Fence laws in Oshkosh, Wisconsin
What the Oshkosh municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Oshkosh sets no rule of its own, the Wisconsin rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Oshkosh states the boundary rule in seven words: fences may be located within or on any property line, and the answer turns on which line the fence runs along and whether it is a security fence. The figure is 0 feet, for setback from a property line.
- How tall
- Across the residential, institutional and neighborhood mixed use districts an Oshkosh fence is four feet where it sits in the front yard or street yard, whichever is closer to the street, and six feet in a side or rear yard provided it does not come forward of the front facade of the house, and the answer turns on the district, the yard and how far back the fence sits on a corner lot. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a required or provided front or street yard.
- Permits
- Every fence in Oshkosh is reviewed and approved by the Director of Community Development or a designee and requires a building permit, with no height threshold, no length threshold and no district exemption, unless the fence needs a conditional use permit instead, and the answer turns on whether the fence is permanent or temporary.
- Pool barriers
- Oshkosh 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
- Oshkosh measures from the ground immediately under the fence to the top rail, so the datum moves with the fence and the top of a picket above the rail is outside the figure. The figure is 4 inches, for ground clearance allowed under a fence without counting toward its height.
- Corner lots
- The Oshkosh vision triangle runs twenty feet from a local street right-of-way intersection and thirty feet where the intersection includes a collector or arterial, with a rule for rounded corners that measures as though the right-of-way were extended to a square corner, and the answer turns on the type of street, the opacity of the fence and the district. The figure is 20 feet, for vision triangle at a local street intersection.
- Retaining walls
- Oshkosh 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
- Oshkosh lists seven permitted materials, the last of which is anything of comparable quality the Director of Community Development approves: naturally resistant or treated wood, brick or masonry, natural stone, wrought iron, vinyl, and galvanized or coated chain link, and the answer turns on the district, the yard and what the house is built of. The figure is 50 percent, for greatest opacity of a fence in a front yard.
- 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 Oshkosh?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Oshkosh answers this, but the answer changes depending on which line the fence runs along and whether it is a security fence.
Oshkosh states the boundary rule in seven words: fences may be located within or on any property line. No setback figure applies to a neighbor line anywhere in the section. What the section controls instead is which way the fence faces and where it stops relative to the house. Visible supports and other structural components go toward the subject property, so the finished side faces outward. A six or eight foot fence may not come forward of the front facade of the principal building. On the long side of a corner lot a tall fence has to keep the same setback the house keeps, or the setback a new house would need on that lot, whichever is greater, which is a setback defined by the building rather than by a number. A security fence carrying barbed wire has to meet the setbacks for the principal structure. A fence legally built before this chapter took effect may be replaced where it stands.
Fences may be located within or on any property line. Fences legally constructed prior to the effective date of this Chapter shall be permitted to be replaced in their existing location.
Section 30-192, Location and Orientation
The answer turns on which line the fence runs along and whether it is a security fence.
- an ordinary lot line
- On the line. 0 ft
- a tall fence
- Not forward of the front of the house.
- a security fence with wire
- The principal structure setbacks apply.
- the finished side
- It faces the neighbor.
Also on fences on the property line in Oshkosh
- 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 Oshkosh?
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Oshkosh answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the yard and how far back the fence sits on a corner lot.
Across the residential, institutional and neighborhood mixed use districts an Oshkosh fence is four feet where it sits in the front yard or street yard, whichever is closer to the street, and six feet in a side or rear yard provided it does not come forward of the front facade of the house. A third rule covers the long side of a corner lot, where six feet is allowed in the front yard if the fence is set back as far as the house is, or as far as a new house would have to be on that lot, whichever is greater. The denser and non-residential districts run the same pattern with eight feet in place of six. Barbed wire on top of a security fence may add three feet. Two small allowances sit outside the figures: decorative posts spaced at least twenty four inches apart may stand eight inches proud of the top, and up to four inches of ground clearance is allowed underneath.
6 feet in the front yard on the long side of corner lots provided the fence has a setback equal to that of the principal structure, or what would be required for new construction of a principal structure based on the lot dimensions, whichever is greater.
The answer turns on the district, the yard and how far back the fence sits on a corner lot.
- a front or street yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a side or rear yard
- Six feet, eight in the denser districts. 6 ft
- the long side of a corner lot
- Six feet, set back like the house.
- barbed wire on a security fence
- Three feet more. 3 ft
Also on fence height in Oshkosh
- 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 Oshkosh?
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Oshkosh answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is permanent or temporary.
Every fence in Oshkosh is reviewed and approved by the Director of Community Development or a designee and requires a building permit, with no height threshold, no length threshold and no district exemption, unless the fence needs a conditional use permit instead. Temporary fencing is the one carve-out and it is limited to two purposes. Wood or plastic snow fence may go up to stop drifting between November 1 and April 1. And fencing may protect an excavation or construction site, or plants during grading and construction, in association with an active building permit, so the permit for the work carries the fence rather than the fence needing its own. The visibility section adds a second review of a different kind: development is checked for conformance with the vision triangle rules through the site plan review process, by the same Director.
Fences shall be reviewed and approved by the Director of Community Development, or designee, and shall require a building permit, unless the proposed fence requires a conditional use permit.
Section 30-192, Review and Approval
The answer turns on whether the fence is permanent or temporary.
- any permanent fence
- A building permit.
- a snow fence
- None, November to April.
- a construction fence
- Covered by the active building permit.
- a fence needing a conditional use
- That permit instead.
Also on permits in Oshkosh
- set in state lawWisconsin 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. Wis. Admin. Code § SPS 320.01Wisconsin · Building code
Pool fence requirements in Oshkosh
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Oshkosh 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 Oshkosh 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 Oshkosh
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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 Oshkosh 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 Oshkosh
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Oshkosh answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Oshkosh measures from the ground immediately under the fence to the top rail, so the datum moves with the fence and the top of a picket above the rail is outside the figure. Three exceptions follow and the third is the one no other code in this project states. Decorative posts spaced at least twenty four inches apart may extend eight inches above the maximum height. Up to four inches of ground clearance is allowed, to handle slopes and let a mower under, and it does not count toward the height. And a berm does not count toward the height provided its slope is three feet of horizontal for every one foot of vertical or gentler, which draws a line between a gentle landform that happens to be under a fence and a steep mound built to gain height. A berm steeper than three to one presumably does count, although the section does not say so in those words.
Height shall be measured from the ground immediately under the fence to the top rail of the fence. Height Exceptions. Decorative posts at a minimum spacing of 24 inches may extend 8 inches above the maximum height.
Section 30-192, Height Exceptions
4 inground clearance allowed under a fence without counting toward its height
Also on how height is measured in Oshkosh
- 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 Oshkosh
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Oshkosh answers this, but the answer changes depending on the type of street, the opacity of the fence and the district.
The Oshkosh vision triangle runs twenty feet from a local street right-of-way intersection and thirty feet where the intersection includes a collector or arterial, with a rule for rounded corners that measures as though the right-of-way were extended to a square corner. Alleys and driveways get ten feet. Inside any of them nothing may materially impede vision between two and a half and eight feet, and the exception is written for fencing alone: a fence is permitted there provided it is no more than thirty percent opaque. That is a stricter transparency test than the fifty percent the same city applies to an ordinary front yard fence, and it lets an open rail or wire fence cross a corner where a picket fence could not. Two exemptions remove the rule entirely: development in the central mixed use district, and development on streets with signalized intersections.
A vision triangle extending 20 feet from all public street right-of-way intersections shall be maintained for local street intersections and 30 feet when the intersection includes collector or arterial streets. If the street intersection is curved, the vision triangle distance shall be maintained as if the right-of-way where extended to create a 90 degree corner. No wall, fence, structure, utility structure or appurtenance, or vegetation shall be permitted within such vision triangle which materially impedes vision between the height of 2 ½ feet and 8 feet with the exception of fencing, which shall be no greater than 30% opaque.
Section 30-174, Vision Triangle at Public Streets
The answer turns on the type of street, the opacity of the fence and the district.
- two local streets
- Twenty feet. 20 ft
- a collector or arterial
- Thirty feet. 30 ft
- a fence inside it
- No more than thirty percent opaque. 30%
- an alley or a driveway
- Ten feet. 10 ft
Also on corner visibility in Oshkosh
- 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 Oshkosh
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Oshkosh 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 Oshkosh 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 Oshkosh
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Oshkosh answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the yard and what the house is built of.
Oshkosh lists seven permitted materials, the last of which is anything of comparable quality the Director of Community Development approves: naturally resistant or treated wood, brick or masonry, natural stone, wrought iron, vinyl, and galvanized or coated chain link. Then it adds a requirement almost no other code in this project states. A fence has to be architecturally compatible with the design and materials of the principal building, with design details substantially the same though not identical, and industrial uses are the only exception. Chain link has to be at least nine gauge with a top rail, and is barred from front and street yards and from extending toward the street past the front of the building. Permanent chicken wire and snow fences are out at residential uses. Solid non-corrugated metal is allowed only in the two industrial districts. A front yard fence may be no more than fifty percent opaque, and the code defines that as the gaps being at least as wide as the pickets.
Fences shall be architecturally compatible with the design and materials of the principal building. Design details shall be substantially the same (but need not be identical) as those of the principal building. Industrial uses shall be exempt from this requirement.
The answer turns on the district, the yard and what the house is built of.
- the permitted list
- Wood, masonry, stone, iron, vinyl, chain link.
- a front yard fence
- Half open, gaps as wide as the pickets. 50%
- chain link
- Nine gauge, and never toward the street.
- barbed wire
- Industrial districts, six feet up. 6 ft
Also on materials in Oshkosh
- 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 Oshkosh
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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 Oshkosh 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 Oshkosh
- 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
13 documents, of which 2 were published by Oshkosh itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Wisconsin LegislatureWisconsin Statutes, Chapter 90, Fences, Section 90.03, Partition fences; when required
- City of OshkoshCity of Oshkosh Chapter 30, Zoning Ordinance, Article VII, Section 30-192, Fencing Standards
- 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
- City of OshkoshCity of Oshkosh Chapter 30, Zoning Ordinance, Article VII, Section 30-174, Visibility Standards
- 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 Oshkosh 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