FENCE RULES – LITTLE ROCK (CITY), ARKANSAS

OVERVIEW

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

Local fence rules appear primarily in the Little Rock City Code, Revised 1988, especially Chapter 36, Zoning, § 36-516, Fences and walls. Related requirements also appear in building-permit provisions, stormwater and drainage standards, floodplain rules, permit-submittal materials, and historic-preservation materials for the MacArthur Park Local Ordinance Historic District.

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 the Little Rock City Code, Revised 1988; Little Rock City Code Chapter 36, Zoning; Chapter 8, Buildings and Building Regulations; Chapter 13, Floods; Chapter 29, Stormwater Management and Drainage; the City of Little Rock Planning and Development, Applications, Cultural Heritage and Historic Preservation, and Code Enforcement pages; Documents Required to Be Submitted Before a Permit May Be Issued; City of Little Rock Enforced Construction Codes; the Little Rock Stormwater Management and Drainage Manual; and the MacArthur Park Historic District Guidelines for Rehabilitation and New Construction as of May 2026.

GOVERNANCE

• Governing Authority: Residential fence regulation within City of Little Rock is governed by the City of Little Rock Board of Directors through the Little Rock City Code, Revised 1988.

• Primary Fence Code: The City has a dedicated fence section in Little Rock City Code § 36-516, Fences and walls. It is not a separate standalone fence ordinance; related rules also appear in building, zoning, historic-preservation, stormwater, floodplain, and easement materials.

• Planning and Development Department: The Planning and Development Department administers planning, land-use controls, historic preservation, permitting, and enforcement. The department lists a Building Permit Desk, Zoning Information, Verification and Complaints, and applications for planning, zoning, historic, design-review, easement, and right-of-way matters.

• Code Enforcement: The Code Enforcement Division investigates code complaints on private property and enforces ordinances involving property conditions, vacant or unsecured residential structures, dilapidated structures, and related code matters.

• Historic Review: The Little Rock Historic District Commission and Planning and Development Department administer review for the MacArthur Park Local Ordinance Historic District. That district has additional design-review and Certificate of Appropriateness requirements.

• Stormwater, Drainage, and Floodplain: The Planning and Development Department, stormwater standards, floodplain provisions, and grading-permit rules may affect a fence project where the work involves land alteration, public easements, drainage patterns, floodplain property, or construction within or bordering a Special Flood Hazard Area.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Building Permit Threshold: Residential fences not over 7 feet in height are exempt from the City’s building-permit requirement. A residential fence over 7 feet is not covered by that exemption and must go through the City’s building-permit process through the Building Permit Desk.

• Fence Permit Submittal Materials: The City’s fence-related permit submittal process applies to fences over 7 feet that require a building permit. For those fence permits, the City’s permit-submittal handout states that the applicant must provide four copies of the survey with the fence drawn to scale. Questions concerning surveys are directed to the Zoning desk.

• Ordinary Fence Permit: The code does not publish a separate blanket fence-permit requirement for every standard residential fence. Fences not over 7 feet are exempt from the building-permit requirement, but they remain subject to zoning, height, visibility, easement, drainage, historic-district, floodplain, and private-restriction limits where applicable.

• Electric Fences: Electric fences are not ordinary residential fence approvals. They may be installed, operated, or maintained only on industrial-zoned properties with approved outdoor storage or display. No electric fence may be installed until the Planning and Development Department certifies that the plans meet the ordinance requirements and a permit is obtained for the fence.

• Historic District Approval: In the MacArthur Park Local Ordinance Historic District, property owners are required to obtain a Certificate of Appropriateness before doing work on a property in that area. Fence work in that district is reviewed under the MacArthur Park Historic District Guidelines for Rehabilitation and New Construction.

• Capitol Zoning Area: The City’s historic-preservation materials state that properties within Capitol Zoning areas are regulated by the Capitol Zoning District Commission except where the MacArthur Park and Capitol Zoning boundaries overlap. Permit applications to the City for properties in that area must be approved by the Capitol Zoning District Commission before City permit review.

• Floodplain Development: Development within or bordering a Special Flood Hazard Area requires a Floodplain Development Permit. A fence project involving land alteration in a designated floodplain is also subject to the City’s grading and floodplain review framework.

• Grading and Drainage: A fence project that involves regulated land alteration, public easements, drainage-pattern changes, or floodplain land may require grading, drainage, or floodplain review. The code states that all construction work must include appropriate drainage and erosion-control measures to protect neighboring properties.

• Pool-Related Fence Review: The City’s enforced construction-code materials list the 2021 International Swimming Pool & Spa Code with Appendix A among enforced codes. A fence associated with pool or spa work may be reviewed under that code. The provided Little Rock materials do not publish a separate local backyard pool-fence dimension outside the enforced pool and spa code framework.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Fence and Wall Placement: Little Rock City Code § 36-516 applies to the placement of fences and walls on both use and zoned sites.

• Property-Line Setback: 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.

• Zoning and Subdivision Setbacks: Fences meeting zoning and subdivision ordinance setback requirements may be constructed to the applicable district height as permitted by Chapter 36. Structural walls must conform to the building setback required by the zoning district.

• Public Safety and Traffic View: No fence, wall, screen, hedge, or other structure in the nature of a fence may be erected or maintained in a position that is dangerous or detrimental to public health or safety, or that obstructs the view so as to endanger public traffic on a street.

• Property-Line Corners: Any fence erected along a property-line corner or within the 50-foot triangle formed by the property-line intersection must comply with the Code’s obstruction provisions.

• Required Landscape Areas and Utility Easements: Fence and wall construction must not damage required landscape areas or obstruct access to utility easements.

• Public Easements and Drainage: Any fence, wall, or other construction within a public easement must not impede or otherwise restrict existing drainage patterns, whether natural or man-made. No construction within a public easement is allowed without first obtaining required permits.

• Major Storm Easements: The stormwater definitions identify a major storm easement as a privately maintained area designed to carry the 100-year storm, with no obstructions such as fill or fences that would impede floodwater flow.

• MacArthur Park Historic District: In the MacArthur Park Local Ordinance Historic District, fences may be located in front, side, or rear yards following the district guidelines. Fences in side and rear yards with street frontage should not impede views of adjacent houses that have a different orientation. Fences over 40 inches in those locations should be placed at the wall of the primary building or at a 15-foot side-yard setback, whichever is less.

• 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

• Standard Residential Height: In residential districts, the maximum fence or wall height is 4 feet between a required building setback line and a street right-of-way. Other residential fences may be erected to a maximum height of 8 feet.

• Decorative and Structural Walls: A decorative wall must comply in the same manner as a fence. A structural wall must conform to the building setback required by the zoning district.

• Support Posts and Columns: Support columns or support posts may exceed the allowable fence or wall height by no more than 2 feet, including ornamental features. Support columns or posts must be no more than 2 feet wide. Where support columns or posts exceed the allowable fence or wall height, there must be at least 7 feet 6 inches between opposing faces, except at gates or corners.

• Visibility and Traffic Safety: A fence, wall, screen, hedge, or similar structure may not be placed or maintained where it obstructs the view so as to endanger public traffic. Fences at property-line corners and within the 50-foot triangle formed by a property-line intersection are subject to the Code’s obstruction provisions.

• MacArthur Park Historic District Height: The MacArthur Park Historic District Guidelines state 40 inches for fencing on street frontage and in front yards, and 72 inches for rear-yard fencing. Fences in rear yards and side property lines without street frontage may be 72 inches tall. Privacy fences should be set back from the front facade of the structure at least halfway between the front and back walls of the main structure.

• Driveway Visibility: The code does not publish a separate driveway-specific residential fence visibility triangle beyond the 50-foot triangle and general traffic-view obstruction standard in the fence section.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Standard Residential Materials: The general residential fence section does not publish a universal list of permitted residential fence materials.

• Barbed, Concertina, and Razor Wire: Barbed wire, concertina wire, razor wire, and other wire designed to inflict injury upon human contact are prohibited except when used at the top of fences at least 6 feet above grade enclosing business or manufacturing premises. When allowed in that nonresidential context, the wire may not extend outside the vertical plane of the enclosed property.

• Electric Fences: Electric fences are limited to industrial-zoned properties with approved outdoor storage or display. They must meet the ordinance’s technical, perimeter, warning-sign, emergency-access, certification, and permit requirements. They are not listed as ordinary residential fence materials.

• Chain-Link Screening Slats: For fences serving as visual screening, plastic or metal slats woven into a chain-link fence are prohibited. The code does not state a general prohibition on all residential chain-link fences.

• Required Screening Fences: Fences intended as screening fences to fulfill a code or site-plan requirement must place the decorative or face side toward the subject to be protected.

• MacArthur Park Historic District Materials: In the MacArthur Park Local Ordinance Historic District, original iron, wood, stone, or brick fences and walls at least 50 years old should be preserved. Fencing material should be appropriate to the style and period of the building. Wood pickets should be no wider than 4 inches and set no farther apart than 3 inches. Wood board privacy fences should be flat boards in a single row, not stockade or shadowbox. Chain-link fences may be located only in rear yards where not readily visible from the street and should be coated dark green or black. Brick, stone, or concrete piers or posts should not be used unless based on pictorial or physical evidence, and free-standing brick, stone, or concrete walls are not appropriate.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

HOA rules, subdivision covenants, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, and private boundary agreements operate independently from City fence rules and can be more restrictive than the public regulations.

The City’s fence rules do not eliminate the need to account for private restrictions that apply to a specific lot, subdivision, easement, or recorded agreement.

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 not over 7 feet are exempt from the City’s building-permit requirement. A residential fence over 7 feet is reviewed through the City’s building-permit process, including the fence-related survey submittal requirement.

• Zoning and Height Review: Review may involve the 4-foot residential height limit between the required building setback line and a street right-of-way, the 8-foot limit for other residential fences, structural-wall setbacks, and support-post or column limits.

• Visibility Review: Review may involve fences, walls, screens, hedges, or similar structures that obstruct views so as to endanger public traffic, including fences near property-line corners or within the 50-foot triangle formed by the property-line intersection.

• Easement and Drainage Review: Review may involve fences or walls that obstruct utility-easement access, damage required landscape areas, restrict public-easement drainage patterns, or obstruct a major storm easement designed to carry the 100-year storm.

• Floodplain and Grading Review: Review may involve fences associated with land alteration, floodplain development, grading, drainage, or construction within or bordering a Special Flood Hazard Area.

• Historic Review: In the MacArthur Park Local Ordinance Historic District, review may involve Certificate of Appropriateness requirements and the district’s fence height, placement, material, visibility, and design standards.

• Capitol Zoning Review: For properties within Capitol Zoning areas, City permit review may require prior approval by the Capitol Zoning District Commission, except where the City’s historic-review authority applies in the MacArthur Park overlap area.

• Pool-Related Review: Where a fence is part of pool or spa work, review may involve the City’s enforced 2021 International Swimming Pool & Spa Code with Appendix A.

USING THIS INFORMATION

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