Fence laws in West Jordan, Utah
What the West 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 West Jordan sets no rule of its own, the Utah rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in West Jordan, Utah, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Where a new development is determined to be more intensive than an existing use on adjacent property carrying a different zoning designation, West Jordan requires a boundary structure rather than merely allowing one, and the answer turns on whether the new use is more intensive than its neighbor. The figure is 6 feet, for wall along a residential boundary.
- How tall
- In the single family and multi-family residential districts, West Jordan sets aside its own setback and yard rules to say that walls and fences may sit on the property line, next to the sidewalk, or anywhere between the building setback line and the line or sidewalk, and the answer turns on the district, the yard and the class of street. The figure is 4 feet, for sight obscuring fence in a front setback.
- Permits
- West Jordan requires a fence in several situations and attaches a schedule to each, and the answer turns on what the fence is enclosing. The figure is 6 feet, for shortest outside storage screen.
- 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
- West Jordan has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- West Jordan gives sloped ground its own section and splits it by which way the fence runs, and the answer turns on which way the fence runs across the slope. The figure is 6 feet, for average height across a slope.
- Corner lots
- West Jordan has no separate sight triangle section, and the answer turns on whether the fence is sight obscuring and how close it is to a driveway. The figure is 10 feet, for distance from a driveway that cuts the height.
- 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
- West Jordan does not simply prohibit wire fencing, it declares it, and the answer turns on where in a residential zone the wire would sit.
- 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 West Jordan?
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West Jordan answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the new use is more intensive than its neighbor.
Where a new development is determined to be more intensive than an existing use on adjacent property carrying a different zoning designation, West Jordan requires a boundary structure rather than merely allowing one. The planning commission or zoning administrator picks from four: a masonry wall; a decorative concrete wall comparable to or better than masonry in durability, performance and appearance; an opaque fence of another durable material they approve; or a satisfactory landscaped buffer or open space with berming, trees and hedges. So the wall is a condition of the more intensive development rather than a duty on the quieter neighbor. In the commercial and manufacturing districts the same idea is written as a flat rule, with a decorative masonry wall of at least six feet along every property line immediately adjacent to a residential zone. Residential fences may sit on the property line. Nothing states which side the finished face points toward or how the cost of a shared fence is divided.
Where a new development is determined to be more intensive than an existing use on adjacent property which has a different zoning designation, the planning commission or zoning administrator shall require one of the following:
The answer turns on whether the new use is more intensive than its neighbor.
- a more intensive new use
- A wall, an opaque fence or a landscaped buffer.
- a commercial lot touching housing
- A decorative masonry wall of six feet. 6 ft
- an ordinary residential fence
- It may sit on the line.
Also on fences on the property line in West Jordan
- 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 West Jordan?
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West Jordan answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the yard and the class of street.
In the single family and multi-family residential districts, West Jordan sets aside its own setback and yard rules to say that walls and fences may sit on the property line, next to the sidewalk, or anywhere between the building setback line and the line or sidewalk. What varies is the height. Four feet where the fence is in the required front yard or street setback and is sight obscuring and within ten feet of a driveway and twenty feet of a street. Six feet where it stands behind the required front yard or street setback, and also in the front yard of a dwelling on a collector or arterial street. Eight feet where it runs along a side or rear lot line next to an arterial. In the public facilities district the figures are four and six. In the office, commercial and manufacturing districts nothing higher than thirty-six inches is allowed in a required front or street side yard, and a decorative masonry wall of at least six feet has to be built along any line touching a residential zone.
Notwithstanding the setback , yard and height requirements for structures otherwise stated in this title, walls and fences may be located on the property line, adjacent to the sidewalk, or in the yard between the building setback line and the property line or sidewalk.
The answer turns on the district, the yard and the class of street.
- a sight obscuring fence near a driveway
- Four feet. 4 ft
- behind the front setback
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a side or rear line along an arterial
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a commercial front or street side yard
- Thirty-six inches. 36 in
Also on fence height in West 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 West Jordan?
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West Jordan answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence is enclosing.
West Jordan requires a fence in several situations and attaches a schedule to each. Outside storage and operation areas have to be screened from public streets by a masonry wall or solid metal fencing, and along side and rear lines by chain link with slats or another opaque fence, up to and including the gate, at not less than six feet, with the planning commission able to approve more than eight where it finds the extra height necessary to reduce impacts. Material within twenty feet of that fence may not be stacked higher than it. Every open waterway, canal and ditch has to be piped or fenced with a six foot fence unless the city engineer finds the flow poses no undue hazard. Temporary construction fencing has to be chain link, installed before any building permit is issued where it is needed to contain blowing refuse, and has to stay in place until the final bond release or until ninety percent of the development is complete.
Fences used to screen outside storage and operations areas shall be not less than six feet (6') high. Fences greater than eight feet (8') high may be approved by the planning commission upon a finding that increased height for screening is necessary to reduce impacts on surrounding properties.
The answer turns on what the fence is enclosing.
- outside storage
- Six feet at least, more with the commission. 6 ft
- what is stored behind it
- No higher than the fence within twenty feet. 20 ft
- a canal or ditch
- Piped, or fenced at six feet.
- a construction fence
- Chain link, until ninety percent complete. 90%
Also on permits in West 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 West 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 West 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 West Jordan
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West 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 West 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 West Jordan
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West Jordan answers this, but the answer changes depending on which way the fence runs across the slope.
West Jordan gives sloped ground its own section and splits it by which way the fence runs. A fence or wall running perpendicular to the finished slope has to average six feet, with a maximum of no greater than eight at any point, so the top may follow a level line while the bottom rises and falls, provided the average holds. A fence running parallel with the slope may be attached on top of a retaining wall, so long as the total height including the retaining wall does not exceed eight feet measured from the downhill side or the lower property. That is the reverse of the arrangement in several other cities, where the retaining wall is excluded from the count: here the two are added together and read from the low side, which protects the neighbor below. Height elsewhere is measured above the finished grade.
Fences/walls running perpendicular with the finished slope of a property shall average six feet (6') in height, with a maximum height of no greater than eight feet (8').
The answer turns on which way the fence runs across the slope.
- running across the slope
- Averaging six feet, never past eight. 6 ft
- running down the slope on a retaining wall
- Eight feet for both together. 8 ft
- which side it is read from
- The downhill side.
Also on how height is measured in West 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 West Jordan
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West Jordan answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is sight obscuring and how close it is to a driveway.
West Jordan has no separate sight triangle section. The corner is handled inside the residential height rule, which drops a fence to four feet where it is in the required front yard or street setback, is sight obscuring, and stands within ten feet of a driveway and twenty feet of a street. Both conditions have to be met, and the word sight obscuring is doing real work, because an open fence is not caught by the paragraph at all. There is no triangle to draw, no protected band of heights and no reference to a separate standard, so what an owner has to check is two distances and whether the fence can be seen through. The chapter also applies its rules to hedges, berms and similar unroofed landscape features by its own rule of construction, so planting near a driveway is held to the same four feet.
Four feet (4') where such fence or other feature is: a. Located within the required front yard or street setback ; and b. Sight obscuring and located in an area that is within ten feet (10') of a driveway and twenty feet (20') of a street
The answer turns on whether the fence is sight obscuring and how close it is to a driveway.
- a driveway
- Ten feet. 10 ft
- a street
- Twenty feet. 20 ft
- a fence that is not sight obscuring
- The paragraph does not reach it.
Also on corner visibility in West 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 West 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 West 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 West Jordan
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West Jordan answers this, but the answer changes depending on where in a residential zone the wire would sit.
West Jordan does not simply prohibit wire fencing, it declares it. Barbed wire fences, razor wire, concertina wire and similar fencing are declared a nuisance and are not allowed in residential zones along or adjacent to streets, or as a division fence between adjoining lots occupied as a place of residence. Calling the material a nuisance rather than a violation matters, because a nuisance carries its own abatement route in addition to zoning enforcement. The ban is written around two situations rather than around the whole zone, so wire on an interior line away from a street and away from a neighboring residence is not caught by either clause. One exception is written back in: the same materials may be used in rural residential zones for security around a public utility site.
Barbed wire fences, razor wire, concertina wire or similar fencing are declared a nuisance and shall not be allowed in residential zones along or adjacent to streets, or as a division fence between adjoining lots which are occupied as a place of residence.
The answer turns on where in a residential zone the wire would sit.
- a residential street frontage
- Declared a nuisance.
- a division fence between two homes
- The same.
- a utility site in a rural residential zone
- Allowed for security.
Also on materials in West 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 West 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 West 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 West 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
17 documents, of which 4 were published by West 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
- West Jordan CityWest Jordan City Code, Section 13-14-3, General provisions and regulations
- 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
- West Jordan CityWest Jordan City Code, Section 13-14-4, Regulations for specific zoning districts
- 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
- West Jordan CityWest Jordan City Code, Section 13-14-6, Fences and walls on sloped properties
- 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
- West Jordan CityWest Jordan City Code, Section 13-14-5, Prohibited fencing materials
- 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 West 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