FENCE RULES – THOMPSON’S STATION (TOWN), TENNESSEE

OVERVIEW

Residential fences are permitted on private property within Town of Thompson’s Station, subject to local regulations.

For properties located outside Town of Thompson’s Station municipal limits, Williamson County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.

Local fence rules appear primarily in the Town of Thompson’s Station Land Development Ordinance, especially Article 2 permit provisions and Article 4 fencing standards. The Community Development Department, including Planning and Zoning and Building and Codes, administers permit intake, zoning review, building-code administration, and inspections through GeoCivix.

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 Town of Thompson’s Station Land Development Ordinance, Town of Thompson’s Station Land Development Manual, Town of Thompson’s Station Municipal Code, Ordinance No. 2024-007, Codes Updates, Community Development, Planning and Zoning, Building and Codes, Electronic Plans Submittal and Permit Applications, Town Development and Impact Fees, Third-Party Engineer Plan Review Process, Third-Party Engineer Inspection Process, Tennessee State Fire Marshal Residential Jurisdictions and Inspectors, Tennessee State Fire Marshal Residential Permit FAQs, and Tennessee 811 as of July 2026.

GOVERNANCE

The Town of Thompson’s Station is the local governing authority for properties within its municipal limits. The Town of Thompson’s Station Land Development Ordinance is the primary local source for fence placement, permit, height, visibility, material, drainage, stormwater, right-of-way, and easement standards.

The Town of Thompson’s Station Municipal Code incorporates the Land Development Ordinance by reference in Title 14 and contains building-permit authority in Title 12. Ordinance No. 2024-007 and the Codes Updates page identify the 2021 International Residential Code, 2021 International Building Code, 2021 International Fire Code, 2021 International Plumbing Code, 2021 International Mechanical Code, 2021 International Property Maintenance Code, 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2021 International Existing Building Code, 2018 International Energy Conservation Code, 2018 NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, and 2023 National Electrical Code as locally adopted codes effective January 1, 2025.

The Planning and Zoning Department reviews and enforces zoning laws and development applications. The Building and Codes Department reviews building-permit requests and conducts inspections according to adopted building-code standards. GeoCivix is used for planning applications, inspection requests, and necessary permits.

Tennessee Residential Status: Town of Thompson’s Station is listed as EXEMPT by the Tennessee State Fire Marshal residential jurisdiction list. For this page, EXEMPT is treated as local residential building-code administration, not as an opt-out from the local fence-permit and Land Development Ordinance standards.

The Town also publishes third-party engineer plan-review and inspection procedures for permit work. Those procedures are process sources and do not replace the fence-specific standards in the Land Development Ordinance.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Fence Permit: The Land Development Ordinance requires a Fence Permit for any fence within the Town. Fence Permits are issued by Town Staff, and all fences must comply with the standards of the ordinance.

• Building-Code Permit Context: Town of Thompson’s Station is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement, indicating local residential building-code administration. The Town locally adopts the 2021 International Residential Code and related codes. The fence-specific local approval rule is the Land Development Ordinance Fence Permit requirement for any fence within the Town; the referenced published materials do not state a separate State Residential Building Permit requirement for standard residential fences.

• Application and Fee Context: The Town uses GeoCivix for necessary permits, planning applications, and inspection requests. The Land Development Manual lists Fence Permit as No Cost, and the current Town Development and Impact Fees page lists Fence Permit without a separate dollar amount.

• Right-of-Way Permit: A ROW Permit is required for any cut, excavation, or encroachment of any permanent pipe, structure, or other element into the Town’s right-of-way. A fence may not encroach into right-of-way or areas dedicated or reserved for right-of-way.

• Land-Disturbance Context: A Land Development Permit is required for any land disturbance of 5,000 square feet or more, for disturbance associated with approval of a Site Plan or Final Plat, and with TDEC approval for land disturbance over one acre or another TDEC threshold. This is a separate site-work layer and does not replace the Town’s fence-permit requirement.

• Retaining Walls and Pools: A Retaining Wall Building Permit is required for retaining walls that are four (4) feet or higher, measured from the bottom of the footing. A Swimming Pool Permit is required for any pool as defined by the ordinance. These permit types are separate from ordinary fence-permit review when a fence project is tied to a retaining wall or swimming pool.

• Third-Party Review and Inspection: The Town publishes third-party engineer plan-review and inspection procedures for permit work. Those procedures make the applicant or builder responsible for third-party fees and require reviewed plans or inspection reports to be returned through the Town’s process, but they do not create a separate residential fence height, placement, or material standard in the referenced published materials.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Property Lines: The 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. When a fence is erected on a lot line, all of the fence and any supporting structures must be contained within the lot.

• Rights-of-Way and Access: No fence may encroach into right-of-way or areas dedicated or reserved for right-of-way. No fence may conflict with a sight triangle, sight visibility distance, intersections, driveways, or any point of ingress or egress, and no fence may block access within an access easement.

• Drainage and Stormwater: No fence may encroach into drainage easements, swales, or other stormwater areas or devices unless sufficient mitigation measures are included, such as shadow boxes, flap gates installed to open with the flow of drainage, or gaps in the fencing.

• Drainage Easement Agreement: A fence may encroach into a drainage easement only if the owner obtains a Fence Permit, designs the fence to allow unobstructed drainage flow with flap gates or another similar design feature, and completes an agreement for fencing within a Town Easement kept by Town Staff.

• Utility Easements: No fence may encroach into any utility easement without approval of the easement holder.

• 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

• Street-Facing Yards: Fences or walls within any yard facing a street must not exceed 42 inches in height.

• Overall Height: No wall or fence may exceed six (6) feet in height for standard residential fence context.

• Clear Sight Triangles: The fence-permit rule prohibits fences from conflicting with a sight triangle, sight visibility distance, intersections, driveways, or ingress and egress. The clear-sight-triangle standard requires an unobstructed view across the triangle from 3.5 feet to all points 3.5 feet above the roadway along the centerline, and no single post or column within the designed triangle may exceed 12 inches in greatest cross-section.

• Limited Exceptions: The ordinance lists separate nonstandard exceptions for recreational-court fences, fences located on Essential Service Sites, and fences on government property, including chain-link provisions not over 10 feet in those categories. Those exceptions do not create a higher maximum for ordinary single-family yard fences.

• Pre-Existing Housing and Agricultural Uses: The ordinance states that pre-existing housing and agricultural uses may be exempt from the fencing requirements. That clause is a status-specific exception in the ordinance, not a general height permission for new standard residential fences.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Prohibited Materials: The ordinance prohibits chain link, barbed wire, and temporary materials except as provided in the ordinance. Construction sites with temporary fencing are exempt from that temporary-fencing restriction.

• Wood Fences: Wood fences must be painted or stained.

• Finished Face: Supporting members and posts must be on the inside, and the smooth or flat finished faces must be on the outside. If two faces are used, each face must be of the same type and finish. Board-on-board fences are considered equal treatment.

• Stormwater Treatment Areas: Fences required for stormwater treatment areas must be wood split-rail and either stained or painted a neutral color.

• Narrow Chain-Link Exceptions: The chain-link exceptions listed in the ordinance are narrow exceptions and are not general material permissions for ordinary single-family residential yard fences unless the property fits a listed category.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Private restrictions operate independently from Town fence permits and the Land Development Ordinance. HOAs, covenants, subdivision restrictions, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, agricultural agreements, boundary agreements, conservation easements, or recorded agreements may impose limits that are more restrictive than the Town’s public rules.

The Town Municipal Code recognizes homeowners’ associations as entities that may adopt or maintain covenants or restrictions on the use of lots within a development. A Fence Permit from the Town does not remove separate private obligations that apply to a particular property.

REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT

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

• Fence Permit Review: A Fence Permit is required for any fence within the Town, and Fence Permits are issued by Town Staff under the Land Development Ordinance.

• Height and Visibility: Review may involve the 42-inch street-facing-yard limit, the six-foot overall fence and wall limit, clear-sight-triangle standards, driveways, intersections, and ingress or egress points.

• Encroachment and Site Conditions: Review may involve right-of-way, reserved right-of-way, access easements, drainage easements, swales, stormwater devices, utility easements, and Town Easement agreement requirements.

• Separate Permit Layers: Fence-related site work may also involve a Land Development Permit for land disturbance of 5,000 square feet or more, a ROW Permit for work in right-of-way, a Retaining Wall Building Permit for retaining walls four (4) feet or higher, or a Swimming Pool Permit when a pool is part of the project.

• GeoCivix and Third-Party Processes: The Town uses GeoCivix for permit intake and inspection requests. Third-party engineer plan-review or inspection procedures may apply to permit work where the Town uses those processes, but they do not replace the fence standards in the Land Development Ordinance.

• Residential Building-Code Administration: Town of Thompson’s Station is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement and locally administers the adopted 2021 International Residential Code and related codes.

• Utility Safety: Fence work that involves digging is also subject to the statewide Tennessee 811 notice framework described above.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Town of Thompson’s Station, 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 Community Development Department and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Town of Thompson’s Station staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.