FENCE RULES – SODDY-DAISY (CITY), TENNESSEE

OVERVIEW

Residential fences are permitted on private property within City of Soddy-Daisy, subject to local regulations.

For properties located outside City of Soddy-Daisy municipal limits, Hamilton County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.

Fence rules for the City of Soddy-Daisy appear primarily in the Soddy-Daisy Zoning Ordinance, including Article V, General Provisions and Exceptions; the Soddy-Daisy Municipal Code; the City’s Building & Permits and Planning & Zoning materials; the Soddy-Daisy Subdivision Regulations; local floodplain, stormwater, drainage, and right-of-way provisions; Tennessee residential building-code status materials; and the statewide Tennessee 811 excavation-notice framework.

This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s adopted code or ordinance materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the code does not specify one. If no local code or ordinance is available in the approved source packet, this page notes that the jurisdiction does not publish the relevant standard in the referenced published materials.

Compiled From the City of Soddy-Daisy Building & Permits page, City of Soddy-Daisy Planning & Zoning page, Soddy-Daisy Zoning Ordinance, Soddy-Daisy Municipal Code, Soddy-Daisy Subdivision Regulations, Hamilton County Water Quality Program rules as adopted through the City’s stormwater framework, Tennessee State Fire Marshal Residential Jurisdictions & Inspectors, Tennessee State Fire Marshal Residential Permit FAQs, Tennessee State Fire Marshal Residential Permits, Tennessee State Fire Marshal Currently Adopted Codes, the 2018 International Residential Code R105.2, and Tennessee 811 as of July 2026.

GOVERNANCE

The City of Soddy-Daisy governs residential fence rules through the Soddy-Daisy Zoning Ordinance and the Soddy-Daisy Municipal Code. City of Soddy-Daisy Planning & Zoning administers zoning, planning, subdivision, plat, and related development-review functions. City of Soddy-Daisy Building & Permits administers local building and construction-code matters through City Hall.

The City does not publish a single consolidated residential fence article. Fence-related rules appear across the zoning ordinance’s corner-lot and visibility provisions, adopted-code materials, floodplain zoning, stormwater and land-disturbance provisions, street and right-of-way excavation rules, subdivision plat and easement materials, and pool-code adoption materials.

The City of Soddy-Daisy is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement, indicating local residential building-code administration. The City’s current building-code materials identify the 2018 International Residential Code and 2018 International Building Code as local code editions. The user-supplied 2018 IRC R105.2 text includes a building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high.

Stormwater and runoff-management requirements are administered through the Hamilton County Stormwater Pollution Control Program framework adopted for Soddy-Daisy and other participating Hamilton County communities. Right-of-way excavation and encroachment matters are administered through the City Manager, Public Works Director, Superintendent of Streets, or their designees as described in the municipal code.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Building-Code Permit Context: The City of Soddy-Daisy is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement, indicating local residential building-code administration. The 2018 International Residential Code R105.2 includes a building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high. The City of Soddy-Daisy does not publish a separate local fence permit requirement for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.

• Zoning Compliance: Building-code permit exemptions, Tennessee residential building-code status, and State Residential Building Permit status are separate from zoning, setback, subdivision, floodplain, stormwater, drainage, historic, right-of-way, easement, utility, and plat requirements. Confirm any applicable zoning conditions, setbacks, plat requirements, and site-specific limitations with City of Soddy-Daisy Planning & Zoning before construction.

• Floodplain Development: The municipal floodplain zoning chapter requires a development permit before development activities begin in mapped floodplain areas. The floodplain chapter defines development to include man-made changes such as buildings or other structures, filling, grading, paving, excavating, drilling, or storage of equipment or materials. Fence-related work in a mapped floodplain may require floodplain review when it involves excavation, drilling, grading, fill, obstruction, or another covered development activity.

• Stormwater and Land Disturbance: The stormwater framework requires a land-disturbance permit for land-disturbing activity that disturbs 1 acre or more, less than 1 acre when part of a larger common plan affecting 1 acre or more, or less than 1 acre when program staff determine that the activity poses a unique threat to the water environment or public health or safety. A runoff-management permit is also required for development, redevelopment, or land-disturbing activity meeting the 1-acre or common-plan thresholds.

• Right-of-Way Work: The municipal code requires a permit before making a cut or excavation in any street, curb, alley, or public right-of-way, or tunneling under those areas. Work in the public right-of-way buffer area also requires approval where regrading, cutting, filling, driveway work, or other improvements could affect drainage, roadway stability, or adjacent drainage.

• Pool-Barrier Context: The municipal code adopts the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code for swimming pools, spas, hot tubs, and aquatic facilities. A fence used as part of a pool, spa, or hot-tub barrier may be reviewed under that pool-code framework and should not be treated only as an ordinary yard fence.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Corner Lots and Intersections: Article V of the zoning ordinance addresses side yards on corner lots and states that fences and walls not more than 6 feet high may be erected, but no fence, wall, or shrubbery may be maintained within 25 feet of any street intersection so as to interfere with traffic visibility around the corner.

• Property-Line Placement: The zoning ordinance does not state a setback requirement for standard residential fences from property lines; however, fences must be located entirely on the owner’s property and must not encroach into rights-of-way or easements.

• Easements and Recorded Plats: Subdivision and zoning materials address access easements, utility easements, drainage arrangements, recorded plats, lot lines, and private covenants. Fence placement must account for recorded easements, access rights, drainage easements, right-of-way limits, and plat notations that affect the property.

• Right-of-Way and Drainage: Fence-related digging, grading, driveway work, or other improvements in a street, alley, curb, public right-of-way, or right-of-way buffer area may require the municipal right-of-way permit or approval described above. Improvements in the buffer area must not impair drainage within the right-of-way, alter roadway subgrade stability, or materially alter adjacent drainage.

• Floodplain and Stormwater Conditions: Where a fence project involves mapped floodplain conditions, grading, fill, drainage changes, excavation, drilling, land disturbance, or stormwater impacts, the floodplain and stormwater provisions may apply as site-condition review layers. These requirements are separate from ordinary fence placement and height rules.

• Utility Safety: Tennessee law requires notice through Tennessee 811 before excavation where the Tennessee Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act applies. For fence projects that involve digging, including digging, drilling, augering, boring, grading, or other movement of earth, notice generally must be given at least three full working days before excavation begins. Tennessee 811 is a notification center and does not mark lines itself; member utilities or their locators mark covered facilities, and the excavator must check the positive-response status before beginning work where required. This statewide utility-notice framework is separate from local fence permitting, zoning, development approval, easement limits, right-of-way approvals, floodplain review, stormwater review, drainage review, historic or design review, HOA restrictions, and other applicable requirements.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

• Corner-Lot Fence and Wall Height: In the zoning ordinance’s Article V corner-lot provision, fences and walls not more than 6 feet high may be erected.

• Intersection Visibility: No fence, wall, or shrubbery may be maintained within 25 feet of any street intersection so as to interfere with traffic visibility around the corner.

• Citywide Height Structure: The code does not specify a separate citywide maximum height for every standard residential fence outside the Article V corner-lot fence and wall provision.

• Building-Code Permit Exemption: The 2018 International Residential Code R105.2 building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high is a permit-exemption rule. It is not stated as a local zoning maximum height and does not replace the zoning ordinance’s 6-foot fence-and-wall language in the Article V corner-lot provision.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Standard Residential Materials: The code does not specify a defined list of permitted or prohibited materials for standard single-family residential fences.

• Finished-Side Orientation: The code does not specify a finished-side orientation requirement for standard residential fences.

• Barbed Wire, Razor Wire, and Electric Fences: The code does not specify a standard residential rule for barbed wire, razor wire, electric fences, or security fences in the referenced published materials.

• Pool-Barrier Use: A fence used as part of a swimming pool, spa, or hot-tub barrier may be subject to the adopted swimming pool and spa code. The referenced published materials do not specify a separate local pool-barrier dimension for ordinary residential fence publication.

• Special-Use Screening: The zoning ordinance includes fencing or screening requirements for certain special uses, such as mini-storage facilities, open-air markets, mobile home parks, telecommunications towers, utility-related equipment, and dumpsters. Those special-use standards are not treated as ordinary single-family residential fence material rules unless the property or project falls within that specific regulated context.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Private restrictions operate independently from City fence rules. These may include HOA covenants, subdivision restrictions, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, agricultural agreements, boundary agreements, private maintenance obligations, or conservation easements.

The Soddy-Daisy Subdivision Regulations recognize deed restrictions, protective covenants, and homeowners association documents in subdivision review, but private restrictions remain separate from public zoning and building-code administration unless an official source states otherwise.

REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT

Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:

• Building-Code Status: The City of Soddy-Daisy is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement, and the locally referenced 2018 International Residential Code R105.2 includes a building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high.

• Zoning and Corner-Lot Review: Fence placement and height may be reviewed against the zoning ordinance’s Article V corner-lot rule for fences and walls not more than 6 feet high and the 25-foot intersection-visibility limitation.

• Visibility Conflicts: Fences, walls, or shrubbery near a street intersection may be reviewed where they interfere with traffic visibility around the corner within the 25-foot intersection area.

• Easement, Plat, and Right-of-Way Conflicts: Fence location may be reviewed where a recorded plat, access easement, utility easement, drainage easement, public right-of-way, street buffer area, or right-of-way excavation rule affects the proposed location.

• Floodplain and Stormwater Review: Fence-related work involving floodplain development, excavation, drilling, grading, fill, drainage changes, land disturbance, or runoff-management thresholds may be reviewed under the floodplain and stormwater frameworks.

• Pool-Barrier Review: A fence used as part of a swimming pool, spa, or hot-tub barrier may be reviewed under the adopted swimming pool and spa code.

• Utility Safety: Fence projects involving excavation may require Tennessee 811 notice and positive-response checking before work begins where the statewide utility-notice framework applies.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within City of Soddy-Daisy, based on the referenced published materials as of July 2026.

In addition to local fence rules, certain Tennessee laws apply statewide. See Statewide fence laws in Tennessee.

It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, zoning approvals, zoning certifications, development approvals, State Residential Building Permits, adopted building codes, surveys, or professional guidance. Rules and interpretations may change, and application may vary based on zoning district, site conditions, easements, rights-of-way, floodplain status, stormwater requirements, drainage conditions, historic district status, design-review status, rural or agricultural context, livestock or enclosed-land context, residential building-code status, adopted-code status, opt-out status, pool-barrier use, Tennessee 811 utility safety requirements, overhead utility-line safety, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants, deed restrictions, private agreements, or conservation easements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with City of Soddy-Daisy Planning & Zoning and Building & Permits and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from City of Soddy-Daisy staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.