FENCE RULES – CLEBURNE (CITY), TEXAS

OVERVIEW

This page covers residential fence rules within the incorporated City of Cleburne, Texas, in Johnson County. City zoning, building inspection, historic-landmark protection, subdivision conditions and engineering requirements have distinct roles in a fence project.

Cleburne’s ordinary residential fence standards require a building permit for fences over six feet. Its ordinary residential fence standards limit front-yard height, require an open front-yard design and allow placement on shared private boundaries, subject to street visibility and a special setback beside a neighbor’s front yard. The ordinance does not specify a separate ordinary side- or rear-yard maximum. Mold-resistant vinyl is excepted from the plastic prohibition; wood and chain-link have additional context-specific treatment. Downtown exemptions, designated historic landmarks, pools, floodways and recorded easements can change the answer. Updated November 2026.

Quick question	Cleburne answer
Permit or approval	An ordinary residential fence not over six feet does not require a building permit under the adopted IRC exemption. The IRC exempts fences not over seven feet, but Section 4.02.C.9 separately requires a building permit above six feet, subject to Section 4.02’s Downtown exemptions described below. Historic-landmark, floodplain, right-of-way and pool approvals have separate triggers.
Typical fence height	Under the ordinary residential standards: three feet at the front property line; up to four feet under the outside-sight-triangle condition. No separate ordinary side/rear maximum is specified. Downtown and historic-landmark branches are explained below.
Placement & property lines	Fences must remain on private property or mutual property lines, clear of designated rights-of-way. The neighbor-front-yard condition requires a ten-foot setback from the right-of-way line. Sight areas, public easements and floodway plat restrictions also matter.
Common fence materials	Wood: not prohibited by the ordinary residential material clause; front-yard transparency, safe condition and other applicable rules still apply. Historic landmarks have specific wood-picket/rear-board design guidance. Vinyl/PVC: mold-resistant vinyl is expressly excepted from the plastic prohibition. Chain-link: not separately prohibited by the ordinary material clause, but restricted for historic front yards and pool barriers.
Important local conditions	Fence rules may be further affected by corner visibility, Downtown Core/Transition exemptions, designated historic landmarks, planned developments, required subdivision screening, pools, floodplain/floodway restrictions, easements, private-street entrance gates and animal enclosures.
Official local resource	City of Cleburne Residential Fencing Standards

The table is a quick reference; the sections below explain the additional fence rules. 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 the Planning and Zoning Office, Building Inspections Division or the responsible office identified for the issue.

GOVERNANCE

Cleburne is a home-rule city. The City Council adopts the Cleburne Zoning Ordinance and construction ordinances. The City of Cleburne Code of Ordinances distributes fence-related requirements among Chapter 155 zoning, Chapter 150 building regulations, Chapter 151 floodplain management, Chapter 154 subdivisions, Chapter 99 streets and sidewalks, and Chapter 91 animal regulations.

The Planning and Zoning Office and Zoning Administrator administer zoning, district standards and applicable development applications. The Building Inspections Division and Chief Building Official administer building and pool-code requirements. The Board of Adjustment handles applicable zoning appeals, variances and special exceptions; an approval depends on the particular relief provision.

The City Engineer or designee serves as Floodplain Administrator. The Animal Services Division administers the relevant animal-enclosure requirements. Engineering administers relevant drainage, easement and right-of-way requirements. The Historic Preservation Officer and Historic Preservation Commission administer designated-landmark review. Private-subdivision entrance gates also involve the Engineering Department and Fire Department. Work affecting a state-controlled roadway or another utility’s facilities has the separate requirements of the responsible authority.

The City’s adopted construction codes include the 2021 International Residential Code and 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, with adopted regional and local amendments, effective December 1, 2022. Local zoning and engineering conditions apply alongside those construction codes.

Section 4.02 contains residential fencing and development-screening provisions. Its introductory applicability language addresses specified new development, and its residential fencing subsection and current City fencing guidance state the household-fence standards. Properties in the Downtown Core Overlay and Downtown Transition District are expressly exempt from Section 4.02. Designated historic landmarks retain their separate requirements, and an adopted Planned Development ordinance may establish site-specific conditions.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ordinary residential fence exemption: For work governed by the locally adopted 2021 IRC, Section R105.2 exempts fences not over seven feet from that code’s building-permit requirement. Section 150.015 adopts that edition and the NCTCOG amendments; the City-posted 2021 IRC amendments do not remove or change the fence exemption. Accordingly, an ordinary fence not over six feet is exempt from that building-permit process. The separate zoning requirement below applies above six feet where Section 4.02 governs; an IRC exemption does not cancel other applicable approvals.

• Fences over six feet: Section 4.02.C.9 expressly requires a building permit for any fence greater than six feet. Section 150.016 lists a $37.50 fee for fences above six feet and a $20 administrative fee. Separate height, placement and site-specific approval requirements apply.

• Retaining walls and electrical gate work: The City’s residential construction guidance requires a permit for retaining walls over four feet. Electrical work has its own permit and qualified-contractor requirements, including electrical work associated with a powered gate. Fence-height treatment does not determine the electrical approval.

• Permit applications and drawings: Building applications use the City’s online permitting system. Drawings submitted for review must be scaled and of professional quality. The separate zoning site-plan process in Section 5.07 expressly exempts single-family detached residential development; other stated development categories have their own site-plan requirements.

• Designated historic landmarks: A Certificate of Appropriateness is required for the qualifying exterior alterations, new construction and changes visible from a public right-of-way that affect a designated landmark’s appearance and cohesiveness. The historic definition of alteration expressly includes fences. Ordinary maintenance and in-kind repair are distinguished. The certificate precedes any otherwise-required building permit and is an additional approval.

• Historic-landmark application materials: The application includes the applicant’s information and detailed work description; current photographs of the property and adjacent properties; available historic photographs and elevation drawings; material samples; and other information needed for review. The Historic Preservation Officer may handle qualifying administrative approvals; substantive work or objections go to the Historic Preservation Commission, which may approve, modify or deny the request.

• Lots partly in the floodplain: Under Section 151.08, if any portion of a lot or tract is inside the floodplain, a floodplain development permit is required before land development. The definition includes manmade changes such as excavation, filling and grading. The published permit fee is $15. The City Engineer or designee administers this approval.

• Floodplain application information: The application calls for a flood map and property sketch, proposed elevations and fill locations, grading and existing-drainage information, and an explanation of drainage changes. The published form also requires a licensed professional engineer’s signed and sealed letter addressing blockage of existing drainage routes and adverse effects on other properties. Floor-elevation and building-specific requirements apply to the construction categories stated in the ordinance and form.

• City rights-of-way and easements: The City requires a right-of-way permit to disturb, excavate, obstruct or place construction or other material on or in a City road, right-of-way or easement. The application uses Cityworks under Engineering and requires a certificate of insurance. The City’s right-of-way and easement guidance explains the separate public and utility interests.

• Pools and spas: The adopted 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code requires an application and permit before covered pool/spa construction, alteration, repair, relocation or demolition and regulated system work. The City’s residential construction guide separately lists in-ground and above-ground pools with a 5,000-gallon-or-more reference. The code’s permit provision and the guide’s volume reference remain separate published statements. Confirm the permit treatment of a smaller or unusual pool with the Building Inspections Division; its classification and barrier requirements also require attention.

• Private-subdivision entrances: Section 154.090 applies to subdivision plats and petitions to convert streets between public and private status submitted to the City after May 1, 2024. For those private-street subdivisions, access-control gates and their opening/backup systems require City approval before installation, testing and acceptance before operation. Gate construction, reconstruction or repair must meet Engineering Department and Fire Department approval.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Private boundaries and streets: Under Section 4.02.C.9, fences must be installed entirely within private property or along mutual property lines and must not encroach on designated rights-of-way. The ordinance does not impose a separate general numeric setback from an ordinary shared private boundary. Deeds, recorded plats, easements and boundary evidence remain distinct from a zoning yard or the apparent pavement edge.

• Beside a neighbor’s front yard: A rear- or side-yard fence extending along the front-yard edge of an abutting lot must stand at least ten feet from the right-of-way line where it intersects the neighboring lot. This condition addresses the neighboring front yard’s visibility.

• Yard locations: The zoning definition of front yard runs across the lot’s width between the main building’s front line and the front property line. The rear yard extends between the rear property line and main building’s rear line, subject to the defined side-yard area. Side yards lie between the building and side property lines and extend from the front yard to the required rear yard. Front-yard height and transparency rules apply to the front-yard setting.

• Vacant or unenclosed lots: Section 130.07 requires the owner, agent or person controlling a vacant or unenclosed lot to guard, fence or securely cover a well, pit or hole so that people and animals cannot fall into it. This is separate from the public-place construction-excavation rule.

• Public access and construction hazards: Posts and other materials must not obstruct a street, avenue, alley or sidewalk under Section 99.06. Construction holes, ditches and excavations in or adjoining a public square, street, alley, sidewalk or other public place must be guarded, covered or fenced to prevent people and animals from falling into them.

• Floodway plats and drainage: Section 154.045 requires the floodway easement and plat statement prohibiting structures, including fences and fill material, in the floodway. Separately, Section 151.14 prohibits floodway encroachments unless the stated hydrologic/hydraulic analysis demonstrates no increase in flood levels; construction meeting that test must also satisfy the applicable flood-hazard standards. Its federal-process branch permits the City to allow an increase only after completing all applicable provisions of 44 CFR Section 65.12. A recorded plat condition remains a separate property restriction.

• Floodplain drainage review: Where a regulatory floodway has not been designated, Section 151.13 requires development in Zones A1–30 and AE to demonstrate that its cumulative effect with existing and anticipated development will not increase the base-flood water surface by more than one foot at any point in the community. Its separate branch permits the City to approve the specified development in Zones A1–30, AE and AH with a greater increase only after completing all applicable provisions of 44 CFR Section 65.12. Alteration of a watercourse must retain its flood-carrying capacity and meet applicable approvals. State Water Code Section 11.086 also prohibits diversion or impoundment of natural surface water that damages another property by overflow, subject to its stated qualifications.

• Subdivision easement dimensions: Section 154.045’s dedication standards set a minimum utility-easement width along property lines of eight feet on each side; utility easements are not normally required adjacent to a dedicated right-of-way. The minimum drainage-easement width is the drainage structure plus five feet on each side, rounded down to the nearest foot, or the 50-year floodplain width, whichever is greater. These are subdivision easement standards. The easement actually recorded on the property determines the affected corridor. Floodway easements preserve City access, maintenance and alteration rights.

• Public utility easements in covered private-street subdivisions: Section 154.090 requires plat conditions preserving utility ingress/egress and prohibiting buildings, fences, structures and other improvements across the identified utility easements, except the stated approved private drainage, street and related entrance facilities. Utilities may remove interfering improvements. Emergency-access easements must remain clear; the City may remove obstructing gates or other barriers under the stated access conditions.

• Required residential perimeter walls: For the development-screening condition described below, the wall must lie in a maintenance easement or separate lot large enough for its footings and at least four feet of access on both sides. Required screening follows the entire applicable shared property or right-of-way line.

• Fences affected by right-of-way acquisition: When an owner receives compensation for screening or landscaping through a right-of-way acquisition, Section 3.07.K.2 requires relocation of affected fencing/landscaping consistently with Sections 4.01 and 4.02. Where insufficient property space makes that impractical, the owner may request the specified waiver or alternative location from the Board of Adjustment.

• Other owners’ fences and signs: Section 130.02 prohibits cutting or damaging a fence that belongs to someone else. Section 130.03 separately requires the owner’s permission before sticking, painting or stamping a notice, poster or advertisement on another person’s fence or wall.

• Existing jointly owned or attached fences: Agriculture Code Section 143.121 restricts removal of a dividing fence in which a person is a joint owner, or a fence attached to one another person owns or controls, absent mutual consent or the statutory process. Under Section 143.122, a person owning an interest in a fence attached to a fence owned wholly or partly by someone else may withdraw their fence after six months’ written notice to the owner of the attached fence or that person’s agent, attorney or lessee. Section 143.123 permits an owner whose fence lies wholly on the owner’s land to require disconnection of another attached fence after six months’ written notice to the attached fence’s owner or that person’s agent, attorney or lessee. Ownership, attachment and the notice recipient determine which provision applies.

• Multichannel-system work affecting a subscriber’s fence: For provider work governed by Section 112.074, removal or temporary relocation of a subscriber’s fence for cable-system installation, repair, locating or removal requires return, replacement or restoration to a sufficiently comparable prior condition at the provider’s cost. The section also addresses unrepaired damage and extends the provider’s obligations to its subcontractors and independent contractors.

• Pipeline easement construction: Covered work on, across, over or under a pipeline easement, or work that physically affects pipeline risk, is subject to Health and Safety Code Sections 756.121–756.126. The statute generally requires notice to the operator and either the operator’s determination that the work will not increase the stated public/pipeline risks; payment, before proceeding, of reasonable, necessary and documented protective-work costs when the operator finds increased risk; work under an existing written agreement; or prompt work required of a regulated utility because of a natural disaster. A contrary written agreement with the pipeline owner/operator and the statute’s specified municipal-property and navigation-district/port-property exclusions have their own applicability terms. This process is separate from an underground locate ticket; easement documents may impose additional conditions.

• Before post-hole digging: Request a Texas811 underground utility locate before digging, wait the applicable lawful period and follow the ticket’s start instructions. Utilities Code Chapter 251 covers specified explosives or powered/mechanized excavation, including augers, to 16 or more inches. Ordinary notice is no earlier than the 14th day before excavation and no later than 48 hours before, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. A Saturday notification means notice given on Saturday before 11:59 a.m.; excavation may then begin the following Tuesday at 11:59 a.m., or Wednesday at 11:59 a.m. if the intervening Monday is a legal holiday. Check ticket responses and site markings, resolve missing or conflicting information through the ticket process, protect marks and dig carefully. Private on-site services are not all covered by an operator’s marking obligation. Railroad Commission pipeline rules can cover manual digging beyond 16 inches and have a distinct default ticket life of 14 working days calculated from the original notification, subject to the permitted signed and dated written agreement; refresh expiring unfinished work for the remaining area and retain required ticket/response records for at least four years. A locate does not replace permits, property permission or pipeline-easement construction requirements.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

• Ordinary front-yard fences: Section 4.02.C.9 limits front-yard fences to three feet at the property line. A front-yard fence may reach four feet if every portion above three feet is outside the sight visibility triangle. The current City cut sheet describes the three-foot property-line rule for an interior lot and the four-foot/outside-triangle branch for a corner lot. Front-yard fencing must retain at least 50% transparency regardless of material.

• Intersection geometry: The ordinance’s fence sight-triangle illustration shows 25-foot legs at the intersecting street corner. Its triangle and the front-property-line condition both affect the four-foot branch. The sight-triangle definition calls for an open, unobstructed space at intersecting streets in front of the building line.

• Vegetation beside streets and intersections: Section 99.07 requires a driver’s sight zone extending 15 feet horizontally from the roadway edge, with vertical clearance from three feet above the roadway surface to eight feet above the curb line. Trees in that zone must be at least ten feet apart. At street-to-street corners, the triangle measures 25 feet from the intersection in perpendicular directions along the curb line or roadway edge, with the same three-to-eight-foot clearance. Trees/branches also require 14 feet of street/alley clearance and eight feet over sidewalks.

• Ordinary side and rear fences: The residential fencing subsection does not specify a separate side/rear maximum or a general fence-height measuring formula, finished-side rule, post-cap allowance or combined fence/retaining-wall formula. Fences greater than six feet require a building permit. Separate front-yard exposure, landmark, screening, pool and site conditions still have their own dimensions.

• Downtown and designated historic landmarks: Downtown Core and Downtown Transition properties have Section 4.02’s express exemption. Separately, Section 155.90 limits new decorative front-yard fences at designated historic landmarks to 42 inches and requires an open character. That landmark provision and the ordinary front-yard three-/four-foot provisions publish different dimensions. A designated property’s certificate review and applicable district requirements determine its project-specific treatment.

• Required residential development screening: A masonry screening wall is required where the rear yards of two or more lots in a single-family detached, duplex or townhome development abut a Collector, Arterial or Freeway. The required wall is six to eight feet high and has a horizontal offset of at least 18 inches every 100–200 linear feet. This is a perimeter-development screening condition assessed at plat approval.

• Manufactured housing developments: Specified new or expanded mobile-home/trailer parks, courts, subdivisions or manufactured housing along a Freeway, Arterial or Collector require an opaque screening wall at least six feet high. Individual manufactured units have separate perimeter skirting/screening obligations described below.

• Cleburne Station courtyard arrangement: For the specified ground-floor multifamily/townhome option in the Cleburne Station Overlay, the courtyard uses fencing with at least 50% transparency and continuous shrubs/perennials reaching no more than three feet at maturity. The alternative stated in the ordinance is direct access along the street by public sidewalk.

• Animal and equipment enclosures: The particular livestock pasture-fence provision requires at least five feet at the lowest point, outside the front-yard space between the main building and street. A wind turbine subject to its conditional standards requires either a locked anti-climb device or a locked protective fence at least six feet high. These are use-specific enclosure requirements.

• Pool and spa barriers: Where a barrier is required by the adopted pool code, its top must be at least 48 inches above outside grade. That height must exist around the entire perimeter and for three feet horizontally outside the barrier. The pool-code exceptions, clearances and gate conditions appear in the next section.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Ordinary residential material restrictions: Section 4.02.C.9 prohibits corrugated metal panels; plastic except mold-resistant vinyl; and materials dangerous to neighbors or the public, including loose or exposed nails, broken slats, broken glass and razor wire. Every front-yard material/design remains subject to the 50% transparency requirement where Section 4.02 applies.

• Wood: Section 4.02.C.9.c’s ordinary residential material restrictions do not prohibit wood as a material category. Wood fencing must still satisfy front-yard transparency, safe-condition and other applicable requirements; this is not an exemption from those rules. For designated historic landmarks, architecturally appropriate wood-picket fences are recognized in front and rear yards, while closely spaced board fences are appropriate only around rear yards.

• Vinyl and PVC: The ordinary ordinance expressly excepts mold-resistant vinyl from its plastic prohibition. It does not separately approve every PVC product or all plastic fencing. Historic review and applicable site/design conditions remain separate.

• Chain-link, barbed wire and electric fencing: The ordinary residential material clause does not specifically address chain-link, barbed wire or electric fencing. Its dangerous-material provision remains applicable. Front-yard chain-link at designated historic landmarks and chain-link used as a pool barrier have the express restrictions below.

• Designated historic-landmark fences: Front-yard metal fences must use decorative iron; front-yard chain-link is prohibited. New front fences must stay open in character. Transitions to side/rear fencing may gradually increase height, use landscaping or continue the decorative character into the side-yard rear. New fences and walls must be visually compatible with the existing landmark/site. Section 155.91’s broader Downtown design recommendations are nonbinding; its designated-landmark branch retains mandatory landmark requirements.

• Required screening-wall materials and finish: Walls required under Section 4.02 use brick, stone, split-face concrete masonry units, or qualifying precast/poured-in-place concrete with a brick/natural-stone appearance. Materials must match the principal building or use coordinated earth tones, which may include red brick; walls attached to buildings must match their material, pattern and color. Natural/decorative color and pattern variations are permitted.

• Required screening-wall construction and maintenance: Walls abutting residential development require a continuous concrete footing with mow strip and a galvanized steel support hanger under each panel. A wall deflecting more than three degrees off center because of subsidence, buckling or other damage must be repaired or replaced by the property owner or owner responsible for construction. Required residential screening must be in place before infrastructure acceptance or final-plat recording.

• Manufactured-housing screening: The applicable street screening wall uses brick, stone or concrete panels with decorative reveals. Individual manufactured units require screening/skirting around the entire perimeter to obscure supporting piers, wheels and plumbing, matching the unit body’s exterior material, finish and color.

• Unsafe fencing: Section 150.150 expressly includes fences in its dangerous/substandard-building framework. Conditions that endanger people or property, including unstable portions likely to fail or collapse, are subject to the ordinance’s inspection and repair/removal remedies. Residential dangerous-material restrictions also address broken and exposed hazardous components.

• New multifamily mechanical-equipment screening: Under Section 4.02.C.7, new multifamily development must screen ground/roof mechanical equipment exceeding three feet high from a right-of-way or single-family-zoned property, and show the equipment/screening on the site plan or permit drawings. Ground screening may be a wall, vegetation or both, at least as high as the tallest unit up to eight feet; a screening wall uses the required masonry materials. Roof screening uses a parapet, mansard roof or alternative architectural element at least as high as the unit. A roof unit exceeding six feet requires two additional horizontal feet of setback per vertical foot above six feet. The provision applies to new building construction or expansion.

• Development waste-storage enclosures: For waste-storage areas governed by Section 4.02.C.8, the area belongs in the side/rear of the lot, outside required side/rear setbacks and required landscape buffers, and its location, construction and screening must appear on the site plan. Refuse containers, dumpsters, compactors and similar facilities require masonry screening on three sides, at least one foot above the container but no more than eight feet high, using the required screening-wall materials. An access side visible from a public right-of-way requires a rust-resistant metal gate screening the enclosure when it is not being accessed.

• Private-street entrance gates: For private-street subdivisions covered by Section 154.090, gates ordinarily require 24 feet of uninterrupted pavement width. An approved divided arrangement cannot reduce a single gate/pavement clear opening below 18 feet; overhead barriers must meet the Fire Code’s fire-lane height. Gate and opening/backup systems require approval, testing and acceptance, and the entrance must have a maintained Knox Rapid Access System. Restricted entrances must be staffed continuously unless an alternative access method is provided for the City and utilities. If adequate access is not maintained, the City may remove the barrier and assess the subdivision properties for the costs.

• Private-subdivision gate queuing and visitors: An entrance requiring residents to stop must generally sit at least 50 feet from the subdivision boundary, or farther when a traffic study requires it. Remote-opening resident entrances allowing entry without stopping have the stated exception. At least one visitor entrance is required; its call/code box must stand at least 50 feet from the boundary, subject to a larger required queuing distance. A turnaround between that box and gate must have a 30-foot minimum outside radius, with no-parking signage. Resident-only entrances require the stated visitor-warning sign. HOA and lot-owner maintenance/access obligations apply to these shared facilities.

• Material storage beside a fence: Section 96.65.D permits the specified personal-use firewood/nondegradable-material storage only when hidden from a public right-of-way or public easement and arranged without health, fire, safety, access or egress hazards. Piles may be no more than six feet wide, six feet high and 25 feet long, and must remain at least three feet from a fence or adjoining property line, another pile, a shrub/bush/brush/tree base, and structures. The areas around and under the material must remain clear of accumulated grass, weeds, brush and other uncultivated vegetation. These are storage-pile conditions.

• Livestock pasture fences and fowl enclosures: Section 91.012’s horse/mule/goat provisions include the pasture-fence minimum and front-yard restriction stated above. Section 91.012(B) prohibits livestock in the original SF-1 through SF-4 and SF-4/MH classifications except qualifying goats, horses and mules. Current zoning Section 155.2.01(C), Table 3, maps SF-1 to SF-20, SF-2 to SF-10, and SF-3/SF-4 to SF-7. Its SF-7 row also lists the previous labels MH/SF-4 and MH; the animal chapter instead writes SF-4/MH. The horse/mule exception in Section 91.012(B)(1) expressly names only SF-1 through SF-4 and tracts under ten acres: two head for the first full fenced acre, then one additional head per fenced acre. The goat exception in (B)(2) allows four head for the first full fenced acre, then one additional head per half-acre. Under (B)(4), horses/mules on land zoned SF also require a City-approved three-sided shelter of at least 200 square feet per animal. Table 3 has no previous designation for SF-6; it does not expressly reconcile the animal chapter’s SF-4/MH wording or assign that wording to the current manufactured-home district. Confirm those unresolved district cases with Planning and Zoning and Animal Services before keeping livestock. The general livestock/fowl enclosure provision publishes a 200-foot separation from an occupied building. The separate hen provision, inapplicable to land zoned Agricultural, requires the shelter/fenced run at least 25 feet from another person’s occupied building, prohibits front-yard keeping and limits the stated category to six hens with no roosters. For hen enclosures, the ordinance publishes both the general 200-foot provision and the specific 25-foot provision; obtain the City’s determination where both may apply. A fenced yard alone does not qualify as the required pen, coop or hutch.

• Animal-rule exceptions and agricultural operations: Section 91.012 states exceptions for appropriately zoned listed animal establishments; qualifying enclosures existing at annexation, ending upon the stated ownership/primary-use change; enclosures predating another property’s habitation; and livestock purchased and housed before January 1, 2005. Texas agricultural-operation protections separately limit municipal requirements on qualifying operations. Within city limits, Agriculture Code Section 251.0055 requires the specified clear-and-convincing imminent-danger/less-restrictive-means showing and supporting resolution/report, together with its other statutory limits. Agricultural status depends on actual statutory conditions.

• Fenced areas for tethered animals: Section 91.023 requires an animal’s tethered/restraint area to be properly fenced to prevent a person or child entering the occupied area. At full tether length, the animal may not reach within 15 feet of a public right-of-way, park or other public land, including sidewalks, or within five feet of privately/commercially owned property. The restraint must prevent partial or complete fence-jumping or leaving the owner’s property, and waste must be removed daily. Animals directly involved in law enforcement activities or training have the section’s express exemption. These provisions apply in the tethered-animal setting.

• Unspayed female dogs during heat and enclosure sanitation: Section 91.004 requires confinement during heat in a house, building or secure enclosure constructed to prevent another dog gaining access. If a secure enclosure is used, the Chapter 91 definition calls for a locked enclosure with secure sides, top and bottom that prevents escape and entry by other animals or young children. Section 91.014 separately requires animal pens, coops, fenced areas and enclosures to remain sanitary, with prompt waste disposal and cleaning to prevent odors, pests and nuisances.

• Dangerous-animal enclosures: For an animal designated dangerous under Section 91.006, the secure enclosure must be locked, prevent public/child entry and escape, be marked and have secure sides/top with a solid or tunneling-resistant bottom. It must provide humane shelter, be species-appropriate, stay sanitary and provide at least two square feet per pound per animal. Warning signs at publicly accessible fencing areas must be clearly visible and at least eight by twelve inches. The ordinance separately provides a leash alternative under the immediate control of a person over 18; these requirements concern designated dangerous animals.

• Signs on fences: For signs subject to Chapter 156, Section 156.21.I prohibits painting or attaching a sign to the exterior of a fence or railing except in circumstances determined by the Director. The sign code has exemptions, including qualifying required address numerals, customary federal-holiday decorations and signs inside a walled/fenced/secured area that are not visible from a right-of-way. A non-traffic sign subject to the code is also prohibited in the intersection sight triangle defined by points 25 feet from the street corner on each property line or its extension to the curb line. This geometry is a sign provision.

• Other specified screening uses: Ground-mounted satellite receive-only antennas must be screened from abutting properties by an opaque fence or evergreen plants reaching at least six feet at maturity. The special-interest-vehicle collector storage exception in Section 96.51 requires an approved screening fence, with the stated improved-surface, orderly/sanitary storage conditions and 36-inch vehicle separation from adjacent property lines.

Private residential pools and spas. The adopted 2021 pool code and Cleburne’s amendments require the prescribed barrier around outdoor pools/spas and indoor swimming pools, subject to the stated alternatives. Residential pool use is limited to the household and its guests; public, association and multiunit-rental facilities have separate classifications and requirements.

• Pool safety-cover alternatives: For one-/two-family dwellings and townhouses, qualifying spas/hot tubs with a lockable ASTM F1346 safety cover, and swimming pools with a qualifying powered ASTM F1346 safety cover, have the stated alternative to Sections 305.2–305.7. The City’s amendment limits this cover alternative to that dwelling/townhouse context.

• Pool construction fencing: In-ground pool/spa sites require construction fencing at least four feet high, beginning when excavation occurs and continuing until the permanent barrier is completed.

• Pool-barrier gaps and climbability: Required barriers have the 48-inch outside-height protection described above. Clearance below the barrier is no more than two inches over nonsolid grade, such as grass/gravel, or four inches over a solid surface, measured outside. A barrier mounted atop the pool/spa has a four-inch maximum bottom gap. Openings must not pass a four-inch sphere. Solid barriers cannot provide handholds/footholds other than the stated construction tolerances and tooled masonry joints.

• Pool-barrier horizontal and diagonal members: When the tops of horizontal members are less than 45 inches apart, locate them on the pool side and limit vertical-member spacing and decorative cutouts to 1¾ inches. At 45 inches or more, vertical-member gaps may reach four inches, while decorative cutouts remain limited to 1¾ inches. Diagonal-member openings cannot exceed 1¾ inches, and diagonal members cannot exceed 45 degrees from vertical.

• Pool-barrier chain-link: Maximum chain-link openings are 1¾ inches, including openings reduced with slats secured at the top and bottom. Cleburne’s added Section 305.2.7.1 prohibits chain-link barriers for public pools built after January 1, 1994. Ordinary private-home pools retain their own applicable barrier specifications.

• Mesh pool barriers: Follow manufacturer instructions. The mesh bottom must be no more than one inch above the installed surface/grade; the fence cannot be liftable more than four inches, and under-panel openings cannot pass a four-inch sphere. Each barrier section must be attached at least 45 inches above grade using a device providing security equal to or greater than a hook-and-eye latch with a spring-actuated retaining lever, such as a safety gate hook. Hinged gates must meet the gate rules; deck sleeves must be nonconductive. Mesh fencing cannot be mounted on onground pools, and its inside must remain at least 20 inches from the water’s nearest edge.

• Pool equipment outside the barrier: Specified equipment on the same lot, including pumps, filters and heaters, must remain at least 36 inches from the outside of the pool/spa barrier.

• Pool doors and gates: Barrier doors/gates must accommodate a lock. Pedestrian gates open outward away from the pool/spa, self-close and self-latch. Utility/service gates stay locked when unused. Multiple-leaf gates need at least one secured leaf and the adjacent leaf secured by a self-latching device.

• Private-pool latch locations: An outside-accessed residential latch release that is not self-locking must be at least 54 inches high. A self-locking residential control, such as a keyed, electronic or integral combination device, is located no higher than 54 inches. Where a private pool’s only release for a self-latching gate is pool-side, it must be at least three inches below the gate top. For an inside release, openings in the gate/barrier within 18 inches cannot exceed ½ inch in any dimension.

• A dwelling wall forming the pool barrier: Cleburne’s amended wall provision addresses a one-/two-family dwelling, townhouse or accessory structure with direct door/window pool access. The code provides its alarm, safety-cover or approved-equivalent protections. Alarm treatment includes operable windows with sills below 48 inches and direct-access doors/gates, using listed UL 2017 water-hazard alarms. Deactivation controls in ordinary dwellings are at least 54 inches high; in the specified accessible dwelling categories they are 48–54 inches. In structures other than dwellings, the controls are also 48–54 inches. For those wall openings, a safety cover listed and labeled to ASTM F1346, or an approved equivalent means such as self-closing/self-latching doors, has its stated alternative treatment. The full pool-barrier cover alternatives are described separately above.

• Onground pool walls as barriers: Where the pool wall alone serves as the barrier, its bottom must be on grade, its top must be at least 48 inches above grade around the entire pool, it must comply with Section 305.2, and the manufacturer must allow the wall to serve as a barrier. Where a barrier is mounted atop the wall, the barrier top must be at least 48 inches above grade around the entire pool, and both wall and barrier must comply with Section 305.2. Access ladders/steps must be securable, lockable or removable unless protected by a compliant barrier; openings resulting from their removal/security cannot pass a four-inch sphere. Mounted barriers must follow manufacturer instructions.

• Natural pool-barrier conditions: For the specified dwelling/townhouse shoreline situation, the pool area may use the natural-water boundary only where public shoreline access is not permitted and the required barriers extend at least 18 inches beyond the water’s edge. Separately, approved protective natural topography may qualify where it provides protection at least equivalent to the stated barrier provisions.

• Pools near foundations and retaining walls: The adopted amendment requires pool/spa depth to maintain a 1:1 relationship from the nearest building foundation or retaining-wall footing, with the stated exception for an approved sealed engineering design.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

HOA covenants, deed restrictions, architectural-review provisions, recorded private easements and private fence maintenance/boundary agreements may impose independent requirements, subject to Texas statutory limits. City approval does not determine fence ownership, adjoining-owner cost allocation or compliance with those private instruments. Public plat conditions, public easements and City approvals retain their separate roles.

• HOA perimeter-security measures: Property Code Section 202.023 generally protects security measures, including perimeter fencing, subject to its retained association controls. It excludes condominiums under Chapters 81/82 and Chapter 215 master mixed-use associations. An association may regulate fence type and prohibit obstruction of a license area, public/community sidewalk, drainage easement or drainage area.

• HOA driveway gates and front-building-line restrictions: The statute permits an association to require a driveway gate at least ten feet from the right-of-way where the driveway intersects the defined laned roadway. It also permits a restrictive covenant prohibiting fencing in front of the dwelling’s front-most building line. These are particular association authorities, with the statute’s exceptions.

• Existing and enhanced-security fencing: Notwithstanding the retained controls in Section 202.023(c), qualifying perimeter/front-building-line fencing installed or constructed before September 1, 2025 may be maintained under subsection (d). Subsection (e) protects the stated perimeter/front-building-line fencing where the owner’s residential address is exempt from public disclosure under state or federal law, or the owner provides the association with documentation from a law enforcement agency of the owner’s need for enhanced security measures.

• HOA pool-enclosure protection: Section 202.022 protects its defined nonclimbable enclosure surrounding a water feature, using transparent mesh or clear panels in metal frames and no more than six feet high, when it complies with applicable safety law. An association may regulate appearance/color within the statute’s terms but may not prohibit the protected black transparent-mesh/metal-frame form. This protection has its own enclosure definition and does not replace public pool-safety requirements.

• Private-street subdivisions: A covered private-street subdivision must have the required HOA arrangements for common facilities, including shared entrance gates, walls/fences and drainage systems. The required plat terms assign the specified common-facility responsibilities to landowners and subsequent lot owners, preserve City access and permit gate removal for failed access at their expense. The shared subdivision entrance-gate rules above apply under Section 154.090’s stated application scope. Recorded instruments allocate ownership, maintenance, assessments and access obligations. Individual private fence agreements may separately address consent, upkeep and costs within applicable law.

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 review: Checking required permits, front-yard location/height/transparency, the neighboring-front-yard condition and applicable Downtown, Planned Development or screening provisions.

• Historic-landmark review: Evaluating required Certificates of Appropriateness and the designated property’s material, open-character, height and transition standards.

• Engineering and access review: Addressing rights-of-way, sidewalks, sight areas, public utility/emergency easements, floodplain development and floodway plat conditions, drainage changes and private-subdivision entrance access.

• Pool and specialized-enclosure review: Applying the adopted pool barrier/gate provisions and applicable animal, equipment or required-screening conditions.

• Construction and maintenance: Addressing unsafe or damaged fencing, required screening-wall repairs, protected public-place excavations and utility/pipeline excavation obligations. Private association enforcement and adjoining-owner agreements have separate procedures.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within the City of Cleburne, 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 the Planning and Zoning Office and Building Inspections Division 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.