Fence laws in Burien, Washington
What the Burien municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Burien sets no rule of its own, the Washington rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Burien, Washington, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Washington splits a fence on the property line in half.
- How tall
- Burien never says how tall a fence may be, and the answer turns on whether the fence passes six feet. The figure is 6 feet, for height below which no setback applies.
- Permits
- Washington has no fence permit rule of its own.
- Pool barriers
- Washington sends pools at homes to the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2021 edition, through its residential building code.
- Spite fences
- A Washington court can stop a structure built out of spite.
- Measured from what
- The one measuring instruction Burien gives is for a fence standing on something.
- Corner lots
- Alongside the usual triangle, Burien gives the director a power aimed at a specific neighborhood problem: a fence or planting on one lot that blinds the driver backing out of the lot next door, and the answer turns on whether the neighbor driveway can be moved instead. The figure is 15 feet, for each leg of the sight distance triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Burien lets a protective fence stand on a rockery inside a required setback, which is the situation the measuring rule creates a problem for, and then makes one demand about how it is built, and the answer turns on how much of the fence sits above six feet. The figure is 6 feet, for height above which the fence must be open work.
- Materials
- Burien takes the unusual position that an electric fence is permitted in every zone, including the RS and RM residential zones, and then protects the neighbor rather than banning the thing, and the answer turns on the zone and whether the use is residential. The figure is 50 feet, for spacing of the warning signs.
- Livestock
- Washington prints the fence in the statute. The figure is 48 inches, for height above the ground of the top wire of a lawful fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Burien?
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington splits a fence on the property line in half. Where neighbors share one fence around their land and one of them needs a dividing fence, the other builds half of it once notice is given. The fence goes on the property line, or as close to it as can be managed.
This one is Washington law, not Burien law. All Washington findings
When two or more persons own land adjoining which is inclosed [enclosed] by one fence, and it becomes necessary for the protection of the interest of one party said partition fence should be made between them, the other or others, when notified thereof, shall erect or cause to be erected one-half of such partition fence, said fence to be erected on, or as near as practicable, the line of said land.
How tall can a fence be in Burien?
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Burien answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence passes six feet.
Burien never says how tall a fence may be. The whole of the height rule is one line saying that a fence exceeding six feet has to comply with the applicable street and interior setbacks of the zone it stands in, which means six feet is not a ceiling but the point at which a fence starts being treated like a building. Below it a fence may stand anywhere on the lot, boundary included. Above it the fence has to retreat to wherever the zone would make a house sit, which on a typical Burien residential lot is five feet from an interior line and twenty from the street, and at that point it is no longer doing the job a boundary fence does. The effect is the same as a six foot limit for anyone who wants a fence on the line, and no limit at all for somebody willing to build it in the middle of the yard.
Fences exceeding a height of six feet shall comply with the applicable street and interior setbacks of the zone in which the property is located;
The answer turns on whether the fence passes six feet.
- a fence of six feet or less
- No setback, so it may sit on the line. 6 ft
- a fence above six feet
- The zone street and interior setbacks apply to it.
Also on fence height in Burien
- no rule, documents checkedWashington sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The state fence chapter says what counts as a lawful fence for livestock and how the cost of a shared fence is split, and it caps nothing at a house. The state residential code takes up the model code and adds no fence height. Cities and counties set it. RCW 16.60Washington · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Burien?
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington has no fence permit rule of its own. It uses the 2021 International Residential Code as the code for one and two family homes across the state, and it did not change that code's list of work that needs no permit, so the model list applies as written. That list is model code text and is printed on no Washington state site, so no fence height is quoted here.
This one is Washington law, not Burien law. All Washington findings
The 2021 edition of the International Residential Code as published by the International Code Council is hereby adopted by reference
Pool fence requirements in Burien
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington sends pools at homes to the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2021 edition, through its residential building code. The rule reaches a pool used only by the people who live at a single family house and their invited guests. Washington states no fence height of its own, so the numbers sit in that private code.
This one is Washington law, not Burien law. All Washington findings
The design and construction of swimming pools, spas, and other aquatic recreation facilities shall comply with the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, if the facility is one of the following:
Spite fence laws in Burien
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Washington court can stop a structure built out of spite. A judge may order the owner or renter of land not to put up a structure meant to spite, injure or annoy a neighbor, and where one already stands, the court may order it taken down. The law turns on why it went up and not on how tall it is.
This one is Washington law, not Burien law. All Washington findings
An injunction may be granted to restrain the malicious erection, by any owner or lessee of land, of any structure intended to spite, injure or annoy an adjoining proprietor.
How fence height is measured in Burien
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Burien answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The one measuring instruction Burien gives is for a fence standing on something. Where a fence sits on a rockery, a retaining wall or a berm, its height is taken from the top of the fence down to the ground on the low side of that structure, so the whole exposed face of the wall counts as part of the fence. On a lot cut into a slope that turns a modest fence into a tall one for the purposes of the code, and it is what pushes such a fence past six feet and into the setback rule. For a fence on flat ground the section says nothing at all: no datum, no allowance for a grade that differs on either side, and no averaging along a slope, so the ordinary case is left to be read the obvious way.
The height of a fence located on a rockery, retaining wall, or berm shall be measured from the top of the fence to the ground on the low side of the rockery, retaining wall, or berm;
Also on how height is measured in Burien
- set in state lawWashington gives one plain starting point, in its livestock fence law, and nowhere else. RCW 16.60.010 says a lawful fence has at least four barbed wires with the top wire 48 inches above the ground, give or take four inches, and the rest spaced 12, 22 and 32 inches below it. Above the ground is the answer, and it is the only answer the state gives. For a fence on a city lot, RCW 35.63.080 lets a council set rules for the height, number of stories, size, building and design of buildings and other structures, so the city ordinance gives both the limit and the point it starts from. RCW 16.60.010Washington · Statute
Fence rules for corner lots in Burien
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Burien answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the neighbor driveway can be moved instead.
Alongside the usual triangle, Burien gives the director a power aimed at a specific neighborhood problem: a fence or planting on one lot that blinds the driver backing out of the lot next door. The director may require a structure or landscaping in a required front setback to be modified or removed, but only on two findings together, that the improvement prevents adequate sight distance to drivers entering or leaving a driveway and that no reasonable alternative for relocating the adjoining driveway is feasible. The second finding is the interesting one, because it makes moving the driveway the first remedy and cutting down the fence the last. The triangle itself is drawn fifteen feet along both front property lines at a street intersection, or fifteen feet along the front lines and fifteen along the driveway edges at a site access point, with the space between forty two inches and eight feet above existing street grade required to stay open.
The director may require modification or removal of structures or landscaping located in required front setbacks, if:
The answer turns on whether the neighbor driveway can be moved instead.
- a street intersection
- Fifteen feet along both front property lines. 15 ft
- inside that triangle
- Clear between forty two inches and eight feet. 8 ft
- a fence blinding a neighbor driveway
- Modified or removed, if the driveway cannot be moved.
Also on corner visibility in Burien
- set in state lawWashington puts its clear view duty at the railroad tracks. RCW 36.86.100 tells the county to clear brush and trees out of the county road right of way for 100 feet on each side of a railroad crossing, so a driver can see a train coming, and puts the same duty on the railroad for its own land. It also bans a sign within 100 feet of that crossing outside city limits, unless the county finds the sign does not cut the view. Nothing in it draws a triangle at an ordinary street corner. RCW 36.86.100Washington · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Burien
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Burien answers this, but the answer changes depending on how much of the fence sits above six feet.
Burien lets a protective fence stand on a rockery inside a required setback, which is the situation the measuring rule creates a problem for, and then makes one demand about how it is built. Any part of that fence above six feet, measured from the ground on the low side, has to be an open-work fence rather than a solid one. So the height an owner gains from the rockery buys a barrier and not a screen, and somebody standing at the bottom of the wall still sees through the top of it. The word protective is doing work here too, because a fence on top of a rockery is usually there to stop a fall, which is a safety purpose the code is willing to accommodate inside a setback where it would not accommodate a privacy fence.
When a protective fence is located on top of a rockery within the required setback area, any portion of the fence above a height of six feet shall be an open-work fence;
The answer turns on how much of the fence sits above six feet.
- the part below six feet
- May be solid.
- any part above six feet
- Open work. 6 ft
Also on retaining walls in Burien
- left to the townWashington has no rule of its own for a wall that holds back earth. It uses the 2021 International Residential Code for one and two family homes, and lists every section it changed as its own numbered rule. That list was read in full. Nothing changes Section R105, the list of work that needs no permit, so the model code pass for such a wall stands as written. The slot for Section R404, which covers foundations and walls that hold back earth, is marked reserved, so Washington added nothing there either. The number that answers the question is model code text, which the International Code Council sells and which no Washington state site prints. WAC 51-51-003Washington · Building code
Fence materials allowed in Burien
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Burien answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone and whether the use is residential.
Burien takes the unusual position that an electric fence is permitted in every zone, including the RS and RM residential zones, and then protects the neighbor rather than banning the thing. In those two zones additional fencing or other barriers have to be built to stop anyone making inadvertent contact with the charged fence from the abutting property, and permanent signs of at least thirty six square inches go up at fifty foot intervals saying the fence is electrified. The charge is capped by circuit type, and a unit sold complete and assembled may be installed by the owner where its controlling elements are certified by an ANSI approved testing agency. Barbed and razor wire go the other way and are barred from the RS and RM zones altogether, except where specifically required for the necessary security of a nonresidential use.
Be permitted in all zones, provided that when placed within RS or RM zones, additional fencing or other barriers shall be constructed to prevent inadvertent contact with the electric fence from abutting property;
The answer turns on the zone and whether the use is residential.
- an electric fence in a residential zone
- Allowed, behind a second barrier.
- signs on that fence
- Thirty six square inches, every fifty feet. 50 ft
- barbed or razor wire on a house lot
- Not allowed.
Also on materials in Burien
- set in state lawWashington writes a lawful fence as a barbed wire fence and prints the build. It takes at least four barbed, level, well stretched wires, with the top one about 48 inches off the ground and the others 12, 22 and 32 inches below it, tied to solid posts set no more than 24 feet apart. Posts more than 16 feet apart need stays every eight feet. The very next section says any other fence as strong and as well made counts too, so barbed wire is the standard to match and not the only material allowed. RCW 16.60.010Washington · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Burien
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington prints the fence in the statute. A lawful fence carries at least four barbed wires, level and pulled tight. The top wire sits 48 inches off the ground, give or take four inches, and the others hang 12, 22 and 32 inches below it. Posts go in firmly and evenly, no more than 24 feet apart. Posts more than 16 feet apart need stays no more than eight feet from each other or from a post. Any other fence built just as strong counts too.
This one is Washington law, not Burien law. All Washington findings
A lawful fence shall be of at least four barbed, horizontal, well-stretched wires, spaced so that the top wire is forty-eight inches, plus or minus four inches, above the ground and the other wires at intervals below the top wire of twelve, twenty-two, and thirty-two inches.
48 inheight above the ground of the top wire of a lawful fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Burien
- set in state lawIn Washington the damages claim hangs on the fence. A person who built a lawful fence around their land and kept it in repair can sue the owner of an animal that broke through it, collect the full damage and the costs of the suit, and hold the animal until it is paid. Proving the fence was lawful when the animal broke through is enough. The fence has to be there first, so the landowner who wants the animals out is the one who builds. RCW 16.60.015Washington · Statute
Documents behind this page
7 documents, of which 1 was published by Burien itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Washington State LegislatureRevised Code of Washington, Chapter 16.60, Section 16.60.030, Partition fence, Erection, Notice
- Washington State LegislatureRevised Code of Washington, Chapter 16.60, Fences, full chapter
- Washington State Building Code CouncilWashington Administrative Code, WAC 51-51-003, International Residential Code
- City of BurienBurien Municipal Code, Title 19, Chapter 19.17, Section 19.17.290, Fences
- Washington State Building Code CouncilWashington Administrative Code, WAC 51-51-0327, Section R327, Swimming pools, spas and hot tubs
- Washington State LegislatureRevised Code of Washington, Chapter 7.40, Section 7.40.030, Malicious erection of structure may be enjoined
- Washington State LegislatureRevised Code of Washington, Title 36, Chapter 36.86, County Roads and Bridges
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 Burien publishes, plus the Washington rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Washington 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