FENCE RULES – GREENBRIER (CITY), TENNESSEE

OVERVIEW

Residential fences are permitted on private property within City of Greenbrier, subject to local regulations. For properties located outside City of Greenbrier municipal limits, Robertson County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.

Fence rules for the City of Greenbrier appear primarily in the City of Greenbrier Fence Permit, the Greenbrier Zoning Ordinance, the Greenbrier Subdivision Regulations, the Greenbrier Design Review Manual, the City’s land-disturbance and stormwater materials, the City’s floodplain regulations, and local adopted-code materials.

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 Greenbrier Fence Permit, City of Greenbrier Building & Codes materials, Greenbrier Zoning Ordinance, Greenbrier Subdivision Regulations, Greenbrier Design Review Manual, City of Greenbrier Land Disturbance Permit, Greenbrier Municipal Code adopted-code materials, Tennessee State Fire Marshal residential jurisdiction materials, Tennessee State Fire Marshal residential permit materials, Tennessee State Fire Marshal adopted-code materials, International Residential Code R105.2, and Tennessee 811 materials as of July 2026.

GOVERNANCE

The City of Greenbrier administers residential fence rules through the City of Greenbrier Building & Codes Department, Planning and Zoning functions, and the Greenbrier Municipal Planning Commission where subdivision, site-plan, design-review, stormwater, floodplain, or other development-review issues apply.

The City does not publish a single consolidated residential fence chapter. Fence requirements appear across the City’s fence permit form, zoning ordinance, adopted-code materials, subdivision regulations, design-review materials, floodplain provisions, and stormwater and land-disturbance materials.

The City of Greenbrier is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement, indicating local residential building-code administration. The local adopted-code materials identify the 2021 International Residential Code. International Residential Code R105.2 includes a building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high. That building-code exemption is separate from the City’s local fence approval requirement and local fence-height field.

The Greenbrier Design Review Manual states that single-family and duplex residential developments are exempt from design review. The City’s fence permit still states that all fences require approval compliant with design standards, so the fence permit is the more direct administrative source for standard residential fences.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Fence Permit / Approval: The City of Greenbrier Fence Permit states that all fences require approval compliant with design standards. The form covers residential privacy fences and asks for fence type, material, height, approximate length, corner-lot status, site or plot plan status, historical-district status, building-permit status, flood-zone status, onsite-easement status, and vacant-lot status.

• Existing Fence Maintenance: Fence or plan permits are not required for maintenance of an existing fence unless the height, materials, and/or opacity of the fence is being modified.

• Building-Code Permit Context: The City of Greenbrier is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement, indicating local residential building-code administration. The locally adopted 2021 International Residential Code includes a building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high. The City’s separate fence permit uses a local maximum 6-foot fence-height field and still requires fence approval compliant with design standards.

• Building Permit Field: The fence permit includes a Building Permit Required yes/no field, but the referenced published materials do not state a separate building-permit trigger for standard residential fences beyond the adopted-code exemption and the City’s fence-approval process.

• Flood-Zone and Floodplain Context: The fence permit asks whether the property is in a Flood Zone. The zoning ordinance requires a development permit before development activities in areas regulated by the floodplain provisions. Fence work involving construction, fill, grading, excavation, drilling, drainage facilities, or other development activity in a floodplain context may require floodplain review.

• Land Disturbance and Stormwater Context: The City of Greenbrier Land Disturbance Permit applies to grading and land-disturbance activity. If the area to be disturbed is over 1 acre, the form states that a Notice of Intent must be filed with the State of Tennessee and a TNR number from the Notice of Coverage must be provided to the City before a grading permit can be issued.

• Pool Context: The zoning ordinance states that swimming pools must follow the current code edition adopted by the City Board of Mayor and Aldermen and applicable state pool legislation. The referenced published materials do not specify a separate private residential pool-barrier fence dimension for ordinary yard-fence use.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Property Lines and Easements: The zoning ordinance and fence permit do 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. The fence permit asks whether an easement is onsite and states that the City does not provide services to locate property lines.

• Site or Plot Plan: The fence permit asks whether a site or plot plan is provided. The same form asks whether the property is a corner lot, historical district property, flood-zone property, vacant lot, or property with an onsite easement.

• Corner Lots and Street / Railroad Visibility: On a corner lot in any district, the zoning ordinance prohibits obstructions to vision within the area formed by the center lines of intersecting or intercepting streets and/or railroads and a line joining points on those center lines at a distance of 90 feet from the intersection. The controlled vertical area is between 3 1/2 feet and 10 feet above the average grade of each street and/or railroad at the center line. The zoning ordinance states that this requirement does not prohibit any necessary retaining wall.

• Screening and Drainage: Where a fence is used as a Fenced Screen under the Design Review Manual, the manual states that fences must clear all stormwater drainage installations.

• Subdivision Hazard Fences: The Greenbrier Subdivision Regulations require a subdivider or developer to furnish and install fences wherever the Greenbrier Municipal Planning Commission determines that a hazardous condition exists. Those fences must be constructed according to Planning Commission standards and noted on the final plat as to height and required materials.

• 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

• Standard Residential Fence Height: The City of Greenbrier Fence Permit uses a Fence Height (Max. 6′) field. For standard residential privacy fences, the local permit form therefore frames the maximum fence height as 6 feet.

• Building-Code Exemption Is Not a Local Maximum: International Residential Code R105.2 includes a building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high. That adopted-code exemption is building-permit context only; it is not stated as the City’s local maximum fence height and does not replace the City’s separate fence-approval process.

• Corner-Lot Visibility: On corner lots in any district, fences and other obstructions may not block the required visibility area between 3 1/2 feet and 10 feet above the average grade within the 90-foot center-line visibility area at street and/or railroad intersections.

• Fenced Screen Height: For fences reviewed as Fenced Screens under the Design Review Manual, the manual states that fence height must be a minimum of 6 feet and a maximum of 8 feet. Fenced Screens are permitted only in the rear and side yard areas of the property unless front-yard abutment areas require buffering under the zoning ordinance.

• Pool-Barrier Height: The referenced published materials do not specify a separate private residential pool-barrier fence height in the local fence materials.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Fence Permit Material Categories: The City of Greenbrier Fence Permit lists chain link, wooden, synthetic (PVC, vinyl), fashioned metal, and other as fence-material categories on the permit form.

• Opacity Changes: The fence permit treats changes to opacity as one of the changes that can make an existing fence maintenance project require a fence or plan permit.

• Fenced Screen Materials: Where a fence is used as a Fenced Screen under the Design Review Manual, the manual states that the screen must be constructed of wood, brick, metal, or stone materials and provide the opacity necessary to fully screen the activity from adjacent property.

• Fenced Screen Restrictions: For Fenced Screens, the Design Review Manual states that chain-link, livestock wiring, or related metal fencing is not permitted; however, metal may be used if approved by the Greenbrier Municipal Planning Commission. A buffer strip that uses fencing in its design must include gated access to the rear for maintenance needs, and fences must clear all stormwater drainage installations.

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

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Private restrictions operate independently from City of Greenbrier fence rules. Subdivision covenants, HOA rules, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, agricultural agreements, boundary agreements, and recorded plat restrictions may be more restrictive than the City’s published fence requirements.

The City of Greenbrier Fence Permit states that subdivision regulations and restrictions may also govern fence or wall placement, and that private or HOA regulations are not enforceable by the City. The Greenbrier Subdivision Regulations similarly state that private easements, covenants, and private agreements may impose more restrictive obligations, and that the Planning Commission does not intervene in or enforce those private restrictions.

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: Fence approval under the City of Greenbrier Fence Permit, including the form’s height, material, site or plot plan, corner-lot, historical-district, flood-zone, easement, vacant-lot, and building-permit fields.

• Height, Material, and Opacity Changes: Existing fence maintenance does not require a fence or plan permit unless the project changes the fence’s height, materials, and/or opacity.

• Building-Code Status: The City’s EXEMPT Tennessee residential status, the locally adopted 2021 International Residential Code, and the adopted-code building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high, separate from the City’s fence-approval process.

• Visibility Conditions: Corner-lot street and railroad intersection visibility limits using the 3 1/2-foot to 10-foot controlled height range and the 90-foot center-line visibility area.

• Floodplain, Stormwater, and Land Disturbance: Fence work involving flood-zone conditions, development activity in regulated floodplain areas, grading, drainage, erosion controls, or land disturbance, including the 1-acre state notice threshold on the City’s land-disturbance form.

• Subdivision and Plat Conditions: Subdivision hazard fences required by the Greenbrier Municipal Planning Commission, final-plat notations for fence height and required materials, subdivision easements, drainage easements, utility easements, and private restrictions.

• Utility Safety: Tennessee 811 notice and positive-response requirements where fence work involves excavation or other earth movement covered by Tennessee utility-damage-prevention law.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within City of Greenbrier, 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 Greenbrier Building & Codes Department and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from City of Greenbrier staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.