FENCE RULES – BENTONVILLE (CITY), ARKANSAS
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within City of Bentonville, subject to local regulations. For properties located outside Bentonville municipal limits, Benton County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.
Local fence rules appear primarily in the Bentonville Community Code, especially Sec. 50-510(e), Fences and walls, and Sec. 50-721(d), Fence permit. Fence-related review also appears in the Building & Fire Safety Division permit materials, the Fence Permit Application, the Property Maintenance Code, the Flood Damage Prevention provisions, street obstruction rules, and stormwater and drainage materials.
This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s adopted materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the code does not specify one.
Compiled From Bentonville Community Code, Bentonville Municipal Code Chapter 14 Buildings and Building Regulations, Chapter 34 Environment, Chapter 76 Property Maintenance, Chapter 82 Streets, Sidewalks and Other Public Places, Building & Fire Safety Division materials, Residential Applications, Development Services, Fence Permit Application, Fence Permit Supplement, Stormwater Management and Drainage Manual, and Stormwater Ordinance 2006-167 as of May 2026.
GOVERNANCE
The City of Bentonville regulates residential fences through the Bentonville Community Code, the Building & Fire Safety Division, and Development Services / Planning.
The Bentonville Community Code is the current zoning and land-development code. It applies to land and structures within the city limits and states that where internal code standards conflict, the most restrictive standard applies.
The Building & Fire Safety Division issues fence permits and administers building-code permit materials. The City’s building-code page identifies the Arkansas Building Code as part of the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, which applies statewide.
The Planning Director administers and enforces the Community Code. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) includes representatives from Planning, Transportation, Building and Fire Safety, Bentonville Electric Utility Department (BEUD), and Bentonville Water Utility Department (BWUD) for coordinated technical review where applicable.
Code Enforcement administers property-maintenance and ordinance-compliance matters, including complaint-based enforcement of applicable City standards.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Fence Permit: A fence permit is required before construction or replacement of fences and walls, except fences or walls shown on an approved preliminary plat or large-scale development.
• Fence Permit Application Materials: Fence permit applications must include a site plan or detailed drawing showing property lines, existing structures, existing or proposed pools or spas, existing fencing that will remain, existing fence that will be replaced, and new fencing. The application must also describe fence height and construction type and include a cut sheet or photo labeling the finished side of the fence.
• Building-Code Context: Bentonville publishes a local fence permit process administered through Building & Fire Safety. The City’s adopted building-code framework remains relevant to permit review, but the published Bentonville materials do not state a separate local rule requiring a distinct building permit for fences over 7 feet in addition to the City’s fence permit process.
• Residential Permit Coordination: When a fence is submitted with a residential building permit, the fence location must be added to the residential site plan and the eTrakit fence questions must be answered. If the fence is not completed at final inspection for the residential permit, a separate fence permit is required.
• Administrative Relief: The Community Code allows an administrative waiver from the 5-foot right-of-way setback down to 3 feet under the administrative adjustment procedures. Table 7.2 also lists fence setback adjustment authority with TAC and fence height adjustment authority with the Planning Director, each up to 2 feet, where the stated criteria apply.
• Encroachment Permit: An encroachment permit is required for any private use or structure that extends into or occupies a public right-of-way or public easement. The Community Code expressly includes fences and other permanent or semi-permanent elements placed in a public right-of-way or easement within the encroachment-permit context.
• Land Disturbance / Floodplain Review: A land disturbance permit is required before activity that disturbs more than 10,000 square feet, disturbs land within a drainage easement, stormwater facility, floodplain, or public right-of-way, alters or redirects drainage serving public infrastructure or adjacent property, or otherwise triggers the City’s stormwater standards. Where qualifying disturbance occurs in a Special Flood Hazard Area or Base Level Engineering (BLE) area, the land disturbance permit functions with the floodplain development permit process.
• Retaining Wall Permit: A retaining wall permit is required for construction, replacement, or extension of any retaining wall greater than 4 feet in height, measured from the bottom of the footing on the lower side of the wall to the top of the wall. Retaining walls greater than 4 feet must be designed and certified by a Professional Engineer licensed in Arkansas.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Private Property: Fences and walls must be located on private property and built with the consent of the property owner.
• Right-of-Way Setback: Fences and walls must not be placed closer than 5 feet from the current or proposed right-of-way. An administrative waiver to 3 feet may be approved under the Community Code’s administrative adjustment and waiver procedures.
• Rights-of-Way, Alleys, and Trails: Gates must not swing into public rights-of-way, alleys, or trails.
• Public Easements and Encroachments: A fence or other permanent or semi-permanent element placed in a public right-of-way or public easement requires an encroachment permit. Encroachments must not block pedestrian or vehicle movement, utilities, drainage, street trees, or sight triangles.
• Utility Access: Fences and walls must not block access to utility equipment. The Fence Permit Application requires utility easements to be shown on the site plan. Fences may be located in a utility easement only where gate access is provided at each end of the easement for the width of the easement.
• Drainage Easements: Fences and walls must not block drainage or alter the flow of stormwater. The Fence Permit Application states that fences may not be located in a platted drainage easement. Land disturbance within a drainage easement may also trigger the City’s land disturbance permit process.
• Floodplain Areas: Chapter 34 treats construction or erection of walls or fences as floodplain development where the floodplain ordinance applies. Fence work in a regulated floodplain may require floodplain development review through the City’s land disturbance and floodplain permit framework.
• Retaining Walls: Retaining walls must not obstruct required sight triangles at intersections or driveways, must not impede the normal flow of stormwater, and require approval from the applicable department if located within utility or drainage easements.
• Street and Sidewalk Obstructions: City street-obstruction rules prohibit obstructing a street, alley, sidewalk, or square by placing a fence or other object in a way that obstructs free passage.
• Utility Safety: Arkansas law requires notice through Arkansas 811 before excavation where the Arkansas Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Act applies. For fence projects that involve digging, including fence post holes, notice may be required before excavation begins. Arkansas law also includes specific exemptions, including certain agricultural-purpose posthole digging on private property outside an operator right-of-way.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• R-1, T3, and T4 Districts: Frontage fences and walls between a building and a sidewalk are allowed up to 4 feet high. Privacy and security fences and walls are allowed up to 6 feet high.
• T2 District: Fences and walls are limited to 4 feet in height within 40 feet of any lot line and 12 feet elsewhere. Barbed wire and electrified fences are not allowed within 40 feet of any lot line. T2 fences and walls are exempt from the other provisions of Community Code Sec. 50-510(e).
• Other Zoning Districts: The Community Code publishes separate fence standards for T5, T6, GC, LI, and LFI districts. Those district standards are not treated here as ordinary single-family residential standards, but they may control where a residential property is located in one of those districts.
• Right-of-Way Visibility: Fences and walls must comply with Arkansas Department of Transportation Clear Zone requirements and must not obstruct sight triangles at intersections or driveways.
• Sight Triangles: The Community Code does not publish one fixed local sight-triangle dimension for all standard residential fences. The Fence Permit Application states that sight-triangle locations are determined on a case-by-case basis.
• Pool, Hot Tub, and Spa Barriers: Private swimming pools, hot tubs, and spas containing water more than 24 inches deep must be completely surrounded by a fence or barrier not less than 48 inches high above finished ground level, measured on the side away from the pool. The Fence Permit Application states that fences used to enclose pools and spas must have a maximum clearance of 2 inches between the bottom of the fence and the ground.
• Pool Gates: Pool, hot tub, and spa barrier gates and doors must be self-closing and self-latching. If the self-latching device is less than 54 inches above the bottom of the gate, the release mechanism must be located on the pool side of the gate.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Durable Materials: Fences and walls must be constructed with durable materials and kept in good repair.
• Prohibited Materials: Fences and walls must not be constructed of scrap materials, debris, or other hazardous material.
• Finished Side: Fences must be installed with the finished side facing outward toward abutting property or right-of-way.
• Frontage Chain Link: Chain link fences are not allowed for frontage fencing.
• Barbed Wire, Razor Wire, and Electrified Fences: Barbed wire, razor wire, and electrified fences are not allowed except where the Community Code specifies a district-specific exception. The Fence Permit Application states that razor wire, barbed wire, and electric fences are prohibited in residential zoned areas.
• T2 Barbed Wire and Electrified Fence Limit: In the T2 district, barbed wire and electrified fences are not allowed within 40 feet of any lot line.
• Pool and Spa Fence Construction: Pool and spa enclosure fencing must be at least 48 inches high, with no more than 2 inches of clearance between the bottom of the fence and the ground.
• Maintenance: The Property Maintenance Code requires accessory structures, including fences and walls, to be maintained structurally sound and in good repair.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private restrictions operate independently from City fence rules.
• HOAs and Covenants: Homeowners’ association rules, subdivision covenants, deed restrictions, architectural-review covenants, and private agreements may impose standards that are more restrictive than City requirements.
• Private Easements: Private utility, access, drainage, maintenance, or shared-use easements may limit where a fence can be placed even when a City permit is available.
• Boundary Agreements: Private boundary agreements and survey-based property-line matters are separate from City permit review.
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: Construction or replacement of fences and walls before a fence permit is issued.
• Site Plan Review: Fence permit review may consider property lines, existing structures, pools or spas, existing fencing, replacement fencing, new fencing, fence height, construction type, and finished-side orientation.
• Zoning-District Standards: Review may include the applicable height rules for R-1, T3, T4, T2, or another zoning district where the property is located.
• Right-of-Way Setback: Review may include the 5-foot setback from current or proposed right-of-way and any approved administrative waiver to 3 feet.
• Sight Triangle and Clear Zone Review: Review may include sight triangles at intersections and driveways and Arkansas Department of Transportation Clear Zone requirements.
• Utility and Drainage Conflicts: Review may include blocked utility equipment, utility-easement access, platted drainage easements, stormwater flow, drainage easements, and drainage-channel maintenance.
• Encroachment Review: A fence or other permanent or semi-permanent element placed in a public right-of-way or public easement requires encroachment review.
• Floodplain Review: Fence work that qualifies as floodplain development or land disturbance in a regulated floodplain may be reviewed through the floodplain development and land disturbance permit process.
• Retaining Wall Review: Retaining walls greater than 4 feet require a retaining wall permit and Arkansas-licensed professional engineering certification.
• Pool Barrier Review: Pool, hot tub, and spa barriers may be reviewed for the 48-inch minimum barrier height, 2-inch maximum bottom clearance, self-closing and self-latching gates, and latch-location rules.
• Maintenance Review: Code Enforcement may review fences and walls for structural soundness, good repair, drainage obstruction, or other property-maintenance conditions.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within City of Bentonville, based on publicly available materials reviewed as of May 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain Arkansas laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in Arkansas.
It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, 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, historic district status, rural or agricultural context, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants or private agreements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with City of Bentonville Building & Fire Safety Division and City of Bentonville Planning / Development Services and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from City of Bentonville staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.