FENCE RULES – BIG SPRING (CITY), TEXAS

OVERVIEW

This page applies to residential fence projects within the corporate limits of the City of Big Spring, Texas, in Howard County. Big Spring is a home-rule city with municipal zoning and a local fence-permit process.

Big Spring requires permits for fences and uses different height rules for privacy fences, substantially open fences and required front yards. In residential districts other than Agricultural, new privacy fencing generally has an 8-foot ceiling; required front yards generally have a 3-foot limit unless the fence is substantially open. Corner visibility can require a lower fence. Wood, vinyl/PVC and chain-link do not have a general material-by-material permission list in the fence ordinance. Pools, zero-lot-line courtyards, animal enclosures, agricultural operations, drainage areas and easements can change the design or approval needed. Updated November 2026.

Quick question	Big Spring answer
Permit or approval	A City fence permit is required. Minor repairs may proceed without a permit only with Building Official approval. Pool, drainage-area excavation and actual street/alley work can involve additional requirements.
Typical fence height	Residential districts except Agricultural: new privacy fences generally up to 8 feet; substantially open fences with a solid-to-open ratio no greater than 1:4 may reach 10 feet. Required front yards generally allow 3 feet unless substantially open; the Agricultural front-yard open-fence branch allows 6 feet. Corner clearance and special uses can change these answers.
Placement & property lines	The fence ordinance does not specify one universal numeric fence-to-property-line setback. Required yards determine height treatment; legal boundaries, rights-of-way, sight triangles, easements, drainage and property-specific approvals constrain placement.
Common fence materials	Wood: named on the permit form, without a general ordinance permission for every design. Vinyl/PVC: not specifically addressed for ordinary yard fences. Chain-link: not specifically addressed for ordinary yard fences; pool-barrier use has separate construction standards.
Important local conditions	Fence rules may be further affected by corner visibility, required front yards on multiple street frontages, planned-development conditions, zero-lot-line courtyards, pools, animal enclosures, agricultural operations, designated Surface Drainage areas, floodplain conditions and utility or drainage easements.
Official local resource	City of Big Spring — Permits & Inspections

The table above is for quick reference; additional fence-rule details appear in the corresponding sections below. 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 Permits and Inspections Department or the responsible office identified for that issue.

GOVERNANCE

The City Council adopts Big Spring’s ordinances. The City of Big Spring Code of Ordinances and Zoning Ordinance distribute fence requirements among zoning, building and electrical codes, traffic visibility, property maintenance, swimming pools, animal control and subdivision provisions. The Zoning Ordinance applies within the City’s corporate limits.

Building Permits and Inspections Department: administers the fence-permit process and adopted construction codes. The Building Official or designee performs the adopted-code functions and makes the specific topography determination allowed by the fence-height rule.
Planning Department: administers zoning and subdivision matters, including the district, required yards, approved plats and planned-development conditions affecting a property.
Director of Public Works: administers street/alley cut permits and the approvals specified for designated Surface Drainage areas. Floodplain and drainage questions also require the responsible City administrator’s site-specific determination.
Animal Control Department: administers local animal-enclosure and livestock/fowl requirements, including the applicable permits and inspections.

The City adopts the 2012 International Residential Code with local amendments. Its current electrical adoption is the 2023 National Electrical Code. Swimming-pool work also has a separate Texas municipal construction-code framework, while City section 12-1 establishes a local pool-maintenance barrier requirement. Public permits and private covenant approval are separate matters.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

Fence permit: the City’s permit guidance expressly lists fences among projects requiring a permit. Discuss a replacement fence’s proposed height, location and construction with the Building Permits and Inspections Department before work. The City’s local residential-code amendments delete specified model-code permit exemptions, including the fence exemption; the local fence-permit requirement governs.
Minor repairs: the Building Official may approve minor repairs without a permit when they do not violate a technical-code provision. This requires the official’s approval.
Application and project information: the City Building Permit Application includes a Fence category, residential designation, property address and legal description, proposed work, owner/applicant/contractor information and signature. Provide the property sketch and the material, wall-height, foundation or anchoring details applicable to the project. Contractors must be registered with the City. The form requires an elevation certificate if the property is in the floodplain.
Fees and permit duration: the published residential fence or retaining-wall permit fee is $25. The separate commercial fee is $40. If the City uses contracted plan-review or inspection services for required work, section 12-47 passes through the City’s service charge. The application states that a permit becomes void if work does not begin within 180 days, or if work is suspended or abandoned for 180 days. Reinspection fees must be paid before the building final.
Required yards and special approvals: the permitted fence must fit the property’s district, front-yard treatment, sight areas and any adopted planned-development site plan. The Building Official’s topography exception is the stated approval route for a privacy fence exceeding the ordinary 8-foot residential ceiling.
Designated Surface Drainage areas: zoning section 6-2 requires the Director of Public Works’ written approval before any dump, excavation, storage, filling or mining operation in the designated portion of the site. Have proposed fence-post excavation in that area addressed before digging. The section separately requires approval before erecting covered buildings or structures and considers flood damage, obstruction of floodwater and danger to other property or public welfare.
Floodplain property: confirm the fence project’s site-specific treatment with the City’s floodplain administrator and address the application’s elevation-certificate condition. Fence type, obstruction of water, grading, fill and the property’s location can affect the administrator’s determination.
Actual street or alley cuts: section 46-35 requires a permit from the Director of Public Works before cutting or altering the surface or subsurface of a paved or unpaved City street or alley. Notify Public Works when the cut is ready for repair using the permit’s repair-ready notice.
Pool barriers: a fence forming a pool barrier must be addressed with the pool’s construction approval and the separate local maintenance rule described under Material and Construction Limits.
Residential animal enclosures: dangerous-dog enclosures require Animal Control Department approval. Keeping livestock or fowl is subject to that department’s permit process and property inspection, with the applicable exceptions and agricultural-operation protections discussed below.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

Section 6-7 does not specify one universal numeric fence-to-property-line setback. Establish the legal boundary and applicable rights before locating posts. A required building yard, recorded easement, street right-of-way and legal property line serve different purposes. Curbs, pavement, mowing lines, online parcel maps and an existing fence may not coincide with the surveyed boundary.

Required front yards: front-yard location controls the fence-height branch. District front-yard depths include 35 feet in Agricultural; at least 35 feet or the greater existing-nearby-building setback in SF-1; and generally 25 feet or the greater existing-nearby-building setback in SF-2, SF-3, Two-Family, General Residential and Multifamily districts. SF-4 zero-lot-line and twinhome units use a minimum 10-foot front yard; SF-4 townhomes use 15 feet. Established plat or ordinance lines and the section 4-2 frontage rules can alter the required yard. These are building-yard depths used to identify the front-yard fence-height area.
Multifamily frontage: section 4-2’s higher-building provision uses one-half of building height measured from street centerline, with the required front yard capped at 50 feet from the property line. Confirm the applicable building and established line when a residence is on such a property.
Double-frontage and split-zoning blocks: lots fronting two streets ordinarily have required front yards on both streets. An approved plat or ordinance establishing an accessory-building line can establish the specified exception. In a block with different zoning districts along the frontage, the most restrictive district’s front-yard line governs. Established and variable front-yard provisions can also affect the line.
Corner lots: for one- and two-family lots platted after the ordinance’s effective date, both street exposures are fronts unless an approved plat designates a side building line of at least 10 feet. Older recorded lots have a minimum 10-foot side-street yard. Confirm the lot’s plat and applicable frontage classification when applying section 6-7.
Planned Development property: the adopting ordinance and comprehensive site plan can establish fence or screening-wall conditions, yards, access, drainage and utility arrangements for that development. Those property-specific public conditions can affect a replacement fence.
Utility and drainage easements: Subdivision Ordinance Article I, section 4(9), gives the utility the right to remove and keep removed fences or improvements that endanger or interfere with construction, maintenance or operation of the utility or drainage system. It also protects unobstructed access without the owner’s permission. Read the actual plat and easement before fencing across the area.
Zero-lot-line homes: the SF-4 provisions require a perpetual maintenance easement at least 5 feet wide on the adjacent lot along the full zero-line side boundary, benefiting the zero-line dwelling lot. Preserve the maintenance access when placing a fence. Qualifying courtyards also have the privacy-wall rule described below.
Drainage and Surface Drainage areas: retain the drainage system’s function and easement access, and obtain the written excavation approval applicable to the designated area. Texas Water Code section 11.086 prohibits diverting or impounding the natural flow of surface water in a manner that damages another’s property by overflow, subject to the statute’s stated qualifications for water-control improvements. A solid wall or fence can affect runoff as well as privacy.
Livestock or fowl on residential acreage: section 8-216 generally requires the containing area to be at least 200 feet from another residence or human habitation; the custodian’s own residence is excluded. Section 8-1 measures from the nearest part of the shed, stable, barn, pen, enclosure, fence or containing area to the nearest habitation building. The educational-project exception permits one sheep or goat, with the required livestock permit, sponsor and duration, when all owners and occupiers of affected residences or businesses within 200 feet give written consent. Other requirements continue; if consent is withdrawn in writing, the participant must relocate the animal within 30 days after notice from Animal Control. Actual agricultural operations have the separate Texas protections below.
Removing a joint or attached fence: Agriculture Code sections 143.121–143.123 restrict removal of a jointly owned dividing fence or a fence attached to another person’s owned or controlled fence, except by mutual consent or the statutory process. An owner with an interest in an attached fence may withdraw that fence after six months’ written notice to the other fence’s owner, agent, attorney or lessee. An owner whose fence is wholly on their land may require an attached fence’s disconnection with the same notice period and specified recipients. Ownership, attachment and the proposed action determine which provision applies.
Pipeline easement construction: Health and Safety Code sections 756.121–756.126 address covered construction, repair, replacement or maintenance on, across, over or under a pipeline easement/right-of-way, or work physically affecting or creating risk to a pipeline. Subject to applicable written agreements and statutory exceptions, give the pipeline operator notice before covered work. The operator must determine that the construction will not increase risk, or, if it will increase risk, the constructor must pay the reasonable, necessary and documented costs of required protective changes before proceeding. Those changes can include fortifications, barriers, conduits or other improvements needed to protect the public or pipeline. Existing written agreements have their own statutory treatment. Review the easement and applicable agreement before placing posts, walls or gates.
Covered pipeline excavation tickets: the separate Railroad Commission rules use a default 14-working-day ticket life. An agreement extending that period must be written, signed and dated by the excavator and operator. If the ticket expires before excavation is complete, obtain a new locate request for the remaining work. Follow applicable updates when work or markings change, and keep required locate records for at least four years.
Texas811 before digging: request a locate through Texas811 utility-safety guidance before fence-post digging. Utilities Code chapter 251 covers specified mechanized soil disturbance at least 16 inches deep, including powered augers, and has defined exceptions, including qualifying agricultural operations on private property. For ordinary covered work, give notice no earlier than 14 days and no later than 48 hours before excavation, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays; follow the ticket’s lawful start time. The separate Railroad Commission pipeline rules can also cover manual excavation deeper than 16 inches. Check responses and site markings, resolve missing or conflicting information through the ticket process, preserve marks and use careful excavation methods. Not all private lines are located through the service. Locate tickets do not replace permits, easement rights, pipeline-construction notice or private approvals.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

Residential districts other than Agricultural: section 6-7 prohibits any portion of a new privacy fence or enclosure from exceeding 8 feet. The Building Official may determine that existing topography requires a taller fence, such as a property substantially below its neighbor.
Substantially open residential fences: a fence with a solid-to-open ratio of 1:4 or less may be constructed up to 10 feet under the residential open-fence branch. Required-front-yard and visibility provisions still apply.
Required front yards: a new fence or enclosure extending into a required front yard is limited to 3 feet unless it is substantially open. In the A Agricultural district, the front-yard provision permits a substantially open fence with a solid-to-open ratio no greater than 1:4 up to 6 feet.
Street-corner triangle under City Code section 46-9: form a triangle from the intersection of the two back-of-curb lines or their imaginary extensions, with a point 30 feet along each line and a diagonal joining the points. Where there is no curb, use where the back-of-curb lines would intersect if curbs existed. Within the triangle, the rule limits obstructions to 2½ feet above street elevation. Exceptions cover the Central Area district, official traffic-control devices and approved public utilities, and single-trunk trees trimmed so vegetation is at least 8 feet above street elevation.
Zoning corner-lot provision: section 6-8 states a 2½-foot street-elevation limit within 30 feet of the intersection of the two street property lines, with a Central Area exception and specified traffic-device, utility and trimmed-tree treatment. It also defines a curb-based triangle and refers to Appendix D #14. The property-line and back-of-curb anchors can produce different limits on a particular corner. Keep the fence within the independent section 46-9 curb-triangle rule above and have Planning and Public Works confirm the applicable section 6-8 property-line area and proposed layout before construction.
Driveways, alleys and pedestrians: section 46-9 separately prohibits a fence, wall, vegetation or other object that creates a traffic hazard by unreasonably blocking views at adjacent streets, alleys, driveways or intersections, or by increasing injury or property-damage risk, including obstructing pedestrian visibility at sidewalks.
Qualifying SF-4 zero-line courtyards: where the specified door/window courtyard is substantially framed by the dwelling on at least three sides and the remaining side or sides open toward the zero-line side boundary, that boundary must have a privacy wall at least 8 feet high. The required material treatment appears below.

The ordinary fence-height provisions do not prescribe a general grade-measurement method, retaining-wall combination formula or post/cap allowance. Confirm the approved measurement for a sloping site or fence atop a wall with the Building Official.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

Wood, vinyl/PVC and chain-link: section 6-7 does not publish an ordinary yard-fence material list. Wood and metal appear as permit-form material fields. Vinyl/PVC and chain-link are not specifically addressed as ordinary yard-fence choices. The applicable height, openness, visibility and special-use rules govern the proposed design; chain-link used as a pool barrier has separate construction criteria.
Other materials and design details: the ordinary fence section does not specify a general finished-side orientation, post/cap allowance or a separate residential barbed-wire, razor-wire, masonry or high-tensile-fence standard. Electric fencing, animal enclosures, qualifying courtyard walls and pool barriers have the specific requirements below.
Electric fences: City section 12-50, amendment 80.20(C), prohibits installing or using electric fences powered by a battery or transformer. A qualifying agricultural operation is subject to the separate statutory protections described below; Agricultural zoning alone does not establish that qualification.
Animal-containing fences: the City’s property-maintenance amendment, section 36-1/302.7.1, requires solid anchoring to prevent animals from digging out and sufficient height to prevent escape. The stated exception applies when no animal is kept on the premises behind the fence.
Dangerous-dog enclosure: section 8-187 requires an approved enclosure. One option is a fence enclosing the entire yard at least 6 feet high, with 24-inch inward-angled brackets and at least three strands of wire, and gates secured with locks preventing opening. The alternative is a fully enclosed dog run at least 6 feet high, including its top, with a locking gate. Required “DANGEROUS DOG” signs use contrasting 4-inch letters, must be visible and readable from the public street, highway or alley, and must be posted at all enclosure entrances.
Livestock pasture on residential acreage: section 8-216 requires at least 80,000 square feet of fenced grazing pasture per animal unit. Its approximate animal-unit equivalents are goat 0.16 (six head per unit), sheep 0.20 (five), equine 0.5 (two), and cattle or other large animal 1 (one). Equine offspring may remain for 18 months after birth, and other livestock for 12 months, before assignment of animal-unit values. Livestock being prepared for transportation or under medical care/observation must have at least 300 square feet per head. Animal permits, separation requirements and actual agricultural-operation protections remain relevant.
Small residential day nurseries: the zoning definition permits care for six or fewer children or adults in a residential district only with residential appearance retained, a rear security fence keeping children on the premises, and no advertising sign. This is a condition of that home-care use.
Qualifying SF-4 zero-line courtyards: the required privacy wall must be solidly opaque and substantially the same material as the adjoining exterior walls of the residence, as well as at least 8 feet high.

Maintaining a pool under City section 12-1: maintaining a swimming pool without its required enclosing barrier is unlawful. The section defines a swimming pool as a structure intended for swimming that contains water over 24 inches deep. The barrier may be manmade or natural. Its stated height alternatives are at least 48 inches measured on the side away from the pool OR 72 inches measured on the pool-facing side. It may slope no more than 10 degrees from vertical. Openings may not exceed 5 inches, except at a gate or door; gate/door latches or locks must be at least 48 inches above ground.

Pool construction, alteration and repair: Local Government Code section 214.103 establishes the municipal swimming-pool code as the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code as it existed May 1, 2019, for covered construction, alteration, remodeling, enlargement and repair in municipalities electing to regulate pools, with local amendment authority. Big Spring also adopts the 2012 residential code without deleting Appendix G. Have the Building Official address these construction requirements and the separate section 12-1 maintenance obligation together when approving a pool-barrier project.

Pool construction barriers under the 2018 code: the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, section 305, addresses barriers for outdoor pools and spas and indoor swimming pools. The following construction criteria and alternatives are separate from Big Spring’s section 12-1 maintenance ordinance.

Pool-barrier height, ground clearance and openings: the top must be at least 48 inches above grade on the side away from the pool, around the full perimeter and for 3 feet horizontally outside the barrier. Outside bottom clearance is at most 2 inches over nonsolid ground, such as grass or gravel, or 4 inches over a solid surface, such as concrete. For an above-grade pool/spa, the barrier may be on grade or atop the structure; clearance between the structure’s top and the barrier’s bottom is at most 4 inches. Openings must prevent passage of a 4-inch-diameter sphere.
Pool-barrier climbability and member spacing: solid surfaces cannot have handhold/foothold-producing indentations or projections, apart from normal construction tolerances and tooled masonry joints. If horizontal-member tops are less than 45 inches apart, the horizontal members go on the pool side, vertical spacing is at most 1¾ inches, and decorative cutouts have that same maximum width. At 45 inches or more between horizontal-member tops, vertical spacing may be up to 4 inches, while decorative cutouts remain limited to 1¾ inches. Diagonal-member openings are at most 1¾ inches, and the diagonals are no more than 45 degrees from vertical.
Pool-barrier mesh: install non-chain-link mesh fencing to the manufacturer’s instructions. Its bottom must be no more than 1 inch above the deck, installed surface or grade; the fence cannot be liftable more than 4 inches from grade/decking. Under any panel, a 4-inch sphere must not pass and maximum bottom clearance is 4 inches. Each section’s attachment device must be at least 45 inches above grade and provide the specified security, such as the spring-retaining safety-hook arrangement. Hinged gates follow the gate rules below; patio-deck post sleeves must be nonconductive. Mesh fencing cannot be mounted atop an onground residential pool.
Pool-barrier chain-link and surrounding clearance: chain-link openings are at most 1¾ inches; where slats reduce openings, secure them at top and bottom and keep resulting openings within that limit. Maintain at least 36 inches between the outside barrier and permanent structures or equipment usable for climbing, and at least 20 inches between the pool-side barrier and the water’s edge.
Pool access gates and latches: access gates must accommodate a locking device and satisfy the barrier provisions. Pedestrian gates open outward away from the water, self-close and self-latch. Utility/service gates remain locked when unused. For double/multiple gates, secure at least one leaf in place and provide a self-latching adjacent leaf; gate/barrier openings within 18 inches of the latch release cannot exceed ½ inch. A latch release below 54 inches above grade must be on the pool side, at least 3 inches below the gate top, with no opening greater than ½ inch within 18 inches of that release.
Pool and spa safety-cover alternative: section 305.1 provides an alternative to sections 305.2–305.7 for a pool with an ASTM F1346-compliant powered safety cover, or a spa/hot tub with a lockable ASTM F1346-compliant safety cover. Big Spring’s independent maintenance-barrier obligation remains.
Dwelling or structure wall as a pool barrier: where doors or windows give direct access through the barrier wall, section 305.4 requires one of three protections. The alarm option covers doors and operable windows with indoor sills below 48 inches: opening the door, window or screen must produce an audible warning from a UL 2017-listed and labeled water-hazard entrance alarm. Alarm-deactivation controls are at least 54 inches above the finished floor in ordinary units; for required Accessible, Type A or Type B units, they are 48–54 inches above it. Alternatives are an installed ASTM F1346-listed and labeled safety cover, or an approved equivalent protective means, such as self-closing/self-latching doors, providing at least the alarm/cover protection.
Onground pool wall as the barrier: a wall alone must start on grade, reach at least 48 inches above grade around the entire pool, meet section 305.2 and have manufacturer approval for barrier use. A wall-top barrier must reach that same height around the perimeter, and both wall and barrier must meet section 305.2. Secure, lock or remove access ladders/steps, or surround them with a section 305-compliant barrier. Securing/removing access cannot leave an opening admitting a 4-inch sphere. Install wall-top barriers according to the pool manufacturer’s instructions.
Natural shoreline and topography alternatives: if the pool/spa area abuts a lake or other natural water body, the shoreline segment needs no separate barrier only when public shoreline access is prohibited and required barriers extend at least 18 inches beyond the water’s edge. Natural topography, such as mountains or rock formations, must prevent direct access; an approved natural barrier must provide protection at least equivalent to sections 305.2–305.5.

Have the Building Official approve the complete pool-barrier design under the applicable construction requirements and the separate City maintenance ordinance. The construction alternatives do not waive the local ordinance’s 48-inch/72-inch height alternatives, opening limit, slope or latch/lock requirements.

Actual agricultural operations within the City: Agriculture Code chapter 251 limits municipal requirements for qualifying operations, including covered agricultural fences and improvements. City requirements must satisfy section 251.0055, including clear and convincing evidence of a listed imminent danger, lack of less restrictive means, the required health report and council resolution. Section 251.006 preserves state and federal enforcement. Qualification depends on actual operations, not zoning or acreage alone; agricultural tax designation cannot be required. The statute also protects livestock-protection dogs while working for that purpose on owner-controlled property and permits a specified written wildlife-management plan to establish that activity. Resolve applicability before choosing a fence or enclosure for an agricultural residence.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Review applicable HOA or architectural rules, deed restrictions, private easements and recorded maintenance, boundary or cost agreements before selecting a fence. Private restrictions operate within Texas statutory limits. City permit approval does not determine fence ownership or allocate construction and maintenance costs.

HOA security fencing: Property Code section 202.023 protects security measures subject to retained HOA controls over fence type, obstruction of license areas, public/community sidewalks and drainage easements/areas, qualifying driveway-gate setbacks of at least 10 feet from the right-of-way, and covenanted prohibitions in front of the dwelling’s front-most building line. The gate provision concerns driveways intersecting a legally defined laned roadway. Existing perimeter or front-line fencing installed before September 1, 2025 has maintenance protection; replacement or expansion requires separate consideration. The front-line prohibition has specified address-confidentiality and law-enforcement-documented enhanced-security exceptions. Condominiums and chapter 215 master mixed-use associations are excluded.

HOA pool enclosures: section 202.022 protects conforming nonclimbable transparent-mesh or clear-panel enclosures in metal frames, no more than 6 feet high. Appearance/color regulation remains, with protection for the specified black transparent-mesh form. This HOA protection is separate from compliance with public pool-barrier requirements.

REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT

Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:

Fence permits, approved minor repairs, application information and property-specific zoning or planned-development conditions.
Privacy-fence and open-fence heights, required front yards, corner triangles and hazardous obstruction of street, alley, driveway or pedestrian views.
Utility or drainage easement access, drainage obstruction, designated Surface Drainage excavation, floodplain conditions and actual street/alley cuts.
Electric fences, animal-containing fences, approved dangerous-dog enclosures, livestock pasture, qualifying home-care fences and courtyard walls.
Pool-maintenance barriers and construction-code treatment of a proposed pool enclosure or alternative.
Utility/pipeline excavation and easement construction, agricultural-operation protections and statutory removal of joint or attached fences.

HOA approval, private easement enforcement and ownership or cost disputes have their own governing documents and legal processes.

USING THIS INFORMATION

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