Do You Need a Permit to Build a Fence in Polk County?

This is a question we get on nearly every estimate, and the honest answer is that it depends on where your property sits and what it is subject to. Requirements change, they differ between the county and each city, and a subdivision can impose rules stricter than either. So rather than tell you what the rule is, this article tells you exactly who to ask and what to check - which is more useful, because it will still be right next year.

The four things that can govern your fence

1. Whether you are inside city limits

Property inside the limits of Livingston, Onalaska, Corrigan, or Cleveland falls under that city's rules, which commonly cover height, how close to the street you can build, and corner-lot sight lines. Property in unincorporated Polk County is a different situation. If you are not certain which you are in, the appraisal district record for your parcel or a call to the city will settle it in a few minutes.

Call the city's permitting or code office directly and ask two questions: does a residential fence require a permit, and what are the height and setback limits for my lot? Write down who told you.

2. Your subdivision or property owners' association

Around Lake Livingston this is the one that catches people out. A great many lake subdivisions have their own architectural rules, and they are often more specific than any city ordinance - permitted materials, maximum height, whether anything can be built between the house and the water, sometimes even the colour.

A POA can require you to submit a plan and get approval before work starts. Ignoring that is how a finished fence ends up having to be modified at your expense. If your neighbourhood has an association, contact them first.

3. Your deed restrictions

Deed restrictions run with the land and apply whether or not there is an active association enforcing them. They are in your closing paperwork, and they are worth reading before you design a fence rather than after.

4. Managed shoreline

If your lot runs down to Lake Livingston, be aware that the shoreline and the land immediately around the water may be managed rather than privately owned, and building on it can require separate permission. Confirm where your ownership actually ends before you plan a fence line near the water. Your survey and the managing authority for the shoreline are the two sources worth checking.

What to sort out regardless of permits

Know where your property line is

A fence built even a foot over the line is a legal problem, not a construction one, and it is far cheaper to establish the boundary now than to move a finished fence. If you have a current survey, find it. If you do not, and the line is not obvious, get one. Neighbourly agreement about where the line "has always been" is not the same as a documented boundary.

Call 811 before anyone digs

This one is not optional anywhere. Before digging, underground utilities must be located and marked. It is a free call, it takes a couple of days, and hitting a buried line is dangerous and expensive. A contractor who shrugs at this is telling you something important about how they work.

Check your easements

Utility and drainage easements can cross a property, and a fence built across one may have to come down if the utility needs access. Your survey shows them.

How we handle it

We build in these communities constantly and we are familiar with how they work, so we will raise anything we can see when we come out to measure - a line that looks close to an easement, a height that seems likely to exceed what a neighbourhood allows, a run that may need approval before it starts.

What we will not do is guess on your behalf about a rule that governs your property. We will tell you what to confirm and who to confirm it with, and we will build to whatever the answer turns out to be. That is a slightly slower start and it avoids the expensive version of this problem.

Get in touch and we will come look at your property and talk it through. We cover Polk County and the surrounding areas.