FENCE RULES – FORT SMITH (CITY), ARKANSAS
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within City of Fort Smith, subject to local regulations. For properties located outside Fort Smith municipal limits, Sebastian County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.
Fence rules in the City of Fort Smith are not contained in a single standalone fence ordinance. Local requirements appear across the Fort Smith Municipal Code, including Section 14-56, Fencing on Residential Properties, Chapter 6, Buildings and Building Regulations, Chapter 11, Flood Damage Prevention, Chapter 19, Historic Preservation, the Unified Development Ordinance, the Building Safety FAQ, the Building & Development Permits page, and the Belle Grove Historic District Design Guidelines.
This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s adopted materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the code does not specify one.
Compiled From Fort Smith Municipal Code, Unified Development Ordinance, Building Services Department, Building Safety FAQ, Building & Development Codes, Building & Development Permits, Planning and Zoning Department, Neighborhood Services Department, Nuisance Ordinances, Historic District Commission, Belle Grove Historic District Design Guidelines, Military Compatibility Area Overlay District, Public Works Storm Drainage, and Current Codes Handout as of May 2026.
GOVERNANCE
• Governing Authority: The City of Fort Smith regulates residential fencing through the Fort Smith Municipal Code, the Unified Development Ordinance, building-permit administration, nuisance and property-maintenance enforcement, land-use review, historic-district review, floodplain administration, and site-specific overlay standards where applicable.
• Building Services Department: The Building Services Department, including the Building Safety Division, administers building permits, plan review, inspections, and adopted building-code administration.
• Planning and Zoning Department: The Planning and Zoning Department administers the Unified Development Ordinance, zoning analysis, development review, subdivision review, overlay-district review, written interpretations, and historic-district administration.
• Neighborhood Services Department: The Neighborhood Services Department administers property-maintenance and nuisance-code compliance, including published residential fencing regulations under Section 14-56.
• Historic District Commission: The Historic District Commission administers certificate-of-appropriateness review for work in the historic district, including fences, stone walls, and related exterior appurtenant fixtures.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Residential Fence Building Permit: A building permit is required for a residential fence over 6 feet tall.
• Fences 6 Feet Tall or Less: The published Building Services materials do not state a building-permit requirement for a standard residential fence 6 feet tall or less, unless another review trigger applies.
• Historic District Approval: Within the historic district, no building or structure, including stone walls, fences, light fixtures, steps, paving, or other appurtenant fixtures, may be erected, altered, restored, moved, or demolished until a Certificate of Appropriateness has been submitted to and approved by the Historic District Commission. A certificate is not required for ordinary in-kind maintenance that does not change design, material, color, or outward appearance.
• Historic Permit Sequencing: A building permit or other permit for a structure located within the historic district may not be granted until the historic-district certificate requirements have been satisfied.
• Other Site-Specific Review: The code does not publish a separate zoning permit requirement for every standard residential fence. Separate review may apply where a fence project also involves grade and fill, floodplain development, work in a floodway, airport-adjacent Military Compatibility Area Overlay District conditions, right-of-way issues, easements, drainage facilities, or other regulated site conditions.
• Retaining Walls: Retaining walls over 4 feet tall are separately listed as permit-required construction.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Setback Treatment: The Unified Development Ordinance lists fences as exempt from setback regulations. This exemption does not remove other site limits, including property ownership, rights-of-way, easements, historic-district review, sight visibility triangles, floodplain rules, overlay standards, or private restrictions.
• Property Lines, Rights-of-Way, and Easements: The code does not state a separate ordinary setback distance for standard residential fences from property lines. Fences must still be located entirely on the owner’s property and must not encroach into public rights-of-way, alleys, drainage areas, or easements unless a lawful easement, shared arrangement, or other controlling instrument allows it.
• Sight Visibility Triangle: Fences, walls, hedges, landscaping, and other obstructions must not be placed or maintained in a way that violates the Sight Visibility Triangle standard in Section 27-503-3.
• Belle Grove Historic District: In the Belle Grove Historic District, fences and walls are reviewed for compatibility with the district’s design guidelines. The guidelines treat corner properties as having two front yards, identify wood picket fences in front and side yards as appropriate for certain bungalow and craftsman houses, and restrict privacy wood board fences to rear yards with placement set back from the front facade at least one-third of the distance between the front and rear facades.
• Airport-Adjacent Overlay Area: Within the Security Military Compatibility Area, no construction, including surface improvements, is permitted within 30 feet of the boundary line of Airport Property, except as specifically stated for limited drainage, detention, parking, and maneuvering conditions. This may affect fence placement on airport-adjacent parcels.
• Drainage, Grade, Fill, and Floodplain Conditions: The code does not specify an ordinary residential fence setback from drainage features. Separate city standards apply where a project involves grade and fill, land alteration, floodplain development, floodway encroachment, drainage easements, or stormwater-related construction.
• Utility Safety: Arkansas law requires notice through Arkansas 811 before excavation where the Arkansas Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Act applies. For fence projects that involve digging, including fence post holes, notice may be required before excavation begins. Arkansas law also includes specific exemptions, including certain agricultural-purpose posthole digging on private property outside an operator right-of-way.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• Citywide Maximum Height: The code does not specify a citywide maximum height for standard residential fences.
• Permit Threshold: A residential fence over 6 feet tall requires a building permit. This is a permit trigger, not a published citywide maximum height.
• Sight Visibility Triangle: The Sight Visibility Triangle is measured from the midpoint of the radius intersection of the edge of pavement, back of street curb, or back of shoulder and extends 25 feet parallel to the edge of each driveway, street curb, or shoulder, with the third side connecting those points. Within the triangle, no landscape materials, trees, shrubs, buildings, structures, or other obstructions may be erected, planted, or maintained above 24 inches in height.
• Belle Grove Historic District: For Belle Grove Historic District design review, the guidelines list front and side yard wood picket fences for certain bungalow and craftsman houses with a maximum height of 3 feet, pickets no wider than 4 inches, and spacing no farther than 3 inches apart. Privacy wood board fences are restricted to rear yards and listed with a maximum height of 6 feet.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Allowed Residential Fence Materials: On properties zoned or developed for residential purposes, allowable fence materials include wood, metal tubing or wrought iron, stone, masonry, and chain link. Vinyl and fiberglass composite materials are allowed when they are listed, designed, and constructed as fencing materials.
• Prohibited Residential Fence Materials: On properties zoned or developed for residential purposes, prohibited fence materials include rope, string, wire products including chicken wire, hog wire, wire fabric, barbed wire, razor ribbon wire, and similar welded or woven wire fabrics, chain, netting, cut or broken glass, paper, metal panels, corrugated metal panels, galvanized sheet metal, plywood, tarps, fiberglass panels, plastic panels, and other materials not manufactured specifically as fencing materials.
• Barbed Wire Exception: Barbed wire may be used if the property is at least one acre and the wire is used for keeping large domestic animals identified in the Unified Development Ordinance.
• Belle Grove Historic District: In the Belle Grove Historic District, the guidelines identify historic iron, wood, stone, and brick fences and walls as materials to preserve and retain where original or historically appropriate. The guidelines list chain-link fencing, vinyl composite fencing, concrete and concrete block walls, railroad-tie walls, and landscape-timber retaining walls as not recommended in the district. Privacy wood board fences are listed with the finished side facing out and in good condition.
• Electric Fencing: The code does not specify an allowance for standard residential electric fencing.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private restrictions operate independently from City of Fort Smith fence rules.
• HOAs and Covenants: Homeowners associations, subdivision covenants, deed restrictions, architectural-review covenants, and private design rules may be more restrictive than city standards.
• Private Easements and Agreements: Private easements, shared-drive agreements, agricultural agreements, boundary agreements, and recorded plats may limit fence location, access, materials, or maintenance responsibilities.
• City Enforcement of Private Restrictions: The Unified Development Ordinance states that private restrictions are not enforced by the City of Fort Smith. Where a private restriction is more restrictive and properly enforced by a person with legal authority to enforce it, the private restriction may control independently.
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 Permit Review: Residential fences over 6 feet tall are reviewed through the Building Services Department permit process.
• Setback and Site Review: Fences are exempt from UDO setback regulations, but site review may still address property ownership, easements, rights-of-way, plats, access, sight visibility, floodplain status, overlay status, and historic-district status.
• Sight Visibility Review: Fences, walls, landscaping, or other obstructions in a Sight Visibility Triangle are reviewed against the 25-foot triangle and 24-inch height limit.
• Historic District Review: Fences, stone walls, and related appurtenant fixtures in the historic district are reviewed through the Historic District Commission certificate-of-appropriateness process when the work is not ordinary in-kind maintenance.
• Residential Material Enforcement: The Neighborhood Services Department may review residential fencing materials under Section 14-56, including whether the fence uses allowed materials or prohibited materials.
• Site-Specific Review: Projects involving the Security Military Compatibility Area, grading, filling, floodplain development, floodway encroachment, drainage conflicts, easement conflicts, right-of-way conflicts, or retaining walls over 4 feet tall may be reviewed under those separate standards.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within City of Fort Smith, based on publicly available materials reviewed as of May 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain Arkansas laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in Arkansas.
It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, 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, historic district status, rural or agricultural context, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants or private agreements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with Planning and Zoning Department and Building Services Department and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from City of Fort Smith staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.