FENCE RULES – LONG BEACH (CITY), MISSISSIPPI
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within City of Long Beach, subject to local regulations. For properties located outside City of Long Beach municipal limits, Harrison County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.
Local fence requirements for the City of Long Beach appear primarily in the Unified Land Use Ordinance, the Long Beach Code of Ordinances, the Fence Permit Application, Ordinance No. 675 adopting the 2024 International Residential Code, the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, erosion and stormwater provisions, and street and right-of-way rules. The City does not publish a single consolidated residential fence code.
This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s adopted code or ordinance materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the code does not specify one. If no local code or ordinance is available in the approved source packet, this page notes that the jurisdiction does not publish the relevant standard in the referenced published materials.
Compiled From City of Long Beach Building Department and Fence Permit Application, Long Beach Code of Ordinances, Unified Land Use Ordinance, Ordinance No. 675, 2024 International Residential Code R105.2, Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, Erosion and Sediment Control / Post-Construction Runoff Ordinance, City Flood Plan, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources wetlands permitting materials, and Mississippi Damage Prevention Law / Mississippi 811 as of July 2026.
GOVERNANCE
The City of Long Beach Building Department administers the published fence-permit process. The department identifies the Building Official / Floodplain Manager, the Zoning Enforcement Officer, and the Building Inspector as the principal local contacts for building, zoning, inspection, and floodplain matters. The Planning and Development Commission administers the City’s land-use review structure.
Ordinance No. 675 establishes a locally adopted and administered construction-code system. It adopts the 2024 International Residential Code for one- and two-family dwellings and the 2018 International Building Code, together with other listed technical codes. Ordinance No. 675 is the current adoption source and supersedes the earlier residential-code edition still displayed in the consolidated code volume.
Fence requirements are distributed among the City’s fence-permit materials, the Unified Land Use Ordinance definitions and corner-lot visibility rule, street and right-of-way provisions, floodplain-development controls, erosion and stormwater provisions, and conditional coastal-wetlands requirements.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• City Fence Permit: The City publishes a separate Fence Permit and Fence Permit Application through the Building Department. For fence work, the application requires a recorded deed of ownership and a site plan depicting the location and height of the fence.
• Building-Code Permit Context: The City locally administers the 2024 International Residential Code. Section R105.2 includes a building-permit exemption for fences not more than 7 feet high. This building-code exemption does not eliminate the City’s separate fence-permit process or applicable zoning, visibility, floodplain, right-of-way, drainage, easement, utility, or private-restriction requirements. The referenced published materials do not state the inverse as a separate affirmative building-permit requirement for fences over 7 feet.
• Floodplain Development Permit: A development permit is required before development activities begin in identified Special Flood Hazard Areas and community flood-hazard areas. The flood ordinance defines development to include structures, filling, grading, excavation, and drilling, and it identifies a fence as a possible obstruction when placed in, along, across, or projecting into a watercourse. The Building Official serves as the Floodplain Administrator.
• Erosion and Site-Development Context: For land-disturbing activity that is part of a larger common plan with cumulative disturbance of 1 acre or more, or activity affecting less than 1 acre where more than 50 percent of the post-development ground surface will be impervious, Ordinance No. 602 requires City approval of an erosion and sediment control plan in connection with the site-development permit process. The ordinance does not state that an ordinary fence project below those conditions requires that permit.
• U.S. Highway 90 Right-of-Way: A fence may not be constructed on any part of U.S. Highway 90 without permission from the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. This is a special right-of-way rule, not an approval requirement for a fence located entirely on private property outside the highway right-of-way.
• Coastal Wetlands: Fence-related excavation, fill, access work, clearing, or placement affecting coastal wetlands, marshes, tidal areas, waterways, or submerged lands may require authorization through the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. Coastal-wetlands review is separate from the City fence permit and is not an ordinary permit requirement for an established upland residential lot.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Property Lines: The ordinance does not state a setback requirement for standard residential fences from property lines; however, fences must be located entirely on the owner’s property and must not encroach into rights-of-way or easements.
• Corner-Lot Sight Triangle: On a corner lot requiring front and side yards, a wall, fence, sign, structure, or plant growth may not obstruct sight lines above 2 feet 6 inches over the crown of the adjacent roadways within the sight triangle. The triangle is formed by measuring 25 feet back from the intersection of the right-of-way lines and connecting those points.
• Public Streets and Sidewalks: The Code of Ordinances prohibits building a fence or setting posts in a manner that impedes public use of a City street, alley, avenue, or sidewalk.
• U.S. Highway 90: Placement of a fence on any part of the U.S. Highway 90 right-of-way requires permission from the Mayor and Board of Aldermen.
• Floodplain and Watercourses: Fence work in an identified Special Flood Hazard Area or community flood-hazard area is subject to floodplain-development review. A fence in, along, across, or projecting into a watercourse is treated as a possible obstruction when it may alter, impede, retard, or redirect water flow or collect debris.
• Drainage and Ground Disturbance: Fence construction involving grading, fill, excavation, drainage changes, or work within a larger regulated development remains subject to the City’s floodplain, erosion, stormwater, and drainage provisions where their stated conditions apply.
• Utility Safety: Mississippi law requires notice through Mississippi 811 before excavation where the Mississippi Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act applies. For fence projects that involve digging, including digging, drilling, augering, boring, grading, or other movement of earth, notice generally must be given at least three full working days before excavation begins. Mississippi 811 is a notification center and does not mark lines itself; member utilities or their locators mark covered facilities, and the excavator must check the positive-response status before beginning work where required. This statewide utility-notice framework is separate from local fence permitting, zoning, development approval, easement limits, right-of-way approvals, floodplain review, stormwater review, drainage review, historic or design review, HOA restrictions, and other applicable requirements.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• General Maximum Height: The Unified Land Use Ordinance and Code of Ordinances do not specify a general maximum height for standard residential fences or walls. The Fence Permit Application requires the proposed height to be shown on the site plan.
• Building-Permit Exemption: The 7-foot threshold in the 2024 International Residential Code is a building-permit exemption, not a maximum permitted fence height and not an exemption from the City’s separate fence permit.
• Yard-Based Height: The code does not publish separate maximum fence heights for ordinary front-yard, side-yard, or rear-yard residential fences.
• Corner-Lot Visibility: Within the required 25-foot corner sight triangle, a fence or wall may not obstruct sight lines above 2 feet 6 inches over the crown of the adjacent roadways.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Fence Classification: For Unified Land Use Ordinance terminology, a fence is a barrier with not less than 50 percent of its vertical surface open to transmit light, air, and vision in a horizontal plane. The definition lists wire, mesh, steel mesh, chain link, louvered, stake, and similar materials.
• Wall Classification: The ordinance separately defines a wall as a barrier with 50 percent or more of its vertical surface closed to prevent the passage of light, air, and vision. The definition includes concrete, concrete block, wood, and other solid materials.
• Standard Residential Materials: Apart from the fence-versus-wall classification, the code does not specify a citywide residential material standard for ordinary wood, vinyl, chain-link, masonry, or ornamental barriers.
• Prohibited Materials and Orientation: The code does not publish a standard residential prohibition on barbed wire, razor wire, or electric fencing, and it does not specify a citywide finished-side orientation rule for ordinary residential fences in the referenced provisions.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private restrictions operate independently from City fence rules. These may include HOA covenants, subdivision restrictions, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, utility or drainage easements, coastal or conservation easements, and private boundary agreements.
A private restriction may impose a lower height, different material, additional setback, design-review requirement, or other limitation even when a fence complies with the City of Long Beach permit and ordinance requirements. The Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance also preserves existing easements, covenants, and deed restrictions and applies the more stringent restriction where provisions overlap.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Fence-Permit Review: Whether the applicant submitted the recorded deed and a site plan showing the fence location and height.
• Building-Code Exemption: Whether the fence is not more than 7 feet high and therefore falls within the 2024 IRC building-permit exemption, while remaining subject to the separate City fence permit.
• Corner Visibility: Whether a fence, wall, or other obstruction interferes with sight lines above 2 feet 6 inches within the required 25-foot corner-lot sight triangle.
• Right-of-Way Placement: Whether fence posts or panels impede a City street, alley, avenue, or sidewalk, or are proposed within the U.S. Highway 90 right-of-way without the required permission.
• Floodplain and Watercourse Review: Whether the property is in an identified flood-hazard area or the fence may function as an obstruction in or along a watercourse.
• Land-Disturbance and Coastal Review: Whether the work involves regulated grading, fill, excavation, drainage modification, a larger common development plan, or impacts to coastal wetlands or tidal areas.
• Fence and Wall Classification: Whether the barrier is classified as a fence under the ordinance’s openness definition or as a wall under its closed-surface definition.
• Private Restrictions: Whether HOA covenants, deed restrictions, subdivision controls, easements, or other private agreements impose additional limits.
• Utility Safety: Whether the project involves digging, drilling, augering, boring, grading, or other excavation requiring Mississippi 811 notice and positive-response review.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within City of Long Beach, based on the referenced published materials as of July 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain Mississippi laws apply statewide. See Statewide fence laws in Mississippi.
It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, zoning approvals, zoning certifications, development approvals, locally adopted building codes, surveys, or professional guidance. Rules and interpretations may change, and application may vary based on zoning district, site conditions, easements, rights-of-way, floodplain status, stormwater requirements, drainage conditions, historic district status, design-review status, rural or agricultural context, livestock or party-fence context, local building-code administration, adopted-code status, opt-out status, pool-barrier use, Mississippi 811 utility-safety requirements, coastal wetlands conditions, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants, deed restrictions, private agreements, or conservation easements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with the City of Long Beach Building Department and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from City of Long Beach staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.