Fence laws in Shoreline, Washington
What the Shoreline municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Shoreline sets no rule of its own, the Washington rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Shoreline, Washington, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Washington splits a fence on the property line in half.
- How tall
- Shoreline writes the same fence rule twice, once for neighborhood residential development and once for single-family attached, and the two differ on the front yard in a way worth noticing, and the answer turns on whether the lot is neighborhood residential or single-family attached. The figure is 6 feet, for fence along a property line.
- Permits
- Where a Shoreline property touches a critical area the fence rules change completely and the city starts requiring fences rather than limiting them, and the answer turns on whether the work touches a critical area or its buffer.
- 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
- Washington gives one plain starting point, in its livestock fence law, and nowhere else. The figure is 48 inches, for top wire of a lawful fence, measured above the ground. It reaches a lawful fence for animal damage claims only.
- Corner lots
- Shoreline leaves corner clearance to the Engineering Development Manual, the city public works design document that sets the sight clearance provisions.
- Retaining walls
- Shoreline reads a fence on a retaining wall from the finished grade at the top of the wall up to the top of the fence, which is the opposite of what most cities do and much more generous. The figure is 6 feet, for fence allowed above the top of a retaining wall.
- Materials
- Shoreline bans electric, razor wire and barbed wire fences outright in the neighborhood residential section with no exception for security, for livestock or for any zone, and the answer turns on which development type the lot falls under.
- 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 Shoreline?
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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 Shoreline 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 Shoreline?
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Shoreline answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the lot is neighborhood residential or single-family attached.
Shoreline writes the same fence rule twice, once for neighborhood residential development and once for single-family attached, and the two differ on the front yard in a way worth noticing. Both allow six feet along a property line. The neighborhood residential section then adds a parenthetical note saying the recommended maximum height between the front yard building setback line and the front property line is three feet six inches, which is advice rather than a limit and is written as a note in brackets. The attached residential section takes the same figure and makes it binding, capping a fence or wall in the required minimum front yard setback at three feet six inches and requiring it to be no more than sixty percent opaque. So which of those a Shoreline owner faces depends on which kind of housing the lot is being developed as.
Front Yard. Fences and walls located within the required minimum front yard setback shall be a maximum of three feet, six inches high and shall be no more than 60 percent opaque.
20.50.190.A and B, with SMC 20.50.110.A
The answer turns on whether the lot is neighborhood residential or single-family attached.
- along any property line
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a front yard in attached residential
- Three feet six inches, sixty percent opaque at most. 42 in
- a front yard in neighborhood residential
- The same figure, but stated as a recommendation.
Also on fence height in Shoreline
- 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 Shoreline?
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Shoreline answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the work touches a critical area or its buffer.
Where a Shoreline property touches a critical area the fence rules change completely and the city starts requiring fences rather than limiting them. Before any permitted work begins, the outer perimeter of the critical area or buffer and the clearing limits have to be marked with temporary clearing limits fencing good enough to ensure no unauthorized intrusion, the Director inspects it at the preconstruction meeting, it is maintained throughout construction, and it may not come down until any permanent signs are in place. Permanent fencing at the outer edge is then required in five situations, including subdivisions and commercial development where the Director finds it necessary, parks next to active recreation, any proposal that averages or reduces a wetland buffer or riparian management zone, and any site where domestic grazing animals are or may be present. All of it carries one design condition that no ordinary fence rule imposes: it has to be designed so as not to interfere with species migration, fish runs included, and built in a way that minimizes habitat impacts.
Permanent fencing shall be required at the outer edge of a critical area or buffer under the following circumstances; provided, that the Director may waive this requirement:
The answer turns on whether the work touches a critical area or its buffer.
- before construction near a critical area
- Temporary clearing limits fencing, inspected by the Director.
- a subdivision, park or buffer reduction
- Permanent fencing at the outer edge, unless waived.
- grazing animals on the site
- Permanent fencing required.
- any fence in that position
- Designed not to block species migration or fish runs.
Also on permits in Shoreline
- set in state lawWashington 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. WAC 51-51-003Washington · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Shoreline
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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 Shoreline 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 Shoreline
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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 Shoreline 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 Shoreline
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington 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.
This one is Washington law, not Shoreline 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 intop wire of a lawful fence, measured above the ground
Fence rules for corner lots in Shoreline
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Shoreline does not set this. It leaves it to the Engineering Development Manual, the city public works design document that sets the sight clearance provisions.
The Shoreline six foot allowance is granted subject to the sight clearance provisions in the Engineering Development Manual, and that phrase is the whole of what the development code says about corners. There is no triangle, no leg length, no protected band of heights, no difference drawn between a street intersection and a driveway, and no list of objects exempt from it. The Engineering Development Manual is the city public works design document, adopted and revised outside the code, so a homeowner working from the fence section has the six feet and no way to know whether their corner allows it. The condition is attached to the height sentence itself rather than sitting in a separate subsection, which means it qualifies every fence along a property line rather than only the ones near an intersection.
The maximum height of fences located along a property line shall be six feet, subject to the sight clearance provisions in the Engineering Development Manual.
The code hands this to the Engineering Development Manual, the city public works design document that sets the sight clearance provisions, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Shoreline
- 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 Shoreline
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Shoreline answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Shoreline reads a fence on a retaining wall from the finished grade at the top of the wall up to the top of the fence, which is the opposite of what most cities do and much more generous. Elsewhere the exposed face of the wall is counted against the fence, so a four foot wall leaves two feet of fence. Here the wall is simply the ground the fence stands on, and the fence gets its full six feet above it regardless of how tall the wall is. The overall height of the fence located on the wall is capped at six feet, and that six is the fence rather than the pair. Both of the city fence sections carry this sentence in identical terms, so it holds for neighborhood residential and attached residential development alike.
The height of a fence located on a retaining wall shall be measured from the finished grade at the top of the wall to the top of the fence. The overall height of the fence located on the wall shall be a maximum of six feet.
20.50.110.C, repeated at SMC 20.50.190.D
6 ftfence allowed above the top of a retaining wall
Also on retaining walls in Shoreline
- 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 Shoreline
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Shoreline answers this, but the answer changes depending on which development type the lot falls under.
Shoreline bans electric, razor wire and barbed wire fences outright in the neighborhood residential section with no exception for security, for livestock or for any zone. The attached residential section repeats that list, adds chain link and any other similar type of security fence, and then goes further by naming what a fence has to be made of instead: wood, wrought iron, brick, stone or other high quality material. That is the only place in the Shoreline fence rules where a positive material standard appears, so the same chain link fence is lawful on a detached house lot and unlawful on a townhouse lot next door. Neither section says anything about what a fence may not be made of beyond those named types.
Fences and walls shall be constructed of wood, wrought iron, brick, stone, or other high quality material. All chain link, electric, razor wire, and barbed wire fences, and other similar types of security fences are prohibited.
20.50.190.C, with SMC 20.50.110.B
The answer turns on which development type the lot falls under.
- electric, razor or barbed wire anywhere
- Prohibited.
- chain link on an attached residential lot
- Prohibited.
- an attached residential fence generally
- Wood, wrought iron, brick, stone or similar quality.
Also on materials in Shoreline
- 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 Shoreline
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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 Shoreline 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 Shoreline
- 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
9 documents, of which 3 were published by Shoreline 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 ShorelineShoreline Municipal Code, Title 20, Chapter 20.50, Subchapter 3, Section 20.50.190, Fences and walls, Standards
- City of ShorelineShoreline Municipal Code, Title 20, Chapter 20.80, Section 20.80.055, Critical area fencing and signs
- 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
- City of ShorelineShoreline Municipal Code, Title 20, Chapter 20.50, Subchapter 2, Section 20.50.110, Fences and walls, Standards
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 Shoreline 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