FENCE RULES – LONGVIEW (CITY), TEXAS

OVERVIEW

This page covers residential fences within the corporate limits of the City of Longview, Texas, including the portions of the city in Gregg and Harrison counties.

Longview regulates residential fences through its Unified Development Code (UDC), building and safety codes, and site-specific development requirements. One-family and duplex properties generally have an eight-foot fence limit, with a separate six-foot rule for decorative or chain-link fencing within the front yard setback. Wood and chain-link are recognized materials; vinyl must meet the code’s appearance requirements. Corner visibility, private streets, easements, drainage, historic designation and swimming pools can change the project requirements. Before ordering a fence, confirm the applicable permit and submission requirements with Building Inspection and identify the property’s zoning and front setback with Planning and Zoning. Updated November 2026.

Quick question	Longview answer
Permit or approval	Confirm the project’s permit requirements with Building Inspection. The published 2025–2026 fee schedule lists a $55 residential fence fee; historic, retaining-wall, right-of-way and drainage approvals have separate triggers.
Typical fence height	For one-family and two-family districts or uses: eight feet maximum overall; decorative or chain-link fences within the front yard setback are limited to six feet. The permitted eight-foot front-fence materials must be behind that setback.
Placement & property lines	Fences are exempt from UDC setbacks unless another provision specifies otherwise. Front-yard rules, private-street clearance, visibility triangles, rights-of-way and easements still apply. Establish the legal boundary before placement.
Common fence materials	Wood: expressly recognized. Vinyl/PVC: vinyl is recognized when it simulates wood or masonry; the front-fence appearance rule also applies. Chain-link: expressly recognized, including the six-foot front-setback option.
Important local conditions	Fence rules may be further affected by corner visibility, private streets, collector or arterial frontage, designated historic properties, pools, drainage and utility easements, floodways, and applicable subdivision or private restrictions.
Official local resource	Longview Building Inspection

The table above is for quick reference; the corresponding sections below provide additional fence-rule details. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, read the sections that apply to the property, review the linked official sources, and confirm site-specific questions with Building Inspection, Planning and Zoning, or the responsible office identified for the issue.

GOVERNANCE

Longview is a home-rule city. The City Council adopts the city’s development and safety regulations. The Longview Unified Development Code combines zoning, subdivision, street, drainage, floodplain, building and historic-preservation provisions. Its residential fencing standards are in Article B.4.03.

• Planning and Zoning: The Planning and Zoning Division and City Planner administer zoning and development requirements, including the zoning district, front setback and applicable site or subdivision conditions.

• Building and fire review: Building Inspection administers building-code review and inspections. The Building and Fire Code Official administers the applicable building and fire provisions, including the separate requirements for vehicular access gates and pool projects.

• Engineering and visibility: The City Engineer administers right-of-way, drainage and floodplain requirements and serves as Floodplain Administrator. The City Traffic Engineer addresses the sight-distance adjustments authorized for intersections that are not approximately right angles.

• Historic and animal conditions: The Historic Preservation Commission and Historic Preservation Officer administer designated historic-property review. Code Compliance handles applicable city-code violations; Animal Services administers animal-enclosure requirements. Public or common-use pools can also involve Environmental Health.

• Published code and current project requirements: The City’s published 2026 UDC carries a “DRAFT: September 29, 2026” footer. Confirm the operative revision and any later amendments with Planning and Zoning for a project. Longview’s 2026 code adoption includes the 2021 International Residential Code and 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code with local amendments; Building Inspection identifies July 1, 2026 as the effective date for the updated codes.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ordinary fence projects: Before building or replacing a fence, ask Building Inspection which permit, drawings and inspections apply to the proposed height, materials, location and scope of work. The City’s 2025–2026 Development Services fee schedule lists $55 for a residential fence. That fee listing does not specify which fence projects require a permit. Confirm the current fee when applying.

• New work and substantial replacement: Article B.4.03 applies to new construction, replacement of 50% or more of an existing fence, screen or wall, and screening required when a higher-intensity use adjoins a lower-intensity use. The percentage determines application of that fencing section; Building Inspection should determine the permit treatment of the particular replacement.

• Residential permit-package plans: For one-family or two-family development subject to the UDC permit-package provisions, the plot plan identifies property lines, easements, setbacks, driveways and building footprints. The commercial development-site-plan process has separate triggers, including a dwelling outside an SF or TF district whose occupancy changes to a more intensive use. Confirm the plan required for the particular project.

• Retaining walls: The UDC requires a separate retaining-wall permit. The published 2025–2026 schedule lists $100 for retaining walls. A wall’s structural requirements are separate from the residential fence-height rules.

• Right-of-way work: Obtain the City Engineer’s required right-of-way permit before placing facilities in a city right-of-way or performing covered excavation, cuts, embankments, or work that blocks or interferes with it. Another project permit does not authorize right-of-way work. The UDC has a separate process for permitted driveway work and excludes state or federal highway cuts from this municipal process; the responsible highway authority’s requirements remain relevant.

• Drainage and land disturbance: A fence project involving grading, excavation, fill or changes to drainage can fall under the City Engineer’s development and floodplain review. Where the drainage manual’s construction or land-clearing requirements apply, an approved development permit and plan are required before work, and erosion controls must be installed before land or structural disturbance.

• Designated historic properties: Exterior alterations to a locally designated landmark or property in a historic overlay district require a Certificate of Appropriateness. Fences are included among exterior architectural features. Obtain the certificate before work and before any required building permit. The Longview Historic Preservation resource provides the route to the responsible review office.

• Historic application and timing: Submit the City Council-established fee, applicant contact information, detailed work description, property location and photographs of it and adjacent properties, available elevation drawings, material samples, available historical photographs, and other reasonably required information. A proposal involving signs or lettering also needs the specified scale drawing, dimensions, colors, materials, illumination and location plan. The Commission reviews the application within 45 days, acts within 45 days after the review meeting and within 90 days of receipt; the UDC provides that a certificate is granted if no action occurs within 90 days. Decisions are written. An appeal goes through the Historic Preservation Officer to the City Council within 10 days of the determination, with a Council hearing scheduled within 45 days of the request. Start authorized work within one year and complete it within three years of issuance; unfinished work then requires a new certificate.

• Historic repair and removal: The historic alteration provision gives an affirmative defense for repairs or replacements that leave exterior design, material and outward appearance unchanged, including materials of the same type and appearance. Confirm the treatment with the Historic Preservation Officer before relying on that provision. Demolition or removal of a historic property or landscape feature has a separate certificate process: two public hearings and no certificate before the 61st day after receipt. Approval requires compliance with the historic article or a demonstrated economic hardship. The hardship findings require that the property cannot earn a reasonable return and cannot be adapted to a use that would do so, that efforts to find a preservation-minded purchaser have failed, and that the applicant has consulted in good faith to find a preservation alternative. Locally designated landmarks with a valid certificate, when required, qualify for the UDC’s listed construction and rehabilitation fee exemptions.

• Pools and vehicular gates: Longview adopts the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code with local amendments for public and private pools. Have Building Inspection confirm the barrier, gate, alarm and inspection requirements before selecting a backyard pool enclosure. Public and common-use pool rules depend on the facility’s use and ownership. Vehicular access gates must satisfy Longview’s adopted fire code; coordinate the gate design with the Building and Fire Code Official.

• Pool-contractor responsibility: The UDC’s swimming-pool contractor registration requires proof of a $25,000 surety bond naming the City as certificate holder. The registered contractor is responsible for compliant construction and inspection of the permitted pool project, including its fences, gates and alarms, and for ensuring the licensed trades have their required permits and inspections.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Boundary and setback lines: Article B.4.03 exempts fences from setback requirements unless the UDC specifies otherwise. The front-fence, private-street and visibility provisions remain applicable. Locate the legal property line using the survey and recorded documents; a curb, existing fence or map display does not establish that boundary. Confirm ownership and any necessary permission before occupying another person’s land.

• Front of a house or duplex: Fences in front of a one-family or duplex structure must fit the code’s front-fence exceptions. Decorative or chain-link fencing up to six feet may occupy the front yard setback. The listed eight-foot front-fence materials must be behind the minimum front yard setback. The zoning district therefore determines where that taller front-fence option begins.

• Front setback reference: The published district minimum front setbacks are 40 feet in A and SF-1; 35 feet in SF-2 and SF-3; 30 feet in SF-4; 25 feet in SF-5, TF and MF; and 20 feet in SF-6 and TH. These building setback lines determine the front-fence height/material branch. Planning and Zoning should identify the district and applicable line for the property, including any approved site-specific conditions.

• Private streets: Screening or fencing cannot be closer than 10 feet from the edge of private-street pavement or to the property line, whichever is greater. Have Planning and Zoning confirm the controlling line before laying out a fence beside a private street.

• Rights-of-way and easements: Identify the full right-of-way and recorded easements before setting posts. The UDC reserves City access to municipal systems within easements and allows removal of interfering fences and other improvements. A public floodplain-easement plat covenant prohibits obstruction of natural drainage unless designed under the drainage rules and provides for City removal after mailed notice at the owner’s expense. Keep required utility, drainage and maintenance access available.

• Floodways and watercourses: In a mapped regulatory floodway, an encroachment requires hydraulic and hydrologic engineering showing no increase in flood levels, or the applicable conditional Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) map-revision process. The City Engineer administers this review. Owners and lessees must keep watercourses free of obstacles that pollute, contaminate or significantly retard flow and maintain existing private structures so they do not threaten flooding hazards. Texas Water Code 11.086 also restricts diversion or impoundment of natural surface water that damages another property by overflow, subject to that statute’s qualifications.

• Construction drainage controls: When required by the project’s erosion-control plan, temporary silt fencing must remain until stabilization and must not be used in concentrated-flow channels. A detention-basin fence serves a separate drainage purpose: when prolonged water storage creates a hazard requiring fencing under the drainage manual, the fence must be at least four feet high, preserve inflow and outflow, and allow maintenance-equipment access. Recreational or pedestrian access requires Public Works approval. The pond checklist calls for an explanation when a pond deeper than three feet is proposed without fencing.

• Joint or attached fence removal: Agriculture Code 143.121 prohibits removal of a separating or dividing fence in which the person is a joint owner, or a fence attached to one another person owns or controls, without mutual consent or compliance with the statutory process. Section 143.122 allows a person owning an interest in an attached fence to withdraw their fence after six months’ written notice to the other fence’s owner, agent, attorney or lessee. Under section 143.123, an owner whose fence is wholly on that owner’s land may require an attached fence’s disconnection after six months’ written notice to the attached fence’s owner, agent, attorney or lessee.

• Pipeline easements: Construction on, across, over or under a pipeline easement, or work that creates the physical risks covered by Health and Safety Code 756.121–.123, can require notice to the pipeline operator and compliance with protective conditions. The statute includes existing-agreement and other exceptions. Review the easement and operator requirements before designing the work; a locate ticket alone does not authorize construction in the easement.

• Texas811 before digging: Request a locate through Texas811’s digging-safety service before digging post holes. Utilities Code chapter 251 generally requires notice for covered powered or mechanized excavation at 16 inches or deeper, at least 48 hours excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays before work and no earlier than 14 days before it. A notice given on Saturday generally permits starting Tuesday at 11:59 a.m., or Wednesday at 11:59 a.m. if Monday is a legal holiday. Railroad Commission chapter 18 separately covers movement of earth, including hand digging, deeper than 16 inches near covered underground pipelines, subject to its exemptions. Its default locate-ticket life is 14 working days, unless the excavator and operator expressly agree otherwise under the rule; refresh unfinished work as required and retain required tickets and positive-response records for at least four years. Wait the applicable period and follow the ticket’s start instructions, check responses and site markings, resolve missing or conflicting information through the current notice process, protect markings and dig carefully. Arrange separate location of private lines when necessary. Texas811 does not replace permits, easement rights or pipeline construction notice.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

• One-family and two-family districts or uses: Any fence or wall is limited to eight feet. In front of the dwelling, decorative or chain-link fences within the front yard setback are limited to six feet. Behind the minimum front setback, the code permits its listed front-fence materials up to eight feet. Woven-wire mesh and similar materials do not qualify as decorative fencing.

• Subdivisions backing major thoroughfares: A fence or wall backing a collector or arterial roadway must be at least six feet high. The subdivision frontage also has the material requirements stated below.

• Corner visibility: Fences, walls, screens and vegetation must preserve intersection sight lines. At streets meeting approximately at right angles, the sight triangle must remain clear between 2.5 and nine feet above average street grade. Measure each triangle leg from the intersection of the two curb lines or, where there are no curbs, the property lines, then connect the endpoints.

• Curbed intersections: The triangle extends 45 feet along the curb lines on major thoroughfares and 30 feet along the curb lines on other streets.

• Uncurbed intersections: The triangle extends 25 feet along the property lines on major thoroughfares and 10 feet along the property lines on other streets.

• Other intersection geometry and driveways: At intersections that are not approximately right angles, the City Traffic Engineer may increase sight distances for vehicle and pedestrian safety using the cited American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) standards. The UDC also calls for detailed line-of-sight assessment and allows the intersection criteria to be considered at a major driveway. Confirm the needed sight area before placing a fence at an angled corner or major driveway.

• Vegetation and exceptions: The UDC’s street-foliage provision specifies minimum overhang clearance of 13.5 feet above sidewalks and nine feet above the street surface at the outside edge of the parking lane for foliage covered by that provision. The visibility section identifies exceptions for government-controlled traffic devices and public utilities, City Council screening requirements, other city/state/federal regulations, and permanent structures that existed when the section passed and complied with the city codes then in effect. Have the responsible engineering office determine whether an exception applies.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Residential materials: Article B.4.03 recognizes wood, chain-link, masonry, reinforced concrete, wrought iron, simulated wrought iron, and vinyl that simulates wood or masonry. Its examples of unacceptable materials include plywood, railroad ties, barbed wire and corrugated steel sheets.

• Front-fence materials: The up-to-eight-foot option behind the minimum front yard setback lists masonry, wrought iron, wood, chain-link, precast concrete designed to resemble wood, stucco, stone or brick, and vinyl with a similar appearance. That provision excludes concrete masonry units (CMU). Within the front setback, the six-foot exception is for decorative or chain-link fencing; woven-wire mesh or similar material is not decorative fencing.

• Collector or arterial subdivision frontage: Where a subdivision is located along a major thoroughfare, the required fence must be wrought iron, masonry, wood or a combination of those materials. Apply the separate six-foot minimum where the fence or wall backs the thoroughfare.

• Barbed wire and similar materials: The UDC generally prohibits fences made wholly or partly of barbed wire or similar material along streets, alleys, avenues, sidewalks or land in the city. Its exceptions allow barbed wire along the tops of fences over six feet high along alleys; for an allowed agricultural use when it is not directly adjacent to one-family or two-family uses; and along the tops of fences over six feet high in C-2, I-1 and I-2 districts. Each exception is limited to its stated setting.

• Retaining-wall construction: A retaining wall four feet or taller used to hold soil or control erosion must be reinforced concrete or a keystone system unless constructed to a sealed engineer’s design. Without that engineer’s design, the foundation must include four continuous 5/8-inch reinforcing bars, two in the top third and two in the bottom third of the footing or beam trench, supported every 36 inches by 3/8-inch reinforcing-bar stakes or stirrups. The foundation must be at least 18 inches deep and at least the greater of 12 inches or the wall’s width.

• Historic fence work: For designated landmarks and historic-overlay properties, exterior alterations must meet the applicable Historic Preservation Commission criteria ratified by the City Council and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Preserve character-defining features, repair historic materials where feasible, and match necessary replacements to the historic design and appearance as required by those standards and the approved certificate. Work must follow the approved plans and certificate conditions; the Historic Preservation Officer can inspect it and stop nonconforming work.

• Dangerous-dog enclosures: For a dog determined dangerous by Longview Municipal Court, section 13-26 adds to state enclosure requirements: a top, chain-link with mesh no larger than three inches, height of at least six feet, and warning signs on each side with letters at least two inches high, plus additional signs for each additional 25 feet of length. Premises warning signs must also be readable from each adjacent public street or highway. Animal Services may inspect the enclosure at a reasonable hour without notice. These conditions apply to that designated animal enclosure.

• Livestock and agricultural operations: Section 13-29 requires livestock to be kept in a properly fenced pen, corral or enclosure with appropriate husbandry and sanitation. Keeping livestock for more than 10 consecutive days within 500 feet of an adjoining residential-district lot, business establishment or structure, or building used for sleeping or dispensing food requires animal-control approval under the published local rule. For a qualifying agricultural operation, Agriculture Code chapter 251 and the Texas Constitution can limit city requirements. Within city limits, section 251.0055 requires clear and convincing evidence that a requirement is necessary to address one of its listed imminent dangers and that the purpose cannot be addressed through less restrictive means. The City Council must obtain the specified health-officer or consultant report and adopt the required public-health finding by resolution. The section also exempts a livestock-protection dog from city restraint requirements while used for that purpose on property controlled by the property owner, and allows a city to require a qualifying written plan to establish wildlife-management agricultural status. Section 251.006 protects qualifying agricultural improvements, including fences, when construction is not expressly prohibited by statute or a qualifying governmental requirement in effect when constructed; state and federal enforcement remains available. Confirm the operation’s actual status and applicable protections before applying the ordinary city rule.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Recorded deed restrictions, subdivision covenants, homeowners’ association rules, architectural approvals and private easements can affect fence location, appearance and maintenance within Texas statutory limits. Review those instruments and any written boundary, ownership, attachment or cost-sharing agreement. City approval does not settle private ownership or cost allocation.

• HOA security-fence protections: Property Code 202.023 generally prevents a covered property owners’ association from prohibiting security measures, including perimeter fences. It does not apply to condominiums under chapters 81 or 82 or master mixed-use associations subject to chapter 215. An association may regulate fence type and prohibit obstruction of a license area defined by a written license or plat, a sidewalk for public or community use, or a drainage easement or drainage area. It may require a driveway gate to be at least 10 feet from the right-of-way where the driveway meets a laned roadway. A restrictive covenant may prohibit fencing in front of the dwelling’s front-most building line.

• 2025 HOA exceptions: Notwithstanding those listed regulatory powers, an owner may maintain perimeter fencing or fencing in front of the front-most building line that was installed or constructed before September 1, 2025. The front-building-line prohibition also cannot be used to prevent the protected fencing when the owner’s residential address is exempt from public disclosure under state or federal law, or the owner supplies law-enforcement documentation of a need for enhanced security. These protections remain subject to applicable public safety and municipal requirements.

• HOA pool-enclosure protections: Property Code 202.022 protects an enclosure around a water feature that uses transparent mesh or clear panels in metal frames, is no more than six feet high, is designed not to be climbable, and conforms to applicable state or local safety requirements. An association may regulate appearance and colors, but cannot prohibit the protected black transparent-mesh form in metal frames. This statutory description governs the HOA protection; Building Inspection determines the applicable public pool-barrier requirements.

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 and zoning: Required permits, substantial replacement, front-fence placement, height, approved materials, retaining walls, pool barriers and vehicular access gates.

• Engineering: Intersection sight lines, right-of-way work, public easement access, drainage obstruction, erosion controls and floodway encroachments.

• Historic and animal conditions: Required historic certificates, compliance with approved work, dangerous-dog enclosures and applicable livestock requirements, including agricultural-operation protections.

• Other legal and private issues: Utility excavation and pipeline duties, joint or attached-fence removal, private easements and association approvals involve their respective authorities or private parties. A city permit does not resolve a boundary, ownership, maintenance or payment dispute.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within the City of Longview, Texas. Updated November 2026.

In addition to local fence rules, certain Texas laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in Texas.

It is not legal advice and does not replace official statutes, ordinances, orders, permits, certificates, development approvals, applicable building-code requirements, surveys, recorded documents or professional guidance. Rules and interpretations may change, and application may vary with municipal or unincorporated location, applicable extraterritorial authority, zoning or special-area status, code adoption and amendments, site conditions, subdivision or plat conditions, easements, rights-of-way, drainage and floodplain requirements, historic or design districts, pool use, agricultural operations and stock laws, fence ownership or attachment, coastal or public-access conditions, utility and pipeline excavation requirements, and private restrictions subject to Texas law. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and site-specific limitations with Longview Building Inspection and the responsible office for each applicable issue, and review applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with controlling law, adopted regulations or official requirements, the controlling authorities govern. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.