FENCE RULES – MANSFIELD (CITY), TEXAS

OVERVIEW

This page addresses residential fences within the corporate limits of the City of Mansfield, Texas, including its portions of Tarrant, Johnson and Ellis counties. The City’s zoning, building, subdivision and special-area requirements govern the municipal property described here.

Mansfield regulates more than the height of a backyard fence. Wood privacy fences have express permit and construction requirements, with a limited repair exception. Residential fences generally have an eight-foot ceiling, while front yards, street-facing sides, retaining walls and designated developments have different limits. Rear property-line fencing is recognized subject to the applicable street and visibility rules. Corner and driveway sight areas have separate zoning and roadway measurements. Wood, vinyl/PVC and chain-link also have different treatment in historic properties and planned developments. Pools, easements, drainage and existing subdivision screens can add requirements. Updated November 2026.

Quick question	Mansfield answer
Permit or approval	New residential fences require a building permit, including chain-link, vinyl/PVC and other materials: the local amendment deletes IRC R105.2 Building item 2. The express limited exception covers repair or replacement of an existing wood privacy fence involving less than 50% of the property’s total fencing, but any fence construction over six feet still requires a permit. Separately required approvals also apply.
Typical fence height	The general residential maximum is eight feet above ground at the fence line. Required front yards have a 36-inch rule with a qualifying decorative/security exception. Fences on retaining walls have a six-foot fence-height limit. Street visibility and special districts can require lower heights.
Placement & property lines	Rear-line placement is recognized subject to other requirements. Street-side fences over 36 inches generally require 15 feet from the side property line, with specified exceptions. Street-abutting rear lots, visibility areas, public property and easements have additional restrictions.
Common fence materials	Wood: expressly regulated, including privacy-fence construction. Vinyl/PVC: not specifically addressed by the general fence section; plastic/vinyl fencing is prohibited by historic residential guidelines. Chain-link: recognized in City permit materials and restricted by special-area rules, including historic-yard limits and a South Pointe prohibition.
Important local conditions	Fence rules may be further affected by street and driveway sight areas, historic designation, Downtown and other development standards, subdivision and new-development screening, vehicle parking, equipment enclosures, pools, retaining walls, public and utility easements, drainage and floodplain work.
Official local resource	Mansfield wood privacy fence guidelines

The table above is for quick reference; the corresponding sections below contain 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 the Building Safety Department, Planning Department or the responsible office identified for the issue.

GOVERNANCE

The Mansfield City Council adopts municipal ordinances. Chapter 155 of the Code of Ordinances contains zoning and fence requirements, including §155.094, the general fence and freestanding-wall section. Sections 155.091–155.093 separately address vehicle screens, development buffers, equipment and service-area screening. Chapter 150 contains building and pool-code adoptions; public subdivision regulations, roadway and drainage standards, and adopted development plans contain additional site-specific provisions.

• Planning and zoning: The Planning Department administers zoning and development standards, including district and planned-development conditions. The general zoning provisions apply the more restrictive zoning requirement when another ordinance permits something less restrictive, subject to the applicable district’s specific rules.

• Permits and inspections: The Building Safety Department and Building Official administer applicable construction permits and inspections. Mansfield has adopted the 2018 International Residential Code and 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, with local amendments, effective August 1, 2019.

• Roads, drainage and floodplain: Engineering Services/Public Works administers the relevant roadway, drainage and site-development requirements. The Director of Public Works or designee serves as Floodplain Administrator under Chapter 151. A recorded easement or road right-of-way can impose constraints in addition to zoning.

• Historic property: The Historic Landmark Commission reviews qualifying exterior changes through a Certificate of Approval. The Local Historic Preservation Officer, the Director of Planning or designee, administers the preservation process.

• Fire-access gates and enforcement: The Fire Department administers the separate gate-installation process for gates across private streets or fire lanes. Building Safety, Planning and Regulatory Compliance address the applicable public requirements. Private associations administer their own lawful covenants separately.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• New and replacement wood privacy fences: Section 155.094(B)(5) requires a permit before constructing a new wood privacy fence five feet high or greater. The City’s wood-privacy-fence guidance expressly includes new or replacement fences at that height. The construction requirements apply to new wood privacy fences and repair or replacement of existing ones after December 10, 2012, subject to the limited exception below.

• Limited wood-fence repair exception: Repair or replacement of an existing wood privacy fence involving less than 50% of the total linear footage of fencing on the property is exempt from §155.094(B)(5)’s requirements, except that a permit is required for any fence construction greater than six feet high. The exception uses the property’s total fencing, not just the individual section being worked on. A project at exactly 50% does not fall within the ordinance’s “less than 50%” exception.

• Other fence projects: A building permit is required for new residential fences of chain-link, vinyl/PVC, masonry, metal and other materials, including fences no taller than six feet. Mansfield’s adopted 2018 IRC amendment expressly deletes R105.2 Building item 2, so the model-code seven-foot fence exemption does not apply. The limited existing wood privacy fence repair/replacement exception above remains relevant; any fence construction over six feet requires a permit. Height, location, materials and other applicable standards are separate requirements.

• Application information: City fence application materials request the job address and legal lot description, owner and contractor information, job valuation, material, fence type and height, and total existing or proposed footage and footage being repaired or replaced. A plot plan must show and dimension setbacks and easements from property lines, and existing and proposed structures with their distances to property lines. The existing-fence calculation sheet addresses repair and replacement footage. Applications, plans and payments are handled through the City’s online permit system. The fence application states that the permit becomes void if authorized work does not begin within 180 days, or is suspended or abandoned for 180 days.

• Residential subdivision screening walls: City application materials call for sealed engineered drawings and association documentation showing private ownership and maintenance of an association-maintained screening wall and no City maintenance obligation. The applicable subdivision provision determines whether ongoing maintenance belongs to an association or individual owners.

• Historic landmarks and overlay property: A Certificate of Approval is required before qualifying exterior alterations, including fence changes affecting the historic property, and before the associated building or demolition permit. Ordinary repair or maintenance without a change in architectural or historical value, style or general design is exempt from the preservation provision; the Commission determines the activities within that category. The historic residential guidelines apply to designated historic residential landmarks regardless of the building’s current use.

• Emergency work on historic property: The ordinance’s emergency process allows temporary stabilization after the required Historic Preservation Officer and Building Official assessment. A Certificate of Approval application must follow within 14 calendar days after completion; the Commission acts within 30 days without a public hearing. Temporary stabilization does not authorize permanent alteration.

• Pool construction and protection: The City’s Residential Pool Protection Device & Enclosure Affidavit accompanies the pool protection process. It requires the owner’s certification of protection during construction and afterward, whether the owner holds the permit or hires a contractor. The pool must not be used or occupied until Building Safety’s final inspection has been made and passed. The permit holder is responsible for scheduling required inspections.

• Gates across private streets or fire lanes: The Fire Department requires a gate-install permit for each mechanical or electric gate installation across a private street or fire lane. A single or double gate at one location is one installation. The process calls for the application, plans, product information and radio-receiver order information, followed by field testing and the required inspection.

• Floodplain development: For work constituting development in a regulated special flood hazard area, Chapter 151 requires a floodplain development permit. Its development definition includes manmade changes such as filling, grading and excavation. Applicable submissions include scaled location and dimension plans, elevations, drainage changes and required engineering information. The Floodplain Administrator determines the requirements for the proposed work.

• Projects involving grading or fill: Public Works has a separate grade-and-fill permit process for that site work. Application materials address the site plan, fill quantity, erosion controls, stabilized construction access, perimeter sediment protection, permanent stabilization and a haul-route map. Work involving floodplain fill also requires the applicable floodplain approval.

• Development-specific approvals: The Planning Department administers applicable planned-development and frontage standards. A decorative fence or wall integrated into a required landscape plan is subject to Landscape Administrator approval. Subdivision screening installation or removal may also need the written Planning Director approval described below.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Legal boundary and site documents: Use the property’s deed, recorded plat, easement documents and an appropriate survey to locate the proposed fence. A property line, a required yard line, an easement and a street right-of-way are different boundaries. Existing fences, tax or geographic information system lines, curbs, pavement, ditches and mowing lines do not conclusively determine legal ownership or fence location.

• Required front yard: A fence or freestanding wall greater than 36 inches may not extend into the required front yard unless it qualifies under the decorative/security-fence exception. The exception’s transparency and material requirements appear in the height and materials sections below.

• Side property line adjoining a public street: A fence or wall over 36 inches generally must be at least 15 feet from that side property line. If the lot backs to the rear property line of another lot, no side-fence setback is required under this provision. If the lot backs to an access easement or alley right-of-way, a ten-foot visibility triangle is required.

• Rear property line: Fences and walls meeting the applicable requirements may stand on the rear property line. For a rear line abutting a public street on which an immediately adjacent lot has its required front yard, a fence or wall over 36 inches may not be within 15 feet of the rear line or closer to the street right-of-way than the adjacent lot’s front setback line, whichever is closer.

• Vehicle categories for residential parking screens: Section 155.091 applies the following branches to lots occupied by a single-family dwelling, two-family dwelling or townhouse. A “vehicle” includes passenger and other vehicles. The zoning definitions distinguish passenger automobiles, trucks and motorcycles intended primarily for domestic transportation from “other vehicles,” including buses, all-terrain vehicles, motor homes, recreational vehicles, campers, trailers, boats and vehicles that are not passenger vehicles.

• Parking at houses, duplexes and townhouses instead of concrete paving: Section 155.091(B)(19) generally requires vehicle parking on a solid, continuous concrete surface, except expansion joints. Concrete parking is not required where the vehicle is in a side or rear yard enclosed by an opaque screening fence at least six feet high, or qualifies under the separate over-25-foot vehicle provisions.

• Vehicles over 25 feet at houses, duplexes and townhouses: Section 155.091(B)(21) counts overall length including the tongue. One option is an attached or detached building enclosed by three walls and a roof, with an opaque gate at least six feet high across the open side; the building must satisfy applicable accessory-building area, height and setbacks. Alternatively, the vehicle may be behind the residence’s rearmost facade and more than 50 feet from every property line, or at least 75 feet from the front line and ten feet from side and rear lines. The latter option requires no side/rear setback beside nonresidential-zoned property. Vehicles meeting either of these two outdoor-distance alternatives are exempt from this section’s pavement and screening requirements.

• Other vehicles at houses, duplexes and townhouses: Section 155.091(B)(23) prohibits an “other vehicle” between the front line and the portion of the residence’s front facade furthest from the street, including the identified entryway, porch, side-entry or J-swing garage and protruding features. On a corner lot, an other vehicle on the driveway between the street-side property line and the residence’s facade closest to that street must be behind an opaque fence and gate at least six feet high. Applicable yard and visibility restrictions also govern that screen.

• Existing residential parking exemptions: Section 155.091(B)(25) exempts lawful unpaved driveways existing before November 10, 1997 from paving requirements. Other vehicles over 25 feet lawfully parked before that date are exempt from (B)(21). Other vehicles lawfully parked before March 28, 2006 between the front line and the residence’s facade closest to the street are exempt from (B)(23). The vehicle exemptions require keeping public sidewalks, rights-of-way and visibility triangles clear. A protected vehicle may be replaced by one of the same type and dimensions by the same owner or occupant; those vehicle exemptions terminate upon a change in ownership or occupancy.

• Half-acre lots on asphalt roads with bar ditches: Section 155.091(B)(25)(e) applies to lots occupied by a single-family dwelling, two-family dwelling or townhouse. It exempts other vehicles on a lot of at least one-half acre fronting an asphalt roadway with bar ditches from (B)(21)’s length restriction and its specified side/rear vehicle setbacks. The vehicle must be behind the portion of the front facade furthest from the street and either on pavement or screened from the street or adjacent residential properties by an opaque fence at least six feet high.

• Temporary recreational-vehicle parking: Section 155.091(B)(27) allows an RV on a driveway or other lawful parking area for up to 72 hours before or after a trip for loading, unloading or maintenance, subject to relevant parking regulations, and a visiting out-of-town guest’s RV for up to 72 hours. The City Manager or designee may approve a reasonable visiting-guest extension on resident application for special circumstances or hardship.

• Public property and easements: Fences, posts, braces and guy wires may not stand on or protrude over property owned or controlled by the City or general public, or subject to their easement rights, except utility easements permitted to be fenced. The recorded instrument and applicable utility access requirements govern the particular easement. Keep required public access, drainage and maintenance areas usable.

• Street, alley and driveway visibility: Fence placement must preserve the zoning sight areas and applicable roadway visibility triangles described in the next section. These restrictions can require a lower or relocated fence even where a property-line placement or yard setback otherwise permits it.

• Historic residential property: The historic guidelines discourage front-yard fences and fences abutting a front or side porch. A street-facing side-yard fence should begin at or behind the front facade. On corner lots, the fence must be in the rear 50% of the side yard without hiding projecting historic features. A corner-side fence adjacent to public right-of-way must be at least two feet from the inner edge of the sidewalk, or six feet from the curb or street edge where there is no curb. Fences should preserve views to and from the historic building.

• Historic residential tennis courts and retaining walls: Tennis courts and associated fencing should be limited to appropriately sized larger lots; the fence should be at least ten feet from adjoining property lines. Preserve existing historic retaining walls. The guidelines encourage low stone retaining walls in side and rear yards and accept exposed concrete for retaining walls at property lines.

• Downtown District: Section 155.072 permits side- and rear-line fences and screens under §155.094 except where both adjoining lot areas are surface parking or outdoor commercial uses. Dooryards are enclosed on three sides, with openings only large enough for pedestrian access. In the D-2 and D-3 zones, the absence of a building facade along part of a lot line triggers a freestanding streetscreen in line with the facade.

• South Mansfield Form-Based Development District: Section 155.073 allows fences and hedges along porch-and-fence frontage lines; dooryards and terraces have fences or walls on three sides. Side- and rear-lot-line fences, walls and similar visual screens are prohibited for multifamily residential and mixed-use buildings under this district provision. Where a facade is absent along a frontage line, the district requires a streetscreen in line with the facade.

• Projects using Neighborhood Design Standards: Section 155.057 is an optional development framework for qualifying properties in the OP, C-1, C-2 and C-3 districts or an approved planned development. Where that framework applies, stoop frontages may have fences or walls on the front lot line; dooryards are enclosed on three sides with pedestrian-sized openings. Side- and rear-line fences follow §155.094.

• Freeway Overlay District: The overlay includes the specified property adjoining and within 300 feet of highway right-of-way in the applicable Freeway Overlay zoning area. Fencing in setbacks abutting a street is prohibited unless required by the ordinance or part of a secondary landscaping theme.

• South Pointe development: Subdivision perimeter fencing is limited to Residential Village property abutting Lone Star Parkway as illustrated by Exhibit 7, and lots siding or backing to a DA-100-48 roadway as shown by Exhibit 8. Fences adjoining open space must be articulated at the outside edges of a block to avoid long straight runs. Fencing is prohibited within the arterial-street landscape buffer governed by the development’s special landscaping provision.

• Subdivision screening after the 2023 amendment: Ordinance OR-2325-23, adopted October 9, 2023, amended §10(N) of the subdivision regulations. The subdivision-screening rules remain applicable to development platted on or before October 31, 2023. For development platted after that date, they apply only where abutting uses are dissimilar and zoning requires screening. The amendment also prohibits screening walls or devices along all existing and future thoroughfares, regardless of classification, function or size, after October 31, 2023. Screening compatible mixed uses is discouraged, and commercial-to-commercial screening is not required. Optional screening installation or removal requires written Planning Director approval with drawings; the decision is appealable to the City Council. Continuing standards for existing applicable screening are described in the materials section.

• New-development zoning buffers and screening: Section 155.092(N) provides an independent buffer and screening system for new development, separate from the subdivision-thoroughfare amendment described above. It requires identifying the developing property’s zoning and proposed use and the adjacent property’s zoning and existing use. Buffer yards are along the lot perimeter, entirely on private property; no visual screen may occupy public right-of-way. Only buffering or screening structures belong in the buffer, with no paving except minimum-width intersecting pedestrian paths or vehicular access.

• New-development framework and district exceptions: Section 155.092 defines new development in terms of construction on vacant or undeveloped land and additions increasing floor area by the lesser of 30% or 3,000 square feet in the MF-1, MF-2, OP, C-1, C-2, C-3, D, S, I-1, I-2, FR or PD districts. Conflicting standards in the D, S, FR, SE or PD districts govern, with §155.092 applying where those standards are silent. The general (N) framework excludes the D and S districts, but permitted mixed-use and other nonresidential development in the D zones identified as D-2, D-3 and SD-1 and S zones identified as T-4, T-5 and T-6 must use the C-2 requirements beside PR, A or single-family zoning or a detached single-family lot. Required landscape plans receive Landscape Administrator review before applicable permits, and required screening and landscaping must be installed before a certificate of occupancy.

• New-development buffer matrix terminology: In the matrix described here, buffer widths are minimums and “occupied PR” means PR-zoned land occupied by a residential use. A ten-, 20- or 30-foot buffer requires one tree per 25 linear feet or portion. A 50-foot buffer has two rows: deciduous and evergreen canopy trees, each at one tree per 50 linear feet. Required screening classes SW6, SW8 and SD6 are explained in Material and Construction Limits.

• Developing single-family, two-family or occupied-PR property: The §155.092(N) matrix lists no buffer yard for this row. It lists SW8 beside OP/C-1/C-2 or C-3/I-1/I-2 property, except where that adjacent property is vacant. Beside an existing church, school or City use, it lists the WF6 screening designation; confirm that designation’s project requirements with Planning. It lists no screening for the other matrix neighbors: single-/two-family or occupied PR, multifamily/townhouse, vacant PR and manufactured-home property.

• Developing multifamily or townhouse property: The matrix requires a 50-foot buffer beside single-family, two-family, occupied PR or vacant PR, and a ten-foot buffer beside each other listed category. Screening is SW6 beside single-family/two-family/occupied PR and existing church/school/City use; SW6 beside either office/commercial or commercial/industrial group unless the adjacent property is vacant; and SD6 beside manufactured-home property. No screen is listed beside multifamily/townhouse or vacant PR.

• Office/commercial or commercial/industrial development adjoining residential property: For developing OP/C-1/C-2 property, the buffer is 20 feet beside single-/two-family, occupied PR or vacant PR; developing C-3/I-1/I-2 property requires 30 feet beside those categories. Both rows require ten feet beside the other listed categories. Both require SW8 beside single-/two-family or occupied PR and SW6 beside multifamily/townhouse, existing church/school/City use and manufactured-home property; no screen is listed beside either nonresidential group or vacant PR. Within the office/commercial and commercial/industrial neighbor combinations, tree plantings are reduced 50% and staggered between properties.

• Developing church, school or City use beside residences: The matrix requires a ten-foot buffer beside every listed neighbor and SD6 beside single-/two-family/occupied PR or multifamily/townhouse; no screen is listed beside the other categories.

• Developing manufactured-home property: The matrix requires a 20-foot buffer beside single-/two-family/occupied PR and ten feet beside every other category. It requires SD6 beside single-/two-family/occupied PR, multifamily/townhouse, existing church/school/City use, vacant PR and manufactured-home property. It requires SW6 beside either office/commercial or commercial/industrial group unless the adjacent property is vacant.

• New-development buffer exceptions and alternatives: No buffer yard is required between separately platted lots within the same multifamily, townhouse or manufactured-home subdivision. Existing manufactured-home communities/subdivisions are exempt from buffer-yard requirements. An adjoining planned development is evaluated by the permitted use abutting the site; a line adjoining two districts uses the more restrictive buffer. Industrial I-1/I-2 development not abutting residential zoning or occupied PR may substitute a designated landscaped area of at least 10% of lot area under the stated landscape conditions. Where a shared drive or building lies along/across the common line, the Landscape Administrator may allow the specified drive-aisle median or equivalent buffer area and trees elsewhere on site, additional to other landscaping.

• Utility, flood-conveyance and residential maintenance easements: For new-development buffers, the Landscape Administrator and City Engineer may approve alternative screening type, location or configuration to avoid utility or flood-conveyance interference while meeting screening intent. Wood and chain-link are not permitted alternatives under that provision; existing natural areas and vegetation may qualify. A residential developer submitted after the ordinance’s approval date must provide a 7½-foot screening-wall construction and maintenance easement adjoining nonresidential zoning to facilitate the required masonry wall on the nonresidential property.

• Parking-perimeter screens for covered developments: Section 155.092(Q) covers MF-1, MF-2, OP, C-1, C-2, C-3, I-1, I-2, FR, SE and PD districts, plus permitted arts, cultural, educational, governmental and worship buildings in any district. Surface parking, vehicle-use and maneuvering areas not screened by buildings must be screened from thoroughfares, civic spaces and other required open spaces. Screening is at least three feet above parking-area grade at plant maturity, using shrubs, sodded berms, or a three-foot brick, stone or hard-coat three-step stucco wall with shrubs complementing the building, or a combination. It may occupy the street landscape setback. Except grass and low ground cover, landscaping must be at least three feet from parking-space edges.

• New-development stormwater holding areas: Section 155.092(W)(2) requires detention/retention ponds and similar areas not integrated into the landscape plan or featured as an amenity to be screened from existing/future public streets, existing/planned civic or required open spaces, and adjoining property. Screening may be compatible landscape materials or walls/devices matching predominant adjacent building materials or landscaping. Walls/devices must provide for pond safety, access and maintenance.

• Drainage and watercourses: Wood fences must be designed to avoid drainage problems. Maintain watercourses and drainage facilities free of obstructing material and preserve required access. State Water Code §11.086 restricts diversion or impoundment of natural surface water that damages another property by overflow, subject to its statutory qualifications.

• Lined drainage channels: The drainage manual allows the City Engineer to require a six-foot chain-link fence, or another approved fence, on each side of a lined channel. This is a drainage-facility condition.

• Floodway work: Chapter 151 restricts encroachments, including fill and other development, in a designated floodway unless the required hydrologic and hydraulic analysis demonstrates no increase in base-flood levels. The ordinance also addresses the applicable federal floodway-revision process. Engineering review is specific to the proposed site and work.

• Pool and equipment placement: A pool may not occupy the required front yard; its water’s edge must be at least five feet from side and rear property lines and outside easements. Pump and filter equipment must be outside the front yard and public easements and screened from adjacent property and public streets. These are pool and equipment rules; fence placement follows the applicable fence provisions.

• Removing a jointly owned or attached fence: Agriculture Code §143.121 restricts removal without mutual consent or the statutory process when the separating or dividing fence is jointly owned, or another fence is attached to one another person owns or controls. Section 143.122 allows a person who owns an interest in a fence attached to another person’s wholly or partly owned fence to physically withdraw that fence from the other fence after giving six months’ written notice of the intended separation to the owner of the attached fence or that person’s agent, attorney or lessee. Under §143.123, an owner whose fence is wholly on the owner’s land may require the attached fence’s owner to disconnect and withdraw it after giving six months’ written notice of the required disconnection to that owner or that person’s agent, attorney or lessee. These requirements depend on ownership and attachment.

• Construction affecting a pipeline easement: Health and Safety Code Chapter 756 requires separate pipeline-operator notice and protective coordination for covered construction on, across, over or under a pipeline easement or right-of-way, subject to its written-agreement and other statutory exceptions. The operator’s risk determination, protective work and applicable agreement requirements can affect construction. Review the actual easement and covered work before installing posts, walls or gates.

• Texas811 before post digging: Request a locate before digging, wait the applicable lawful period and follow the ticket’s start instructions. Check ticket responses and site markings, resolve missing or conflicting information through the current ticket process, protect markings and excavate carefully. Utilities Code Chapter 251 covers specified powered or mechanized excavation, including augers, disturbing soil to 16 inches or more; separate Railroad Commission pipeline rules can cover manual excavation deeper than 16 inches. Private services and some facilities may require separate locating. For covered pipeline work, keep the ticket valid, refresh unfinished work as required and retain the required notice and response records. An 811 request does not replace permits, property permission, easement compliance or separate pipeline-construction notice.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

• General residential maximum: A fence in a residential district may not exceed eight feet above ground level at the fence line. Yard, visibility and special-area restrictions remain applicable.

• Fence on a retaining wall: The fence may not exceed six feet measured from the bottom of the fence to its top. This is the fence’s measurement above the retaining wall.

• Required front-yard exception: The general front-yard restriction applies above 36 inches. A qualifying decorative or security fence must satisfy the specified material requirements; the exception states that fencing 36 inches or more above finished lot grade may be no more than 25% solid.

• Zoning visibility at streets, alleys and drives: Section 155.094 prohibits fences, screens, walls and other barriers that obstruct approaching drivers. Its visual-barrier definition covers objects higher than 36 inches above ground at the property line, except single-trunk trees pruned to seven feet above ground. At street intersections, clear vision must extend across the lot for 25 feet back from the property corner along both streets. The separately stated ten-foot triangle applies to the street-side setback exception for a lot backing to an access easement or alley right-of-way.

• Roadway and driveway visibility: Section 155.092 also references the City’s roadway criteria. The May 2021 Mansfield Roadway Design Manual, §II.3(h), printed pages 5–6, and Exhibit 2, printed page 20, establish a minimum seven-foot by 60-foot visibility triangle: 60 feet along the ultimate-width right-of-way and seven feet along the driveway throat or street right-of-way. The drawing shows the intersection-corner and driveway triangles. Where curvature or obstructions require the sight line to extend beyond the right-of-way or standard triangle, a larger visibility easement meeting current American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials intersection-sight-distance design values is required.

• Height within roadway visibility areas: Within the roadway triangle or visibility easement, fences, screening and freestanding walls and other visual barriers over two feet high, measured from the top of curb, are prohibited. Required street trees must not impair visibility and must be trimmed to at least 14 feet above top of curb. The roadway standards and the separate zoning visibility provisions have their own dimensions and height measurements; the proposed fence must satisfy each applicable requirement.

• Historic residential property: The guidelines call for fences or walls no higher than eight feet at the rear property line or alley, and six feet in side yards and front-facing portions behind the historic house’s front facade. Chain-link has a separate four-foot limit and is limited to side and rear yards. Alternative heights may be reviewed where a historic home adjoins incompatible commercial uses.

• Downtown District: Fences along streets and civic spaces have a four-foot maximum. Dooryard enclosures are four feet high. Required D-2 and D-3 streetscreens are two to four feet high, with openings only as large as needed for automobile and pedestrian access.

• South Mansfield Form-Based Development District: Porch-and-fence frontage fences and hedges have a four-foot maximum. Dooryard and terrace enclosures are four feet high. Required streetscreens are four to eight feet high, with openings only as large as needed for automobile and pedestrian access.

• Projects using Neighborhood Design Standards: Front-lot-line fences and walls at stoop frontages have a four-foot maximum. Dooryard enclosures are four feet high.

• South Pointe development: Common-boundary fences have a six-foot maximum, with a stated eight-foot allowance for fences required to impede access to hazardous facilities, including pools. In required front yards and sight triangles, fences may not exceed three feet measured from grade to fence top; structures over three feet are prohibited in the triangle. Objects identified as sight obstructions by the applicable highway-design manual remain prohibited there.

• Manufactured-home development perimeter: Section 155.068 requires a permanent screen at least six feet high on the sides of a manufactured-home rental community or subdivision abutting an existing single-family-zoned tract platted for single-family use or existing single-family use, and on portions directly abutting a dedicated public street.

• Pool enclosure zoning requirements: Section 155.094 requires a pool to remain completely enclosed by a fence, wall or barrier at least four feet high, without openings admitting a four-inch sphere. Gates directly into the enclosure must self-close and self-latch so they remain secured when not in use; the zoning provision places the latch at least three feet above grade. The adopted pool code and the City’s separate dwelling-access protection requirements also apply to the pool project.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Wood, vinyl/PVC and chain-link: Mansfield expressly regulates wood privacy fences. The general fence section does not specifically address vinyl/PVC; the historic residential guidelines prohibit plastic or vinyl fences. City fence application materials recognize chain-link among fence materials, while historic guidelines restrict its location, height and finish and South Pointe prohibits it. A material must also satisfy the requirements for the particular yard, district and intended use.

• Required front-yard decorative or security fencing: The listed primary materials are wrought iron, exposed-aggregate tilt wall, fired masonry, approved wood-rail construction, or another material approved by the Building Official. The 25%-solid limitation stated in the height section applies to the qualifying fencing at 36 inches or more.

• Finished-side orientation: Exposed posts and rails must face away from the view of adjacent properties and public streets.

• Wood privacy boards and ground clearance: Subject to the limited repair exception, planks or panels must be at least 5/8 inch thick, with at least one inch between the ground and wood to limit decay.

• Wood privacy posts and footings: Posts must be standard-pipe-gauge galvanized steel with a minimum 2⅜-inch outside diameter, spaced no more than eight feet on center and set in concrete. Minimum concrete footing depths are 24 inches for a six-foot fence and 36 inches for an eight-foot fence.

• Wood privacy rails and fastening: Horizontal stringers must be at least 1½ by 3½ inches. One stringer is required per two feet of fence height: three for a six-foot fence and four for an eight-foot fence. Slats must be nailed or screwed to the stringers, and all components must be securely fastened. Materials must remain free of rot, rust, vandalism and other decay. The fence must avoid drainage problems. Wood subdivision-perimeter screening is governed by the subdivision regulations.

• Barbed wire and sharp wall topping: Section 155.094(B)(6) prohibits barbed-wire fences and walls topped with broken glass or similar material, with these specific exceptions: a security fence at least six feet high on nonresidential-zoned property may have barbed-wire topping; barbed-wire fencing may be erected or maintained where livestock were present on January 1, 2004 and will continue to be kept, with the owner bearing the burden of proving the historic livestock use; and a separate exception covers property over 20 acres that held livestock or had another agricultural use on January 1, 2004 and will continue that livestock or agricultural use, again with owner proof. For the latter branch, the ordinance defines agricultural use by the owner’s having and maintaining an agricultural exemption granted by the Tarrant Appraisal District.

• Electric fencing: Section 155.094(B)(7) states that no fence may be electrically charged in any form.

• Maintenance: Required screening fences and walls must be perpetually maintained or replaced by the owner or user of the more intensive zoned property. Other structurally unsound fences must be repaired, replaced or removed by the owner or user of the land where they stand. Owners must keep debris and high weeds out of the spaces between fence and property line, between parallel fences, and between fence and street edge.

• New-development SW6, SW8 and SD6 screening: Section 155.092(N) defines SW6 as a six- to eight-foot screening wall, SW8 as an eight-foot screening wall, and SD6 as a six- to eight-foot screening device. SW6/SW8 materials are brick, stone or split-face concrete masonry units, or precast/poured-in-place concrete resembling those materials. SD6 may be cedar/redwood; brick, stone, decorative or split-face block; precast/poured concrete resembling wood or masonry; wrought iron/tubular steel with adjacent private-property shrubs able to screen to six feet within 18 months; combinations; or Planning and Zoning Commission-authorized alternatives. The school district has a separate allowance for chain-link with slats providing 90% opacity.

• New-development wood screening construction: Cedar/redwood panels use matching-wood rails and galvanized steel posts 15–18 gauge, at least 2⅜ inches in diameter, no more than eight feet on center. Concrete footing holes must be at least ten inches in diameter and 24 inches deep. Six-foot fences require at least three rails; eight-foot fences at least four. Posts and rails must face away from adjoining property and perimeter streets.

• New-development screening finish, measurement and maintenance: Phased walls must have similar, compatible color, height, style and finish, equally finished on both sides. Required walls use earth-tone or traditional masonry colors; nontraditional colors and smooth-face concrete masonry units, including haydite block, are prohibited. Construction must prevent drainage/erosion problems; a metal L-shaped or similar support bracket belongs under the bottom brick/stone row. Measure from ground at the wall/device bottom; on a retaining wall or structure, the screen itself may not exceed six feet from bottom to top. SW6/SW8 designs require an architect’s or engineer’s seal and compliance with the City Building Code. The owner of the property carrying the required screen maintains it structurally sound; adjoining owners remain responsible for damage caused by themselves, employees, agents or contractors.

• Multifamily mechanical equipment screens: Section 155.093(A)(1) requires ground HVAC screening to match the building’s predominant material; wood and chain-link fences are prohibited. Transformers, gas meters and service areas must be screened from streets and adjacent property. Roof HVAC must not be visible from the street or abutting-property boundary; parapets or comparable architectural elements must be at least one foot above the highest installed rooftop unit, with required clearances preserved. Exposed conduit, ladders, boxes, pipes and drainspouts are painted to blend with the building.

• Individual rooftop equipment and screening exceptions: Under §155.093(A)(3), fencing, screening or enclosing individual rooftop equipment is prohibited; the applicable building-level architectural screening requirements remain. City staff may require a line-of-sight drawing with the building permit application. Where topographic differences prevent HVAC visual screening, the owner/developer may seek a Board of Adjustment special exception under §155.082.

• Trash, refuse and recycling storage enclosures: Section 155.093(B) requires three screened sides, with fence/wall at least as high as the container or stored refuse/material, and an opaque gate on the remaining side. Construction must match the building’s predominant material; wood and chain-link fence material are prohibited except for the opaque gate. A topographic inability to achieve visual screening may be addressed through the Board of Adjustment special-exception process. District-specific enclosure requirements also apply where established.

• Historic residential fencing: The Design Guidelines for Historic Residential Properties, Chapters 3.15–3.17, call for preservation and maintenance of original historic fences. A nonhistoric front fence should be replaced with a historically compatible or simpler design; additions should complement rather than overwhelm an existing historic fence. New fences should suit the house’s type, age, status and style, preserve views, and present a finished side to streets and alleys.

• Historic residential materials and finish: The guidelines recognize wood, twisted wire, metal and other appropriate historic materials. Stone should be used only where it is already present on the house or property and should match its size, pattern and color. Chain-link in side or rear yards should have top and bottom rails and may be galvanized or coated in green or black vinyl. Slatted chain-link, plastic/vinyl fencing and concrete masonry units are prohibited. Wood may be painted in period-appropriate colors or stained gray or brown. Decorative painting and murals may not appear on fence surfaces visible from the public way. Fence tops should be horizontal and stepped, scooped or arched as appropriate, rather than following sloping grade.

• Historic residential equipment screening: Street-visible yard mechanical equipment should be screened with shrubbery or a low fence. The site guidelines also call for screening parking from public streets and pedestrian areas and screening service areas from the street and adjacent residential properties.

• Downtown District materials: Street- and civic-space fences must be wood picket, iron, steel or aluminum that appears to be iron. Columns may be brick, stone or stucco. Streetscreens along streets and civic spaces must be brick, stone or stucco matching the adjacent facade; the district’s specific frontage provision calls for brick or stone streetscreens. Designs of fences, streetscreens and walls along those public spaces must differ from adjacent lots. Dooryards use a metal fence or brick or stone wall. Building mechanical equipment and refuse storage must be screened and kept away from streets and civic spaces; rooftop screening must be consistent with the building’s architecture and at least 12 inches higher than the equipment.

• South Mansfield Form-Based Development District materials: Frontage fences must be metal, wrought iron or wood; metal and wrought iron must be black, and wood painted or stained. Frontage walls must be brick, stone or stucco, and gates metal or wood. Streetscreens must match the adjacent facade. Porch-and-fence frontages require two trees per 30 feet of frontage. Mechanical equipment and refuse storage must be screened and kept off frontages. Rooftop parapets or opaque screens must stand at least 12 inches above the equipment. Outdoor refuse and recycling enclosures require solid walls at least six feet high, matching the building, with equally high opaque-metal access doors; receptacles outside roofed enclosures require lids.

• Projects using Neighborhood Design Standards: Front-lot-line fences must be metal or wood and may have brick or stone bases and columns. Walls must be brick or stone, and gates metal or wood. Dooryards use metal or wood fencing or brick or stone walls. Parking screens are hedges three to four feet high or liner buildings, with access-sized openings. Rooftop parapets or opaque screens must be at least 12 inches above equipment. Ground equipment is prohibited within 200 feet of thoroughfare intersections; along a building frontage it requires a screen or landscaping at least as high as the equipment, with new landscaping at least three feet high. Outdoor refuse/recycling receptacles belong toward the side or rear, off an available rear alley, and require three-sided opaque brick, cast-stone or stone walls at least six feet high, matching-height opaque-metal access doors, screening from all sides and lids unless roofed.

• South Pointe development construction: Subdivision perimeter fencing may not be wood. Barbed wire and chain-link are prohibited. Fences must retain structural integrity against wind, rain and temperature changes. The finished side faces the protected use, public right-of-way or public open space.

• The Reserve at Mansfield: In the Central, Workplace and Business Campus subdistricts, fences are limited to wrought iron or decorative steel, with no run longer than 50 feet without a 30-foot break. The regulations favor small private enclosed spaces rather than enclosing entire developments. Required safety fencing, including pool fencing, must satisfy governmental requirements and be compatible with the development. The South Pointe Expansion Residential Village uses the incorporated South Pointe residential fence standards; municipal development review remains separate from private covenants or architectural committees.

• Subdivision screens along highways and larger thoroughfares: For the retained screening governed by §10(N)(2) of the Subdivision Control Ordinance and its amendments, the screen is six to eight feet above the highest finished grade. A subdivision platted with a side- or rear-yard setback of 75 feet or greater beside that frontage road or thoroughfare is exempt, subject to the Planning Director’s variance authority; even exempt frontage may not use a wood stockade fence. The screen must be on private property, outside public right-of-way. Materials are brick, stone, decorative or split-face block, or reinforced concrete of equivalent appearance and durability. Wrought iron or tubular steel may be used above the first five feet; alternative materials need Planning Director approval.

• Subdivision highway/thoroughfare screen construction: Sealed engineering or architectural plans must establish construction and location and accompany the final plat. The wall requires an appropriate structural footing. Taller columns are required at intervals no greater than 35 feet on center. Materials, color, height and finish must be compatible between development phases, with equal finish on both sides. Openings are limited to approved streets, bottom drainage openings and the permitted iron treatment. The required continuous, street-side concrete mow edge is at least six inches wide and four inches thick, reinforced with two ⅜-inch bars and flush with finished grade. Screening must be completed before development acceptance unless approved performance and payment bonds secure it. The bonds must be issued by a Texas-licensed surety acceptable to the Director of Engineering Services, in the construction-cost amount and with the completion time that office determines. The screen must satisfy the 25-foot intersection triangle and Thoroughfare Plan. The homeowners association maintains the wall and parkway; City recovery of authorized maintenance costs may be secured by a lien. For a proposed subdivision of five lots or fewer, an alternative long-term maintenance arrangement needs Planning Director and Planning and Zoning Commission approval.

• Subdivision screens on perimeter streets with right-of-way of 60 feet or less: Retained §10(N)(3) screening is six to eight feet above the highest finished grade, on private property outside public right-of-way. Permitted materials are cedar or redwood; brick, stone, decorative or split-face block; reinforced concrete resembling wood or masonry; wrought iron or tubular steel with shrubs three feet on center; combinations; or Planning Director-approved alternatives. Taller masonry columns on appropriate structural footings are required at intervals no greater than 32 feet on center.

• Subdivision perimeter wood-screen construction: Posts must be 15–18-gauge galvanized steel, 2⅜ inches in diameter, spaced no more than eight feet apart, with concrete footings at least ten inches in diameter and 24 inches deep. Six-foot fences require three rails and eight-foot fences four rails, of the same wood as the panels. Posts and rails may not face the street. Height, style, color and finish must be compatible between phases, with equal finish on both sides. A continuous reinforced-concrete mow edge at least six inches wide must be on the street side, flush with grade. Completion before subdivision acceptance or approved performance and payment bonds from an acceptable Texas-licensed surety, in the amount and completion time determined by the Director of Engineering Services, are required. The 25-foot intersection triangle and Thoroughfare Plan requirements also apply. Under this perimeter-street provision, the individual property owner maintains the screen and parkway, with authorized City maintenance costs recoverable by lien.

• Multifamily development adjoining industrial zoning: Section 10(N)(4) allows the Planning Director to require a screening wall or device when a multifamily or mixed-use residential development is platted next to industrial-zoned property. Required screening must be complete before final building inspection or a certificate of occupancy. The multifamily owner maintains it; authorized City repair assessments may become a lien.

• Private residential pool dwelling access: The City’s pool affidavit calls for one or both protection methods for doors and operable windows giving direct access to the pool area: audible water-hazard entrance alarms listed and labeled to UL 2017, including the door screen when present, with the deactivation device at least 54 inches above the door threshold; or self-closing, self-latching devices with the release at least 54 inches above the threshold. Section 155.094’s zoning text says a dwelling door forming part of the enclosure need not self-close or self-latch; the affidavit separately requires its selected dwelling-access protection. Barrier protection must remain in place during and after construction.

• Shared residential recreation: Section 155.099 requires activity areas serving multifamily developments, subdivisions or homeowners associations to be fenced and screened from abutting property. Association, multiunit and public pools have their own applicable classifications and safety requirements.

• Residential ground-mounted solar equipment: Section 155.099 requires an opaque fence screening ground-mounted panels from streets and adjacent properties. Panels may not exceed the required fence’s height or eight feet. Supporting equipment must be behind the building and opaquely screened, except wall-mounted inverters may be next to the meter. On residential tracts at least two acres, panels at least 300 feet from any street right-of-way may face the street and qualifying ground-mounted systems do not require the opaque screening fence.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Recorded subdivision restrictions, homeowners association rules, architectural requirements, private easements and agreements about boundaries, attachment, maintenance or costs can affect the proposed fence. Review the instruments applying to the lot before contracting. Mansfield’s permit materials state that the City does not enforce deed restrictions or covenants. Public approval does not decide fence ownership, title or a private cost-sharing dispute.

• HOA security-fence protection and retained controls: Property Code §202.023 protects qualifying owners’ security measures, including perimeter fencing, within its terms. It excludes condominium regimes governed by Chapters 81 or 82 and master mixed-use associations governed by Chapter 215. As amended effective September 1, 2025, the statute preserves an association’s authority to regulate fence type and prohibit obstruction of license areas, public or community sidewalks, and drainage easements or areas. An association may require a driveway gate at least ten feet from the right-of-way where the driveway intersects a statutorily defined laned roadway. If its restrictive covenant provides, it may prohibit fencing in front of the dwelling’s front-most building line.

• Existing security fences and enhanced-security cases: Section 202.023(d) protects maintenance of qualifying perimeter or front-building-line fencing installed or constructed before September 1, 2025, notwithstanding subsection (c). Subsection (e) provides an exception to the front-building-line prohibition for an owner eligible for the address confidentiality program or with law-enforcement documentation of a need for enhanced security. Existing-fence maintenance protection is distinct from approval of a replacement or expansion, and public and easement requirements remain applicable.

• HOA pool-enclosure protection: Property Code §202.022 limits association restrictions on its defined enclosure: a nonclimbable transparent-mesh or clear-panel water-feature barrier with a metal frame, no more than six feet high, conforming to applicable state and local safety requirements. Appearance and color controls remain available within the statute, but the protected black-mesh enclosure with metal framing may not be prohibited. This private-restriction definition does not set the City’s pool-barrier minimum or ordinary yard-fence maximum.

• Private maintenance and shared-fence agreements: Determine who owns the fence and what any written agreement assigns for repair, replacement, attachment and payment. A boundary location alone does not establish an automatic equal-cost obligation. The statutory rules for removal of jointly owned or attached fencing are addressed in Fence Placement Rules.

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 construction: Required wood-fence and taller-fence permits, repair calculations, construction plans, post and rail standards, finished-side orientation, development-screening construction and maintenance.

• Location and visibility: Required yards, street-facing lots, residential vehicle screens, zoning and roadway sight areas, public rights-of-way, buffer and maintenance easements, drainage access and floodplain development.

• Special property conditions: Historic approvals, district or planned-development limits, retained subdivision screening obligations, independent new-development buffer screens, equipment and refuse enclosures, and gates crossing private streets or fire lanes.

• Pool protection: Enclosure condition, gate operation, dwelling-access protection, construction-period barriers and final inspection before use.

• Excavation and pipeline work: Applicable locate-ticket, safe-digging and pipeline-easement construction requirements.

Private association review and disputes over boundaries, ownership, agreements or costs are separate from municipal code enforcement and construction approval.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within the City of Mansfield, 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 Building Safety Department and Planning Department 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.