regulations, Section 10-18-1, 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
- City of St. GeorgeSt. George City Code, Title 10, Zoning Regulations, Section 10-18-5, Permit Required
- 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
- City of St. GeorgeSt. George City Code, Title 10, Zoning Regulations, Section 10-18-2, Retaining Walls
- 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 St. George 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