FENCE RULES – ARLINGTON (TOWN), TENNESSEE

OVERVIEW

Residential fences are permitted on private property within Town of Arlington, subject to local regulations.

For properties located outside Town of Arlington municipal limits, Shelby County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.

Fence rules for the Town of Arlington appear primarily in the Town of Arlington Zoning Ordinance, including Chapter 6, Development Standards, the Fence / Retaining Wall Application, the Development & Permit Process materials, Title 12, Building, Utility, Etc. Codes, Title 16, Streets and Sidewalks, Etc., the Homeowner's Guide to Drainage, the Street Cut / Boring / Driveway Permit Application, and the Town's design-review materials for applicable districts and development contexts.

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 Town of Arlington Zoning Ordinance, Fence / Retaining Wall Application, Development & Permit Process, Title 12, Building, Utility, Etc. Codes, Title 16, Streets and Sidewalks, Etc., Homeowner's Guide to Drainage, Street Cut / Boring / Driveway Permit Application, Design Guidelines Manual, Depot Square Overlay District Design Guidelines, Tennessee State Fire Marshal Residential Jurisdictions & Inspectors, Tennessee State Fire Marshal residential permit and adopted-code materials, and Tennessee 811 as of July 2026.

GOVERNANCE

The Town of Arlington governs residential fence rules through the Town's zoning ordinance, fence permit application, permit-process materials, drainage guidance, street and right-of-way provisions, and design-review materials where applicable. The Town of Arlington Planning Department and Town Hall process fence applications, while the Town Engineer administers drainage, retaining-wall, flood-fringe, floodway, right-of-way, and engineering review where the published materials assign those issues to that office.

The Town does not publish a single consolidated residential fence code. Fence rules appear across Chapter 6, Section 6.7, Fences and Retaining Walls; Chapter 6, Section 6.1, Clear Sight Triangle; the Fence / Retaining Wall Application; the Development & Permit Process page; the drainage guide; right-of-way and excavation permit materials; and design guidelines for specific districts, screening conditions, and unlisted fence materials.

The Town of Arlington is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement, indicating local residential building-code administration. Title 12 states that the building, plumbing, electrical, gas, and housing codes in effect in Shelby County are effective within the Town's corporate limits and are enforced by Shelby County and/or Town of Arlington personnel. The referenced published materials do not identify a separate local residential code edition for ordinary fence work, and the Town publishes a separate local fence permit requirement.

The Design Review Committee is relevant where the zoning ordinance sends unlisted fence materials to design-review approval and where the Depot Square Overlay District Design Guidelines or development-level screening standards apply. The Board of Zoning Appeals is the appeal and variance body identified in Chapter 10 for zoning and retaining-wall matters.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Fence Permit: The Fence / Retaining Wall Application states that all residential and commercial fences, gates, and retaining walls must be administratively approved. It is unlawful for any contractor, individual, or property owner to begin installing a fence or wall until the Town of Arlington has issued a fence permit for that work.

• New and Replacement Fences: The Development & Permit Process page states that fence permits are required for new fences and for fence replacement when different than original. Fence applications are processed at Town Hall, and the published fence permit fee is $25.

• Fence Application Submittals: The fence application requires a plot plan showing the fence location, the $25 fee, and an HOA approval letter for the proposed fence. The application also asks for fence height, street-facing cap or trim information, material selection, and whether the fence encloses a pool or spa.

• Residential Permit Routing: The Town's permit page places fences among residential permit topics for additions and accessory structures. Building-permit routing uses a Shelby County form submitted to Town Hall for initial Town approval before the Town submits the form to Shelby County for processing; the Town's fence application is the fence-specific local permit document.

• Retaining Walls: The fence application states that all retaining walls regardless of height must obtain a permit and that retaining walls over 4 feet high require engineering plans reviewed and approved by the Town of Arlington Engineer. Chapter 6 separately regulates retaining-wall location, drainage, utility access, maximum wall heights, and appeals.

• Pool and Spa Barriers: When a fence encloses a pool or spa, Chapter 6 requires swimming pools, hot tubs, and spas to be enclosed by a fence, wall, building, or combination barrier not less than 5 feet and not greater than 8 feet high. The barrier must completely enclose the property or the pool / spa area, and openings may not allow passage of a 4-inch or larger diameter sphere.

• Flood-Fringe and Floodway Pool Context: Installation of swimming pools, hot tubs, and spas on properties located in the Town's flood fringe or floodway areas requires Town Engineer approval before approval of the permit application. This rule is stated for pool, hot-tub, and spa installations, not as an ordinary fence setback.

• Right-of-Way Work: Fence-related work that involves work in the public right-of-way, including a street cut, curb cut, trench, bore, utility work, or similar activity, requires the Town's Street Cut / Excavation / Driveway Permit before work in the right-of-way.

• Land-Disturbance Context: Chapter 10 requires a land-disturbance permit and erosion and sediment control plan for land-disturbing activity unless an exemption applies. The land-disturbance permit requirement does not apply to residential landscaping or gardening activities, but exempt activities must still comply with Town and State stormwater regulations.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Side and Rear Yard Placement: Fences installed in side and rear yards may be constructed on the lot line, except as limited by Planning Commission approval of fence location given with a subdivision or site plan approval.

• Front Yard Placement: No minimum setback from the right-of-way is required for a fence located in the required front yard if the fence is 48 inches high or less, except that no fence may be installed within the clear sight triangle.

• Corner Lots: On corner lots, a fence exceeding 48 inches high but not exceeding 8 feet high may be constructed in the yard abutting the street on the frontage other than where the principal entrance to the principal structure is located, provided that the fence is set back at least 15 feet from the right-of-way.

• Clear Sight Triangle: No fence is permitted within the clear sight triangle. Chapter 6 treats a sight obstruction as an object greater than 3 feet above the grade of the respective street, driveway, or vehicular access center lines, subject to the listed exceptions and Town Engineer determinations in Section 6.1.

• Public Areas and Double Frontage Lots: Fences on double frontage lots and fences abutting a public right-of-way, park, greenbelt, or other public area must be maintained by the property owner or an established owner's association. Where there is no owner's association, the property owner maintains the fence, and access gates must be installed on properties that abut the public area.

• Easements: Fences, walls, and hedges installed in or along public easements, including utility, drainage, pedestrian, and similar easements, are subject to removal at the owner's expense if maintenance or construction work is required within or along the public easement.

• Drainage Clearance: Fences and walls must be installed with sufficient clearance from the bottom of the fence to the ground so drainage will flow freely and will not negatively affect adjacent property owners. Fences located in or along drainage easements must have at least 2 inches of ground clearance, and greater clearance may be required by the Town Engineer to prevent adverse effects on drainage flow.

• Drainage Ways and Swales: The Homeowner's Guide to Drainage states that fences, walls, structures, landscaping, and debris should not be placed in drainage ways, swales, channels, drainage areas, or drainage easements, and that area should be left beneath a fence for water to pass without altering the natural flow.

• Retaining Walls and Access: Retaining walls may not restrict access to utilities, may not impede the normal flow of stormwater, may not cross an open drainage channel, and may not be constructed over a public or private access easement.

• 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

• Front Yard Height: Fences of not more than 48 inches high may be allowed in a front yard. Periodic posts, decorative columns, lighting fixtures, and decorative details may exceed the 48-inch height limitation.

• Side and Rear Yard Height: Fences installed in side and rear yards may not exceed 8 feet high. If an 8-foot fence joins a 6-foot fence, the 8-foot fence must be sloped for a distance of 8 feet to where it joins the 6-foot fence.

• Corner-Lot Street Frontage: On corner lots, fences higher than 48 inches but not higher than 8 feet may be placed in the yard abutting the street on the frontage other than the principal-entrance frontage if the fence is set back at least 15 feet from the right-of-way.

• Clear Sight Visibility: The clear sight triangle must remain free of fences and other sight obstructions. For a residential driveway or vehicular access serving exclusively residential uses, Chapter 6 defines the controlled sight area as triangles at each corner with two sides of 10 feet each measured along the edge of pavement.

• Vegetation in Sight Triangle: Vegetation extending into the sight triangle must be pruned to maintain a minimum obstruction-free height of 8 feet above finished ground level or as needed to provide adequate sight distance under Section 6.1.

• Pool, Hot Tub, and Spa Barriers: A fence, wall, building, or combination barrier enclosing a swimming pool, hot tub, or spa must be at least 5 feet high and not more than 8 feet high, and openings may not allow passage of a 4-inch or larger diameter sphere.

• Fence and Retaining Wall Combination: When a retaining wall is used to increase usable lot area, the combined height of a fence or wall and retaining wall, measured from the exterior of a side or rear property line, may not exceed 8 feet unless a 4-foot landscaped area is provided between the retaining wall and fence or wall. In that situation, each individual fence, wall, or retaining wall may not exceed 6 feet high.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Side and Rear Yard Materials: Fences in side and rear yards must use approved construction materials, including naturally rot-resistant wood such as cedar, cypress, or redwood, pressure-treated pine, brick, stone, and wrought iron.

• Front Yard Materials: Front-yard fences may be split rail or wood picket fences made of naturally rot-resistant wood such as cedar, cypress, or redwood; pressure-treated pine with suitable cap and trim of like materials; or wrought iron, including wrought iron with brick or stone columns.

• Street-Facing Cap and Trim: Wood picket fencing must include a suitable cap and trim of like material on street-facing sections. The fence application also identifies cap / trim as required for all street-facing portions.

• Finished Side: On corner lots and double frontage lots, all fences must have the finished side toward the street. Where a fence abuts a common open area, parkland, greenbelt, or other public area, the finished side must face that area.

• Prohibited Materials: The code specifically prohibits exposed plain cinderblock, concrete block, PVC / vinyl, metal mesh fencing, chain link, barbed wire, and other single-wire fencing for standard fences, except that barbed-wire fencing is permitted where the land is used for agricultural purposes.

• Other Materials: Fence materials not listed as approved are subject to approval by the Design Review Committee.

• Fence Maintenance: Lack of proper maintenance and upkeep of a fence or wall is a violation of the fence regulations. The code identifies rotten or deteriorated structural members, missing or broken components, excessive sagging, warping, and distortion of planks or fence / wall materials as examples of inadequate maintenance.

• Drainage-Conscious Construction: Fences must be installed so that drainage flows freely, and required fencing must be designed to facilitate maintenance and must not modify natural drainage so as to endanger adjacent property.

• Depot Square Overlay District: Within the Depot Square Overlay District, the design guidelines state that appurtenances related to a building, including fences and walls, should be visibly compatible with the related environment. Wood picket fences are appropriate in front or rear yards of houses, board fences are appropriate only around rear yards, chain link and woven fences are not permissible, and any portion of a rear fence visible from the street should be camouflaged.

• Development-Level Screening: Where the Design Guidelines Manual applies to required screening for multi-family developments, conflicting land uses, or residential developments with double frontage lots, required fencing must follow the manual's screening standards, including approved screening materials, opacity, utility and landscaping clearance, drainage protection, and an 8-foot maximum screening-fence height.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Private restrictions operate independently from Town of Arlington 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 Fence / Retaining Wall Application lists an HOA approval letter for the proposed fence as a required application item. Private approval does not replace the Town fence permit, and the Town fence permit does not remove private restrictions that are more restrictive than the Town's published standards.

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: New fences and fence replacements that differ from the original fence are reviewed through the Town's fence permit process, including the plot plan, permit fee, HOA approval letter, height, material, street-facing cap / trim, pool or spa enclosure question, and Chapter 6, Section 6.7 standards.

• Residential Permit and Building-Code Routing: The Town is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement, and Title 12 makes Shelby County building and related codes effective within the Town. Fence review remains controlled by the Town's published fence permit requirement and zoning standards.

• Height and Yard Review: Fence review may involve the 48-inch front-yard height limit, the 8-foot side and rear yard limit, the 15-foot right-of-way setback for certain corner-lot street-frontage fences, and the sloping requirement where an 8-foot fence joins a 6-foot fence.

• Clear Sight Review: Fences and other objects may be reviewed where they enter a clear sight triangle or create a sight obstruction greater than 3 feet above the applicable center-line grade.

• Material and Finished-Side Review: Fence materials, street-facing cap and trim, finished-side orientation, prohibited materials, agricultural barbed-wire context, and unlisted materials subject to Design Review Committee approval may be reviewed during fence permit review.

• Drainage, Easement, and Public-Area Review: Fence location and construction may be reviewed where drainage easements, public easements, swales, channels, greenbelts, parks, rights-of-way, common open areas, or public-area maintenance obligations affect the proposed fence.

• Retaining Wall Review: Retaining wall work may be reviewed for permit status, engineering plans when over 4 feet high, utility access, stormwater flow, access easements, maximum wall heights, and fence / retaining wall combination height limits.

• Pool and Spa Review: A fence used as a swimming-pool, hot-tub, or spa barrier may be reviewed for the 5-foot to 8-foot barrier height range, the 4-inch opening limit, the complete-enclosure requirement, the adopted IRC reference, and Town Engineer review where the pool, hot tub, or spa is in a flood-fringe or floodway area.

• Right-of-Way and Excavation Review: Fence-related work may require separate review if it involves a street cut, curb cut, trench, bore, utility work, work in the public right-of-way, qualifying land-disturbing activity, or other excavation subject to Town permit materials and Tennessee 811 utility-notice requirements.

• Design Review and Overlay Context: Fence materials not listed in Chapter 6 are subject to Design Review Committee approval, and fence or wall work in the Depot Square Overlay District may be reviewed against the district design guidelines where those guidelines apply.

• Maintenance and Complaint Context: Deteriorated, broken, sagging, warped, or poorly maintained fences and walls may be reviewed as violations of the Town's fence maintenance standards.

USING THIS INFORMATION

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