Fence laws in Green Bay, Wisconsin
What the Green Bay municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Green Bay sets no rule of its own, the Wisconsin rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Green Bay, Wisconsin, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- The section opens by granting the line, and the answer turns on the district setback and where on the lot the fence runs. The figure is 0 feet, for setback from an interior lot line.
- How tall
- Green Bay starts its front yard at three feet, which is lower than almost anywhere else in this project, and then sells height in two steps for transparency, and the answer turns on the setback, how opaque the fence is and how far along the house it runs. The figure is 3 feet, for solid fence in a front or corner side yard setback.
- Permits
- Wisconsin does not use the International Residential Code.
- Pool barriers
- Green Bay sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Wisconsin has a spite fence law and it covers hedges as well as fences. The figure is 6 feet, for height above which a maliciously built fence or hedge is a private nuisance.
- Measured from what
- Green Bay answers only one measuring question and answers it the same way Madison does.
- Corner lots
- The fence division states the duty in one line and keeps none of the geometry, requiring that fences or walls comply with the vision triangle requirements of section 44-359 of the zoning chapter, a section not read for this page, so the distance from the corner and the protected height are not recorded here, and the answer turns on the vision triangle as defined at section 44-359 and how far along the house the fence runs. The figure is 3 feet, for solid fence in a required corner side yard setback.
- Retaining walls
- Green Bay sets no rule for a wall that holds back earth. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Materials
- Green Bay lists what a fence may be made of and treats the list as a quality standard rather than a closed set, and the answer turns on the material, the zoning and how close the fence is to public ways. The figure is 4 feet, for distance from a public street, sidewalk or alley where wire is barred.
- Livestock
- Wisconsin lists the fences that count as legal and says nothing else does. The figure is 50 inches, for minimum height of a legal fence, measured at the posts.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Green Bay?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Green Bay answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district setback and where on the lot the fence runs.
The section opens by granting the line. Fences may be erected, placed or maintained in any yard along or adjacent to a lot line, and the owner is responsible for properly locating all property lines before construction, which puts the survey duty in the zoning code. No setback figure applies to an interior line. Distance appears once and as a purchase: a corner lot fence running past half the side facade of the house may reach six feet provided it stands no closer than half the applicable corner side yard setback, so the taller fence is bought with half of whatever setback the district requires rather than with a fixed number of feet. Barbed wire has its own distance rule, barred within four feet of any public street, sidewalk or alley. And a long perimeter wall may not run unbroken: breaks have to be made for required pedestrian connections to the perimeter of a site or to adjacent development.
Fences may be erected, placed, or maintained in any yard along or adjacent to a lot line in accordance with the requirements identified in this section. The owner shall be responsible for properly locating all property lines before construction of any fence.
The answer turns on the district setback and where on the lot the fence runs.
- an interior lot line
- Along the line. 0 ft
- a six foot corner fence
- Half the corner side setback. 50%
- a hedge
- Trimmed or kept on its own side.
- a long perimeter wall
- Broken for pedestrian connections.
Also on fences on the property line in Green Bay
- set in state lawWisconsin splits a fence on the property line in equal shares, but only where farming or grazing is involved. The duty runs between the people using two neighboring farm or grazing properties, and between the owners when one side is used that way. The fence stays in good repair all year unless both sides agree otherwise, and the two sides may agree to use markers instead of a fence. Wis. Stat. § 90.03Wisconsin · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Green Bay?
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Green Bay answers this, but the answer changes depending on the setback, how opaque the fence is and how far along the house it runs.
Green Bay starts its front yard at three feet, which is lower than almost anywhere else in this project, and then sells height in two steps for transparency. A solid fence in a required front or corner side yard setback stops at three feet. Open, decorative, ornamental materials less than fifty percent opaque buy four feet. Materials less than twenty percent opaque buy five. A fourth route is about position rather than material: once the fence extends past at least half the length of the side facade of the house, it may go to six feet, provided it stands no closer than half the applicable corner side yard setback. Behind the house the figure is a flat six feet in a required side or rear setback, eight around a pool. Non-residential districts get eight feet everywhere except a front or corner side setback, where a solid fence is held to the same three feet as a house.
The maximum height of a solid fence or wall within a required front yard or corner side yard setback shall not exceed three feet. Such front yard or corner side yard fences may be increased to a maximum height of four feet if open, decorative, ornamental fencing materials that are less than 50 percent opaque are used or to a maximum height of five feet if open, decorative, ornamental fencing materials that are less than 20 percent opaque are used.
The answer turns on the setback, how opaque the fence is and how far along the house it runs.
- a solid fence at the front
- Three feet. 3 ft
- under a fifth opaque
- Five feet. 20%
- a side or rear setback
- Six feet. 6 ft
- around a pool
- Eight feet. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Green Bay
- no rule, documents checkedWisconsin sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The six feet in the spite fence law is what starts a nuisance claim and not a cap, and that same law says a city or village may ban a fence under six feet. Chapter 90 describes legal fences for farm and grazing land without limiting height, and the Uniform Dwelling Code does not reach fences at all. Wis. Stat. § 844.10Wisconsin · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Green Bay?
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Wisconsin answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Wisconsin does not use the International Residential Code. It writes its own Uniform Dwelling Code in chapters SPS 320 to 325, which sets one set of building standards and inspections for one and two family homes and modular homes across the state. That code covers homes and their attached garages, porches, decks and stairways, and the word fence is nowhere in it. So a fence permit in Wisconsin is purely a local zoning question.
This one is Wisconsin law, not Green Bay law. All Wisconsin findings
The purpose of this code is to establish uniform statewide construction standards and inspection procedures for one- and 2-family dwellings and modular homes in accordance with the requirements of ss. 101.60 and 101.70, Stats.
Also on permits in Green Bay
- no rule, documents checkedThe fences division sets heights, materials, measurement, a survey duty and a rule about breaks in a perimeter wall, and never mentions an application, a fee, an inspection or a height at which review starts. No fence permit exists in it. The division immediately after it shows what a permit requirement looks like in this chapter, listing the temporary uses that need a temporary use permit and a site plan, and a fence is not among them except where one goes up around a construction site under the general construction allowance. Nothing in the fences division points to the building inspection chapter either, so the zoning code neither requires a permit nor says that another document does. Whether a Green Bay fence needs a building permit is a question for that separate chapter, which was not read for this page. Section 44-450Green Bay · Zoning code
Pool fence requirements in Green Bay
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Green Bay law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Wisconsin sets no statewide fence rule for a pool at a house. The state pool chapter, SPS 390, says on its face that it covers public pools and water attractions only. The Uniform Dwelling Code, which governs one and two family homes, has no pool, barrier, fence or enclosure section in any of its six chapters. A pool fence at a home is a local matter.
This one is Wisconsin law, not Green Bay law. All Wisconsin findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Wis. Admin. Code § SPS 390.02Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Wis. Admin. Code § SPS 320.01Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
Spite fence laws in Green Bay
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Wisconsin answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Wisconsin has a spite fence law and it covers hedges as well as fences. Any fence, hedge or structure like a fence that goes over six feet with no need to, and was put up or kept up out of spite to annoy a neighbor, is a private nuisance, which means the neighbor can sue over it. The same section says it does not stop a city or village from banning a fence under six feet, so local rules still bite below that line.
This one is Wisconsin law, not Green Bay law. All Wisconsin findings
Any fence, hedge or other structure in the nature of a fence unnecessarily exceeding 6 feet in height, maliciously erected or maintained for the purpose of annoying the owners or occupants of adjoining property, shall be deemed a private nuisance.
6 ftheight above which a maliciously built fence or hedge is a private nuisance
How fence height is measured in Green Bay
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Green Bay answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Green Bay answers only one measuring question and answers it the same way Madison does. Where a grade separation exists, such as two properties divided by a retaining wall, fence height is determined by measuring from the average point between the highest and lowest grade, so neither the owner above nor the owner below gets the whole benefit of the difference. That the two largest cities in the state use the same sentence suggests a shared model rather than two independent drafts, and Green Bay leaves out the parts Madison adds: there is no rule here saying a fence set back from the retaining wall may be measured from its own base, and no sentence barring a berm from raising the grade. Away from a grade separation the code names no datum at all, so what a plain six foot fence is measured from on ordinary sloping ground is not stated.
In the case of grade separation, such as the division of properties by a retaining wall, fence height shall be determined based on measurement from the average point between highest and lowest grade.
Also on how height is measured in Green Bay
- left to the townWisconsin does not set this. The city does. The fence law in chapter 90 covers fences on a property line and what a fence viewer does, and it has no measuring rule in it anywhere. Section 62.23(7)(am) lets a city council set rules for the height, number of stories and size of buildings and other structures, and tells courts to read that power broadly in the city's favor. So the city ordinance sets the fence height and decides on its own what the height is taken from. Wis. Stat. 62.23(7)(am)Wisconsin · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Green Bay
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Green Bay answers this, but the answer changes depending on the vision triangle as defined at section 44-359 and how far along the house the fence runs.
The fence division states the duty in one line and keeps none of the geometry, requiring that fences or walls comply with the vision triangle requirements of section 44-359 of the zoning chapter, a section not read for this page, so the distance from the corner and the protected height are not recorded here. What the fence rules themselves supply at a corner is a low ceiling doing the same job. A solid fence in a required corner side yard setback is held to three feet, the same as a front yard, in residential and non-residential districts alike, and the openness exceptions that lift a front yard fence to four or five feet apply there too. The one way past that at a corner is positional: once the fence runs beyond half the length of the side facade of the house and stands back half the corner side setback, six feet is allowed, so the tall part of the fence begins level with the middle of the house.
Fences or walls shall comply with the vision triangle requirements of Section 44-359.
The answer turns on the vision triangle as defined at section 44-359 and how far along the house the fence runs.
- any fence or wall
- The vision triangle applies.
- the size of it
- Set at section 44-359, not read here.
- a solid corner side fence
- Three feet. 3 ft
- past the middle of the house
- Six feet, set back. 6 ft
Also on corner visibility in Green Bay
- set in state lawWisconsin draws a triangle at every highway crossing outside a city or village, running 1,000 feet out along each center line, and bans danger causing advertising inside it. Section 86.191 then goes past signs. The road authority has to ask the owner of land inside that triangle to cut back whatever blocks the view across it, as far as that can be done, and to work out an arrangement that makes travel on both roads as safe as it reasonably can be. It is a duty to work it out with the owner rather than a fixed height, and it stops at the city line. Wis. Stat. 86.191(4)Wisconsin · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Green Bay
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Green Bay law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Wisconsin has no rule at all for a wall that holds back earth. It does not use the International Residential Code, so the model code line about a four foot wall never reaches this state. It writes its own Uniform Dwelling Code for one and two family homes, and both halves of that code were read end to end. Chapter SPS 320 is the paperwork half, covering the building permit, who issues it, inspections and exemptions, and the word retaining is nowhere in it. Chapter SPS 321 is the building half, covering digging, footings, frost protection, foundations, masonry walls and decks, and the word retaining is nowhere in it either. The code does have sections on digging next to a neighbor's land and on erosion control, and neither one sets a rule for a wall built to hold back earth. A permit for that kind of wall in Wisconsin is a local question.
This one is Wisconsin law, not Green Bay law. All Wisconsin findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Wis. Admin. Code ch. SPS 320Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Wis. Admin. Code ch. SPS 321Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
Fence materials allowed in Green Bay
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Green Bay answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, the zoning and how close the fence is to public ways.
Green Bay lists what a fence may be made of and treats the list as a quality standard rather than a closed set. Walls and fences are to be constructed of high quality materials, such as decorative blocks, brick, stone, treated wood, wrought iron, chain link and plastic, with chain link and plastic sitting in the same sentence as stone. Three prohibitions follow. No fence may have sharp or pointed pickets dangerous to life or limb. A hedge has to be trimmed or confined to the property it is planted on, which makes overhang a code violation rather than a neighbor dispute. And no fence or structure containing barbed wire or other dangerous material may be placed on residentially zoned property, or within four feet of any public street, sidewalk or alley, so the wire is barred by zoning in one case and by distance from the public in the other. The supporting elements face the owner.
No fence or other structure containing barbed wire or other dangerous material shall be placed on residentially zoned property or within four feet of any public street, sidewalk, or alley.
The answer turns on the material, the zoning and how close the fence is to public ways.
- the approved list
- Block, brick, stone, wood, iron, chain link, plastic.
- barbed wire
- Not on a house lot, and four feet off the sidewalk. 4 ft
- sharp pickets
- Not where they are dangerous.
- the supporting elements
- On the owner side.
Also on materials in Green Bay
- set in state lawWisconsin prints a closed list of legal fences and says the builds on it and no others count. Barbed wire and high tensile wire run through most of the list, always above a woven wire or board base, and one build is four or more barbed or high tensile wires at least 48 inches high on steel or wood posts. An electric fence is on the list too, with two extra strings attached. It takes two strands of tightly stretched wire fed by a standard approved electric or battery charger, with the top wire 34 to 36 inches up on insulated posts no more than two rods apart, which is 33 feet. And it counts as a legal fence only where the owners on both sides put their agreement in writing. Wis. Stat. 90.02(1m)(i)Wisconsin · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Green Bay
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Wisconsin answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Wisconsin lists the fences that count as legal and says nothing else does. The list runs from woven wire of different widths with barbed or high tensile wire above it, to board fences on posts no more than eight feet apart, to a 48 inch fence of four or more barbed or high tensile wires. Whatever the build, the fence stands at least 50 inches high and its bottom sits no more than four inches off the ground, both measured at the posts.
This one is Wisconsin law, not Green Bay law. All Wisconsin findings
Fences shall not be less than 50 inches high, and the bottom of the fence shall be not more than 4 inches from the ground, measurements to be made at the posts.
50 inminimum height of a legal fence, measured at the posts
Also on agricultural fencing in Green Bay
- set in state lawIn Wisconsin the fence on the line is the price of a damages claim. An owner who does not keep that fence in repair cannot collect for damage done by a neighbor's animals. Building it does not settle the other side either, because the owner of pigs, horses, sheep or goats still answers for damage those animals do inside the enclosure. Wis. Stat. 90.04Wisconsin · Statute
Documents behind this page
12 documents, of which 1 was published by Green Bay itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Wisconsin LegislatureWisconsin Statutes, Chapter 90, Fences, Section 90.03, Partition fences; when required
- City of Green BayGreen Bay Code of Ordinances, Chapter 44, Zoning, Article V, General Regulations, Division 6, Fences, Section 44-450, Fence location and height
- Wisconsin LegislatureWisconsin Statutes, Chapter 844, Section 844.10, Private nuisance; fence
- Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional ServicesWisconsin Administrative Code, Chapter SPS 320, Section 320.01 Purpose
- Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional ServicesWisconsin Administrative Code, Chapter SPS 390, Public Swimming Pools and Water Attractions, Section 390.02 Applicability
- Wisconsin State LegislatureWisconsin Statutes, Chapter 62, Cities, Section 62.23, City planning
- Wisconsin LegislatureWisconsin Statutes, Chapter 86, Miscellaneous Highway Provisions
- Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional ServicesWisconsin Administrative Code, Chapter SPS 320, Uniform Dwelling Code Administration and Enforcement
- Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional ServicesWisconsin Administrative Code, Chapter SPS 321, Construction Standards
- Wisconsin LegislatureWisconsin Statutes, Chapter 90, Fences
- Wisconsin State LegislatureWisconsin Statutes, Chapter 90, Fences
- Wisconsin State LegislatureWisconsin Statutes, Chapter 90, Fences
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 Green Bay publishes, plus the Wisconsin rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Wisconsin 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