FENCE RULES – RICHARDSON (CITY), TEXAS

OVERVIEW

This guide covers residential fence projects within the corporate limits of the City of Richardson, Texas, in Dallas and Collin counties.

Richardson regulates fences through a specific fence article, zoning, visibility rules and separate requirements for pools and certain screened uses. Rear and qualifying side fences can reach eight feet, while front-yard fencing is limited to approved landscaping or decorative screens. The side-yard limit stops at a defined front-wall or building-line position. Corner lots, alley intersections, easements and street rights-of-way can further restrict placement. Wood, vinyl and chain link are expressly listed materials, alongside several other options. Pool barriers follow Richardson’s locally amended code, with their own heights, openings, gates and repair conditions. Planned-development and approved subdivision conditions can also affect a particular property. Updated November 2026.

Quick question	Richardson answer
Permit or approval	Fence permit for construction over 2½ feet; permit review also matters for replacement, extension and pool fencing.
Typical fence height	Eight feet at rear and qualifying side boundaries; approved front landscaping/decorative fencing up to three feet. Corner and other conditions differ.
Placement & property lines	Rear/side lot-line rules apply with front-wall limits, public-property restrictions, easement approvals and sight-clearance areas.
Common fence materials	Wood: expressly listed. Vinyl/PVC: vinyl expressly listed; PVC not separately named. Chain-link: expressly listed, with additional pool/screening conditions.
Important local conditions	Fence rules may be further affected by corner and alley visibility, pool barriers, easements, floodplain conditions, required screening and property-specific planned developments.
Official local resource	Richardson Fence Construction guidance

The table above is for quick reference; the corresponding sections below explain the additional rules and exceptions. Before buying materials or starting work, read the sections that apply to the property, review the linked official sources, and confirm site-specific questions with Richardson Building Inspection or the responsible office identified below.

GOVERNANCE

Richardson is an incorporated home-rule City. The City Council adopts municipal fence and development requirements under Texas municipal law. The Richardson Code of Ordinances distributes fence requirements among Chapter 6, Article IV; the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance in Appendix A; traffic and sight-obstruction provisions; and separate development, drainage and pool requirements.

• Fence and building administration: Building Inspection and the chief building official administer fence permits, completion inspections, front decorative-screen approval and alternative fence materials. The City adopts the 2021 International Building Code, International Residential Code and International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, each with local amendments. Fire access follows the 2021 International Fire Code with local amendments; electrical work follows the 2020 National Electrical Code and local requirements. The municipal residential-code framework in Local Government Code Chapter 214 allows local adoption and amendment; Richardson’s adopted requirements govern the local project.

• Zoning and development: Development Services and the city manager or designee administer applicable zoning and development-plan requirements; the City Plan Commission has the particular approval roles described below. Under §6-204, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance controls an actual conflict with the fence article. An approved planned-development ordinance or site plan can contain property-specific conditions.

• Other responsible offices: The Zoning Board of Adjustment hears fence appeals and special exceptions. The city engineer administers floodplain management and Floodplain-prefix zoning approvals. The Fire Marshal’s Office and fire code official administer fire-access requirements. The Health Department regulates public-pool operations. Each approval addresses its own subject; fence permitting, recorded property rights and private-association review are separate.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Fence permit and plans: Code §6-201 requires a fence permit before constructing a fence over 2½ feet high on any lot. Submit adequate plans and specifications as determined by the chief building official. The City’s fence-permit guidance uses “2½ feet or greater” and lists replacement of 25 percent or more, a new fence line, line extension and pool-isolation fencing among permit situations. Confirm the applicable permit treatment with Building Inspection before replacement or work at a threshold height or percentage.

• Adopted-code treatment: Richardson’s residential-code amendment deletes the base International Residential Code’s fence and retaining-wall permit exemptions in R105.2, Building items 2–5. The specific fence article and applicable local approvals determine the fence project’s requirements.

• Completion and fees: Notify Building Inspection when a fence is completed. The chief building official issues a card of acceptance for a complying fence or rejects it. Maintain accepted fences in compliance afterward. Permit and special-exception fees are governed by the City’s Master Fee Schedule; obtain the applicable charge when applying.

• Appeals and special exceptions: Appeal a chief-building-official decision under the fence article to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The board may authorize a special exception for reasonable development or improvement where literal enforcement would create unnecessary hardship, public convenience and welfare would be substantially served, and appropriate use of neighboring property would not be substantially injured.

• Front fence and other separate approvals: A front landscaping/decorative fence needs the chief building official’s approval. Fencing within an easement requires the written approval described under placement. Pool construction requires a building permit and enclosure plans. Floodplain development, Floodplain-prefix earthwork and changes to an approved development plan have separate requirements in the circumstances below.

• Approved development and landscape plans: Under Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance Article XXII-C, a site plan is not required for detached single-family or duplex uses. Townhome, apartment and mixed-use properties are subject to the article’s site-plan requirements. Existing approved site, landscape, parkway and common-area conditions remain applicable to affected fencing; Development Services administers those conditions.

• Floodplain appeals and variances: The City Council hears floodplain variances and appeals from the city engineer’s determinations. Variances must be the minimum necessary, supported by good cause and exceptional hardship, and satisfy the stated public-safety conditions. A variance may not increase base-flood levels within a designated floodway or area of special flood hazard.

• Powered-gate electrical work: A gate project that includes regulated electrical work is also subject to the City’s electrical permit, electrical-contractor registration and licensed/supervised-work requirements. Fire-access gates have the additional construction standards below.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Property lines and front-wall position: Establish the legal lot boundaries from the relevant survey and recorded documents. Existing fences, geographic information system mapping, curbs and mowing lines are not a reliable substitute for that boundary determination. The residential fence article describes rear- and side-property-line fences, with the side fence’s forward stopping point tied to the building’s front wall or building line. Front yards and corners have additional limits below.

• Public property and rights-of-way: No part of a fence may be built on or protrude over public property. Maintain the fence in a plane that does not overhang it. Chapter 22 also prohibits objects or vegetation between the property line and curb that obstruct public passage and use. Street rights-of-way and their legal boundaries require separate attention from the apparent pavement edge.

• All easements: Section 6-207(a) prohibits a fence within any easement without prior written approval from the agencies having an interest. Recorded utility, drainage, access and other easement terms also govern their use. Preserve the access and drainage required by the controlling instrument and public approval.

• Street-facing subdivision screening wall: Where a subdivision’s single-family rear or side yards adjoin a public street with a provided screening wall, no wall or fence may attach to that screening wall. Required common-area screens, landscaping and maintenance obligations continue under the approved development conditions.

• Irrigation backflow equipment: The backflow-prevention assembly must be accessible from public right-of-way without passing through a gate, door or other structure that prevents testing access. Offset the fence if necessary to preserve that access.

• Surface water and drainage: Water Code §11.086 prohibits diverting or impounding natural surface water so that overflow damages another’s property and provides legal/equitable remedies. The statute preserves authorized flood-control and irrigation improvements but does not authorize a canal, lateral or ditch obstructing a river, creek, bayou, gully, slough, ditch or other well-defined natural drainage. Where gullies/sloughs cut away or intersect a river/creek bank and allow floodwater onto nearby land, §11.086(d) permits the flooded land’s owner to fill their mouths up to the adjoining river/creek-bank height. Fence walls, grading and fill must respect applicable drainage rights, easements and approved facilities.

• Special flood-hazard areas: Chapter 9 covers areas of special flood hazard. “Development” includes manmade changes such as fill, grading, paving, excavation and material storage. The city engineer administers the floodplain-development permit and determines mapped-boundary questions. An application may require scaled plans showing proposed landscape alterations, structures, dimensions/elevations and the extent of watercourse or natural-drainage changes.

• Flood maps and overlapping restrictions: Chapter 9 adopts the Dallas County flood study/maps effective March 21, 2019 and Collin County study/maps effective November 21, 2024, including revisions. Land alteration and use must comply with the applicable requirements. Existing easements, covenants and deed restrictions remain, and the more stringent overlapping City restriction prevails. Flooding can also occur outside a mapped special-hazard area.

• Regulatory floodways: Fill, construction and other development encroaching into an adopted regulatory floodway are prohibited unless standard hydrologic/hydraulic analysis demonstrates no increase in flood levels during the base flood. A separate community process under federal regulation 44 CFR 65.12 governs an authorized increase after its requirements are completed. Where no regulatory floodway is designated in the specified A1–30/AE zones, the City’s cumulative-development test limits an increase in base-flood water elevation to one foot anywhere in the community. The city engineer applies the correct site-specific test.

• Floodplain-prefix zoning: In an FP Floodplain-prefix area, the city engineer must approve a permanent building or structure after finding that it will not obstruct floodwater movement or endanger health, welfare, property value or safety. Dumping, excavation, storage and fill need prior written city-engineer approval. The stated levee/drainage-facility exception concerns work by the legally responsible district. Removing an FP prefix requires qualifying works or study and a written engineering determination.

• Drainage and permanent stormwater conditions: Preserve required facility access and recorded drainage and stormwater maintenance conditions on affected property. Under §21-54, development includes disturbance of at least one acre, or a smaller part of a common plan ultimately disturbing at least one acre. Redevelopment separately means footprint-changing alterations disturbing at least one acre, excluding exterior remodeling, routine maintenance and linear utility installations. Applicable sites install permanent controls and record and maintain the required maintenance plan. Recorded drainage and maintenance conditions continue on affected property.

• Removing a jointly owned or attached fence: Agriculture Code §143.121 restricts removal of a separating/dividing fence in which the person is a joint owner, or a fence attached to one owned or controlled by another, without mutual consent or the statutory process. Under §143.122, an owner of an interest in an attached fence may withdraw it from another’s wholly or partly owned fence after six months’ written notice to that owner or the specified agent, attorney or lessee. Section 143.123 separately lets the owner of a fence wholly on that owner’s land require an attached fence’s disconnection after six months’ written notice to the attached-fence owner or the specified representative.

• Construction affecting a pipeline easement: Health and Safety Code §§756.121–.126 separately governs construction on/across/over/under a covered pipeline easement or right-of-way, or work physically affecting or creating risk to the facility. Notify the operator before covered work. The applicable statutory route is the operator’s no-increased-risk determination, payment of reasonable necessary documented protection costs before proceeding, or an existing written agreement. A contrary written agreement, including a Texas Department of Transportation right-of-way agreement, can affect applicability. This construction review is separate from an 811 locate.

• Texas utility-notice scope: Utilities Code Chapter 251 covers defined excavation, including mechanized/auger soil disturbance 16 inches or deeper. Its facility, private-service and Class B classifications affect coverage. Owner-side irrigation, pool and other private lines may require a separate locate. An excavation notice does not supply a permit, property permission or easement consent.

• Ordinary utility notice timing: Give notice no earlier than the 14th day and no later than the 48th hour before excavation, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. The statute’s special Saturday-before-11:59-a.m. branch permits work the following Tuesday at 11:59 a.m., or Wednesday at 11:59 a.m. if the intervening Monday is a holiday. Emergency and other statutory exceptions retain their specific conditions; use the ticket’s applicable start instructions.

• Pipeline excavation rules: The Railroad Commission of Texas has a separate Chapter 18 damage-prevention regime for covered pipeline-vicinity work, including manual post-hole digging. Its depth exclusion concerns movement not exceeding 16 inches. Default ticket life is 14 working days from the original notice, with the rule’s longer written, signed and dated agreement option. Renew unfinished work when the ticket expires and retain the required ticket/response records for at least four years. A valid ticket must be available; an authorized representative may provide it within one hour when requested.

• Pipeline responses and marking duration: Check the site and protect markings. Required second-notice situations include no response, a contradictory all-clear, clear evidence of an unmarked pipeline, or an obviously erroneous response. If no positive response arrives within four hours after the required second notice, §18.4(f) permits beginning under that branch. Marks normally last 14 working days from the positive response; refreshed-ticket validation/remarking and the emergency-cessation exception follow their own terms. White-line the area before notice/locator arrival where it cannot be clearly identified or described. Oversized projects require the stated operator/excavator meeting and work protocol.

• Excavation near a pipeline: Chapter 18 states the tolerance zone as half the pipeline’s nominal diameter plus at least 18 inches on either side of its outside edge, on a horizontal plane. Use reasonable-care methods such as hand digging, soft excavation, vacuum or pneumatic methods; other operator-approved methods and pavement-removal provisions have their specified conditions. Record and retain any site protocol; it cannot reduce the stated minimum tolerance zone.

• Damage and emergencies: Utilities Code §251.159 requires immediate damage reporting to the operator (or the notification center if the operator is unknown), expeditious operator-authorized repairs, and no backfilling until the damage is reported and an agreed repair schedule is arranged. Avoid ignition sources where flammable danger exists. For covered pipeline damage, Chapter 18 additionally requires notification through the notification center as soon as practicable and within one hour, no covering without operator approval, and an excavator’s Texas Damage Reporting Form within 30 working days. Promptly call 911 for an excavation-caused release of flammable, toxic or corrosive gas, hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide from the pipeline.

• Before post digging: Request a Texas811 utility locate, wait the applicable notice period and follow the ticket/start instructions, check responses against the site markings, and resolve missing or conflicting information through the current ticket process. Protect the marks and dig carefully. Arrange private-line locating as needed. Keep separate permits, easement rights and pipeline-construction approval in place.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

• Rear fences in single-family, duplex and apartment zones: Section 6-209 limits fences along the rear property line to eight feet.

• Side fences in those zones: The eight-foot side-property-line allowance runs from the rear property line to a point aligned with the front wall of the building or the building line, whichever is farther from the front property line. Fencing farther forward is subject to the front-yard requirements.

• Front fencing: Between the front property line and front wall, a fence is permitted only as part of landscaping or as a decorative screen. It must be no more than three feet, must not create a traffic hazard, and requires chief-building-official approval. Within designated landscape areas governed by Article XXII-C, decorative walls, planters and sculptures are limited to 30 inches, with City Plan Commission authority to allow a greater height under the stated public-interest and safety conditions.

• Measuring fence height: Measure vertically from the inside natural or mean grade elevation of the yard, as specified in §6-208.

• Corner lot adjoining another lot’s side line: Where the corner lot’s rear line adjoins a neighboring lot’s side line, §6-209(4) allows side/rear fences up to eight feet except in the specified area extending 15 feet along the rear property line and 25 feet along the side property line adjoining the street. That area carries the four-foot and 50-percent-through-vision conditions. The ordinance refers to its incorporated drawing for the layout; Building Inspection applies these written distances to the lot configuration.

• Intervening alley or natural barrier: For that named corner configuration, an intervening alley at least 15 feet wide, or a natural barrier at least 15 feet wide where fences are prohibited, such as a creek, railroad or easement, permits the street-side-property-line location described by the ordinance’s drawing. Have Building Inspection determine the applicable arrangement for the actual lot.

• Alley and street intersection: Maintain the clear five-by-20-foot triangle required for sight distance. At reconstruction, an existing fence with a ten-by-ten-foot clear area may retain that area. Remove topography that prevents a clear view.

• Separate street-corner no-fence area: Chapter 22 §22-8 prohibits a fence from remaining, being constructed or being replaced within the corner portion including property ten feet in from the curb line and 45 feet on either side from the street-corner curb-line intersection. This provision contains no low-fence or open-fence exception. Chapter 22 defines curbline by the boundary of the street portion improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic. Its location prohibition applies in addition to the fence article’s height conditions.

• Corner-lot and parkway sight lines: Section 13-140 prohibits traffic-view obstruction at elevations 2½–8 feet above the adjacent curb, or average street grade without a curb, within ten feet of the curb/driving surface and within the intersection triangle reaching 45 feet along each curb line. The zoning ordinance separately bars a corner fence, wall, hedge or other feature that creates dangerous traffic obstruction and requires removal of an obstructive bank. Structures/plants also may not endanger adjoining premises or obstruct public-street/alley views.

• Hedges and other vegetation by streets and alleys: Maintain at least seven feet of clearance above sidewalks and 14 feet above streets or alleys. Along a paved alley, trim vegetation one foot back from the pavement. Along an unpaved alley, vegetation may encroach no more than one foot from the property line into the alley or utility easement.

• Temporary construction-site fencing: Temporary fencing may enclose all or part of a construction project at a maximum eight feet, without creating a health, safety or traffic-view hazard. Remove it before occupancy of any part of the facility. Pool construction also has the minimum temporary-barrier duty below.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Expressly listed materials: Section 6-205 lists wood, concrete, masonry, chain link, wrought iron, metal tubing, vinyl and fiberglass composite, plus other materials approved by the building official for exterior exposure as fence material. For the common comparisons, wood, vinyl and chain link are expressly listed; PVC is not separately named. Another product or construction system can require the building official’s approval. The fence article does not specify a separate ordinary finished-side orientation requirement or an additional height allowance for caps.

• Prohibited residential fence materials: The prohibited list includes barbed wire, razor ribbon, sheet metal, corrugated steel and fiberglass panel, plywood, and similar materials manufactured for other uses. Electrically charged fences are prohibited. The state’s qualifying alarm-connected battery-fence protection applies to property not designated for residential use.

• Condition and structural fastening: Keep the fence as near as possible to its accepted installed condition. It may not be more than 20 percent out of vertical alignment. Replace or repair damaged, removed or missing portions with comparable materials of comparable color. Exterior supports may not be used to maintain vertical alignment. Secure sections to support posts with an approved fastening method; nails, screws and other fasteners must remain nonhazardous. Structurally unsound fences or hazardous debris can also constitute a nuisance.

• Hydrant and fire-equipment access: Maintain five-foot unobstructed access to fire hydrants and five-foot clear space around their circumference, except as otherwise required or approved. Fences, posts and other objects must not conceal hydrants/fire equipment or prevent immediate access.

• Gates on fire-apparatus access roads: A single fire-access gate must be at least 20 feet wide; a gate on a divided fire-access roadway must be at least 12 feet wide. Allowed operating types are horizontal swing/slide or vertical lift/pivot, with manual operation by one person. Maintain or repair components, obtain fire-code-official approval of emergency-opening and locking methods, and provide approved emergency access for powered gates. Electric operators require UL 325 listing; automatic gates must meet ASTM F2200.

• Required street-facing subdivision screens: Where an existing single-family lot is subject to an approved street-facing screening requirement, preserve the applicable approved screening and maintenance conditions when replacing or changing the screen. Article XXII-C specifies a masonry screen at least six feet high, a living screen in a landscape buffer at least 20 feet wide, or a combination. Wrought iron may be combined with the screen to expose a landscape feature, such as a median, common area or cul-de-sac. Required screen location, aesthetics, color, pattern, texture and planting receive City approval at development-plan review and may not obstruct alley/street/drive visibility.

• Fencing within an apartment or mixed-use development: If a homeowner’s fence forms part of an approved development perimeter, parking/service screen or common-area plan, preserve its applicable approved materials, height, visibility and access conditions and confirm proposed changes with Development Services and any applicable association.

• Recreational vehicles and trailers on residential property: The owner’s RV in a permitted side/rear-yard location in residential, duplex or apartment zoning must be screened from the adjacent street by a wood fence at least six feet or approved shrubs at least three feet high and five gallons at planting, forming a continuous solid screen that matures to six feet or vehicle height, whichever is greater. The trailer provision uses a solid wood fence at least six feet or the equivalent planting and mature-height alternative. Separate parking/placement restrictions also apply.

• Specified household appliances and equipment stored outside: The applicable side-yard street-view screen is a solid wood fence at least six feet or approved three-foot/five-gallon plantings that form a continuous screen at maturity to six feet or item height, whichever is greater. Section 13-4 expressly exempts side/rear air-conditioner compressors and generators from that screening requirement. The separate restrictions on prohibited front/corner-yard storage remain.

• Open storage in residential and apartment districts: The open-storage definition covers continuous placement over 24 hours of specified indoor/non-weather-resistant items, indoor furniture and household items, trade products, building material without immediate use, scrap/nuisance items and the specified inoperative/unregistered vehicle. Residential open storage is prohibited in the front yard, carport, unenclosed front porch, driveway or an open/unenclosed area visible from public right-of-way. Otherwise its area may not exceed one percent of the residential lot and must be screened from adjoining properties, streets and alleys by a six-foot solid wooden fence. Measure the smallest enclosing rectangle; qualifying operative/currently registered vehicles are excluded unless used for the specified storage. The apartment branch limits storage to one percent of the enclosed storage area and also screens other units and common areas.

• Residential rainwater-storage tanks: In the named R-2000-M, R-1800-M, R-1500-M, R-1250-M, R-1100-M, R-1000-M, R-950-M, R-850-F, R-850-M, RP-1500-M, D-3000-M, D-2400-M and D-1400-M districts, side/rear tanks must screen street views with a wood fence at least six feet or tank height, whichever is greater, or approved three-foot/five-gallon plantings providing the same continuous mature height. Height, setback or screening deviations require a Zoning Board of Adjustment special exception. Applicable fence-height limits continue.

• Irrigation near fencing: Pop-up or rotary heads in a new irrigation system must direct flow away from adjoining surfaces and remain at least four inches from hardscape, including fences. Irrigation may not spray over fences, walls and other impervious surfaces. Preserve the backflow testing access described under placement.

• Rear address identification: A rear residential address must remain legible from the alley. A permanent fence is one allowed mounting surface, with the numbers three–ten feet above ground. Use durable, contrasting Arabic block numerals at least three inches high.

• Visible fence graffiti: Visible graffiti on fencing can constitute a nuisance. The City first offers removal free of charge in writing. Following an owner’s written refusal, the City may serve the prescribed notice; the owner then has 15 calendar days after receipt to paint over or remove it, subject to the notice and abatement procedures.

• Dogs kept on the premises: The City’s running-at-large provision requires confinement by a substantial fence of sufficient strength and height to prevent escape, or the specified appropriate on-premises restraint. For a legally dangerous dog, Health and Safety Code §§822.041–.042 separately requires the applicable registration/owner duties and restraint by a leash under immediate control or a secure enclosure. That enclosure is locked, excludes the public including children, prevents escape/release, is marked for the dangerous dog and meets local animal-control standards.

• Private-home pool, spa or hot-tub enclosure: Under §6-212, a person in possession of land within Richardson, including an owner, contract purchaser, lessee, tenant or licensee, with a pool, spa or hot tub containing water over 24 inches deep must continuously maintain a completely surrounding fence, wall or other solid structure. The enclosure must be at least four feet high, with no opening that passes a four-inch-diameter sphere. Enclosure doors/gates must self-close and self-latch, with the latching device in the upper quarter. That section excepts the enclosure door of a dwelling occupied by people from self-closing/latching; the separate wall-access protection below also applies.

• Pool construction and older enclosure repairs: Pool/spa/hot-tub construction requires a building permit; plans show enclosure compliance, and final inspection is withheld until compliance. Temporary fencing at least four feet high must completely surround all construction portions capable of retaining water until the permanent enclosure is complete. An existing enclosure 3½–4 feet high may be repaired at the same height. Replacement of more than 50 percent of an existing enclosure below four feet requires the entire enclosure to comply.

• Richardson’s adopted pool-code requirements: The City adopts the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code with local amendments. Amended §305.2 applies to outdoor pools/spas and indoor pools, together with §6-212. Richardson deletes base §§305.2.1–305.2.6 and removes the general safety-cover exemption in §305.1. A safety cover alone is not a substitute for the applicable Richardson enclosure.

• Pool-barrier chain link, diagonal members and equipment: Surviving §305.2.7 limits chain-link openings to 1¾ inches; slats secured at top and bottom may reduce openings to no more than that size. Diagonal-member openings are also at most 1¾ inches, with members at most 45 degrees from vertical. Equipment on the same lot but outside the pool barrier, including pumps, filters and heaters, must be at least 36 inches from the barrier’s outside.

• Pool doors, gates and locking devices: Surviving §305.3 requires a locking-device arrangement; pedestrian doors/gates open outward, away from the pool/spa, and self-close/self-latch. For multiple leaves, at least one is secured and the adjacent leaf is self-latching. Local §305.3.1 requires utility/service gates to remain locked and use a self-closing/latching device. Richardson’s upper-quarter latch condition remains applicable.

• Pool-gate latch release positions: For residential releases accessed from outside, the non-self-locking type is at least 54 inches above floor/ground; a self-locking type, such as a key, electronic or combination lock, has its control/release not greater than 54 inches. Where a private pool’s only release is on the pool side, it is at least three inches below gate top. With an inside release, openings within 18 inches are no more than ½ inch in any dimension.

• A dwelling or accessory wall used as the pool barrier: The amended wall provision addresses one-/two-family dwellings, townhouses and their accessory structures where doors give direct pool access. Its unchanged alarm provisions address doors/gates and operable windows with sills under 48 inches, using an audible water-hazard entrance alarm listed/labeled to UL 2017. Alarm deactivation is at least 54 inches above the finished floor in dwellings not required to be Accessible/Type A/Type B units, and 48–54 inches in the specified accessible-dwelling or other-structure contexts. Richardson expressly deletes the safety-cover alternative, item 5. Its reproduced list contains items 1–4, leaving the treatment of the base code’s item 6 approved-equivalent protection unclear. Obtain Building Inspection’s direction for a wall-based alternative before relying on it.

• Construction-fence cross-reference: The local model-code amendment labels its §305.1.1 deletion as a provision of the International Existing Building Code, leaving that cross-reference uncertain. The City’s express §6-211(b) temporary-pool-enclosure duty described above remains applicable.

• Onground pool wall or wall-mounted barrier: The surviving §305.5 option requires the wall on grade and the barrier top at least 48 inches above grade around the full perimeter, with the applicable §305.2 conditions. A wall serving alone also requires manufacturer approval. A mounted barrier must meet the wall/barrier requirements and manufacturer instructions. Access ladders/steps must be securable, lockable or removable unless protected by a complying barrier; resulting openings may not pass a four-inch sphere. Building Inspection must evaluate the proposed configuration against the applicable local enclosure rules.

• Natural-water and topography alternatives: For a one-/two-family dwelling or townhouse abutting a lake or other natural water body, local §305.6 permits the shoreline-to-pool barrier gap only where public shoreline access is not allowed and the required barriers extend at least 18 inches beyond the water’s edge. The natural-topography option in §305.7 requires a natural barrier preventing direct access, governing-body approval and protection at least equivalent to §§305.2–305.5. These site-specific alternatives must be applied with Richardson’s enclosure requirements and the responsible approval.

• Pool location and nearby foundations: Under Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance Article I §5, residential/duplex-lot pools, spas and related equipment are behind the front building line and at least three feet from other property lines, subject to applicable district-specific equipment provisions. A pool/spa may not occupy an area that cannot be fenced under City rules. Accessory pool buildings follow their own rules. Local code requires pool depth to maintain a 1:1 relationship to distance from the nearest building foundation or retaining-wall footing, unless an engineered design by a Texas-registered engineer is submitted for approval. Separate floodplain/FP controls continue to govern affected work.

• Association, multiunit and public-pool settings: Health and Safety Code Chapter 757 applies to its defined multiunit/property-owners’-association pools and certain rental openings; its covered permanent pool/spa depth is over 18 inches. A single-family home outside a condominium project is excluded from its multiunit definition. For a pool in one of those categories or classified as public/semipublic, confirm its separate barrier and operating requirements with Building Inspection and the Health Department.

• Land used for a qualifying agricultural operation: Agriculture Code Chapter 251 covers the defined cultivation/crop, forage, floriculture, viticulture, horticultural, silvicultural/forestry, wildlife-management, livestock/poultry/veterinary, rotation/cover/idle-land, specified commercial animal-sale and aquaculture activities. Within City limits, §251.0055 requires clear-and-convincing evidence of a listed imminent danger and the inadequacy of less restrictive means, a City Council resolution based on the prescribed health-officer/consultant report, and compliance with the section’s separate prohibitions before the City imposes a covered requirement.

• Agricultural practices and vegetation: Section 251.0055 separately protects its listed generally accepted practices, feed/forage vegetation and necessary vermin/disease-insect control, and prohibits conditioning operation status on the specified agricultural tax designation. A City vegetation-height limit for an agricultural operation must allow at least 12 inches and apply only within ten feet of a boundary adjoining a public sidewalk/street/highway or another owner’s property with an inhabited structure. The City may not require the agricultural operation’s owner or lessee to mow, bale, shred or hoe the adjacent public-road right-of-way. The livestock-protection-dog exception applies while the dog performs that purpose on owner-controlled property. A qualifying written wildlife-management plan may be required to establish that basis for operation status.

• Agricultural fences and state remedies: Section 251.006 protects qualifying agricultural improvements, including fences/pens designed for shelter, restriction or feeding of animal or aquatic life, storage of produce/feed, and storage/maintenance of management implements or equipment necessary for the operation, subject to the construction-date and statutory/governmental-requirement conditions. State and federal statutes remain enforceable. Section 251.009 provides the stated declaratory/injunctive remedy and prevailing-party costs/reasonable attorney fees for an aggrieved owner, operator or lessee facing a governmental requirement violating Chapter 251 or the constitutional agricultural-operation protection. Agricultural sufficient-fence and stock-law standards depend on their actual species, territory and statutory branch; they are separate from the City’s ordinary residential heights.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Recorded covenants, subdivision restrictions, homeowners’ association architectural standards, private easements and agreements about fence location, maintenance or cost can impose separate obligations within Texas statutory limits. Review the instruments affecting the lot. City approval does not determine fence ownership, allocate neighbor costs or resolve a private boundary dispute. Richardson’s subdivision code states that the City does not enforce private deed restrictions.

• Association perimeter/security-fence rules: Texas Property Code Chapter 202 limits association restrictions. Section 202.023 protects security measures including perimeter fences, subject to its retained controls; it excludes condominiums under Chapters 81/82 and master mixed-use associations under Chapter 215. An association may regulate fence type and prohibit obstruction of a written-license/plat license area, public/community sidewalks, and drainage easements or areas. It may require a driveway gate at least ten feet from the right-of-way where the driveway meets the defined laned roadway. A restrictive covenant may prohibit fencing in front of the dwelling’s front-most building line.

• Existing fences and enhanced security: Notwithstanding those retained controls, §202.023(d) allows maintenance of perimeter or front-building-line fencing installed or constructed before September 1, 2025. Section 202.023(e) prevents the stated front-building-line prohibition where the residential address is exempt from public disclosure or the owner provides law-enforcement documentation of a need for enhanced security. Installation, expansion and public-code/easement compliance remain distinct questions.

• Protected water-feature enclosure: Section 202.022 protects an enclosure surrounding a water feature that consists of transparent mesh or clear panels in metal frames, is no more than six feet high, is nonclimbable, and conforms to applicable state/local safety rules. An association may regulate appearance/colors within the statute, but may not prohibit the protected black transparent-mesh/metal-frame form.

• Solar devices in fenced yards or patios: The Property Code’s solar-device provisions retain qualifying fenced-yard/patio placement and approval conditions, including the requirement that the device be at or below the fence line. The fence itself remains subject to applicable City height and other 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:

• Permits and completion: Construction, replacement or extension permit questions, required plans, final fence inspection and approved exceptions.

• Placement and visibility: Front/side/rear and corner configurations, independent street/alley sight areas, public property, easement consent and access.

• Materials and continuing condition: Prohibited materials, maintenance and fastening, required screens, hydrant access, gates, address visibility and applicable nuisance conditions.

• Property-specific public conditions: Pools and their enclosure repairs, approved subdivision/development conditions, floodplain/FP work, drainage, utility/pipeline excavation and qualifying agricultural-operation protections.

Association architectural review and private disputes about covenants, ownership, maintenance or costs remain separate from public-code administration and enforcement.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within the City of Richardson, 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 Richardson 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.