FENCE RULES – CONVERSE (CITY), TEXAS

OVERVIEW

This page covers residential fences inside the corporate limits of the City of Converse, in Bexar County, Texas. Subdivision and recorded-easement requirements can have a different geographic reach, including authorized extraterritorial subdivision functions. A Converse mailing address does not establish that a property is inside the city.

Converse requires a permit before a fence is erected and generally limits residential fences to 3 feet in front and 8 feet at the sides and rear. Side and backyard fences belong along the property line unless the city manager grants a variance. Wood, approved vinyl and galvanized chain-link are named materials. Corner visibility, drainage easements and pool barriers can change the design. Manufactured-home properties in R5 have separate fence requirements and an important existing-home exception. Homes with agricultural acreage also need the agricultural-use and state-law qualifications below. Private covenants remain a separate consideration.

Quick question	Converse answer
Permit or approval	A fence permit is required before erection. Floodplain, clearing/grading, tree, pool or other site approvals can also apply.
Typical fence height	Generally 3 feet in front and 8 feet at sides/rear. R5 manufactured-home rules generally require side/rear fences no higher than 6 feet, with an 8-foot rear utility-easement branch and an existing-home exception.
Placement & property lines	Side/backyard fences must follow the property line unless the city manager grants a variance. Front setback areas, corners, drainage features, rights-of-way and recorded easements have additional controls.
Common fence materials	Wood: named; Vinyl/PVC: the code names “approved vinyl,” with PVC not separately named; Chain-link: galvanized. Pool and R5 material rules also apply.
Important local conditions	Fence rules may be further affected by corner and driveway visibility, R5 manufactured-home status, agricultural use, pools, drainage and floodplain conditions, protected trees, utilities and recorded plat/easement restrictions.
Official local resource	Converse permit applications and fence-permit forms

The table above is for quick reference; additional fence-rule details appear in the corresponding sections below. Updated November 2026. 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 Division or the responsible office identified for that issue.

GOVERNANCE

Converse is a home-rule city. The City Council adopts ordinances; the building official and Building Division administer construction permits, plan review, fees and inspections. The Planning Division handles zoning, platting and related applications. Police Code Enforcement handles municipal compliance. The city manager or designee administers floodplain requirements, the utility director handles covered clearing/grading approval, and the city arborist administers tree protection.

The Converse Code of Ordinances distributes fence requirements among Chapter 8, Chapter 18 property maintenance, Chapter 26 manufactured homes, Chapter 40 subdivisions, flood and stormwater provisions, and animal regulations. Section 8-1 adopts the 2024 International Residential Code, International Building Code and International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, together with the other listed technical codes and the 2023 National Electrical Code. Adopted appendices and local requirements also apply.

Ordinary city fence and zoning rules concern property inside city limits. Chapter 40 separately governs subdivisions in the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction, subject to Texas law. Recorded plats, easements and function-specific public requirements must be checked for the actual property.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Fence permit: Section 8-221 requires the person or company erecting a fence to obtain a permit from the building inspector first. The permit describes height, length, materials, style and location. A submitted application is not permission to begin work. For repair or replacement, establish the permit’s required scope with the Building Division before construction; maintenance duties also apply to existing fences.

• Plans and application: The fence application requests property and owner/contractor information, residential fence type, height and total length. It calls for two site plans showing the fence, property lines, easements, buildings, equipment including air conditioning and pools, streets and alleys. General permit instructions describe one hard copy of supplemental documents; confirm the submission quantity for the chosen application route. Obtain approval and issuance before work, and request the required final fence inspection after installation.

• Current fees: Section 8-103 lists a $75 fence permit. An administrative surcharge of $25 or 5% of the applicable fee, whichever is greater, applies to chapter fees. The current schedule governs the fee calculation rather than the older $25 amount printed on the fence form and in 8-221.

• Owner work and contractors: City instructions allow an owner to work personally on the owner’s own residence where the owner lives. Fence contractors must register with the city before permit issuance. The current general/fence contractor schedule is $100 initial registration and $75 renewal, with renewals due January 1. Home-improvement/general-contracting businesses must provide the stated $5,000 surety bond, which terminates one year after issuance. New or altered electrical wiring, including powered-gate wiring, has separate electrical permit and trade requirements.

• Permit duration: Residential permits expire 180 days after issuance; a permit also becomes invalid if work has not commenced 180 days after issuance or approval for payment. The building official may grant a requested pre-expiration residential extension of up to 90 days, or renewal of an expired residential permit for up to 90 days. The schedule charges 50% of the permit fee for an extension and 100% for renewal. A refund of no more than 50% may be authorized when no work has occurred, on written application within 90 days of issuance; surcharges are nonrefundable.

• Technical appeals and variances: The Building and Standards Commission serves as the Construction Appeals Board for specified technical interpretations and alternative materials or methods. Written appeals generally must be filed within 90 days; unsafe-condition orders can shorten that period. The board’s variance process requires the stated special circumstances, minimum necessary relief and protection of public health and safety. Its decision may be appealed to the City Council. Planning requires a pre-application meeting for zoning, special-use and variance applications. The city manager’s fence-location variance is a separate provision.

• Floodplain and drainage-easement work: Covered development in a special flood hazard area requires floodplain development approval. Section 40-569 expressly requires a property owner to obtain a floodplain development permit for a fence in an easement within the 100-year floodplain. Applications can require scale plans showing location, dimensions and elevations of landscape alterations, proposed work and watercourse/drainage changes. The floodplain administrator evaluates the actual project and site.

• Clearing, grading and trees: Section 46-73 requires approval and a clearing/grading permit for covered tree removal, clearing and grading; its land-disturbance definitions include specified manual and mechanical soil movement and excavation. A stated exception concerns grading no more than 1 acre on one lot under one ownership for a single-family residence to be constructed under plans/building application, except sensitive areas or predominant slopes over 15%. Other exceptions include normal agricultural crop work excluding timber cutting, underbrush removal, verified hazardous trees, emergency immediate danger/fire hazards and allowed tree transplants. Actual fence-related sitework must satisfy its applicable branch.

• Protected-tree sitework: Covered construction disturbing the grounds, including trenching or cut/fill, requires the applicable tree affidavit or protection plan and city-arborist review/inspection before sitework. Where no qualifying special/specimen tree will be damaged or removed, a notarized affidavit with map/aerial documentation is available; the arborist may require a full plan if that evidence is insufficient. Protected-tree removal requires prior written arborist approval.

• Pool and manufactured-home projects: City permit guidance includes in-ground and aboveground pools, hot tubs and spas. Pool barriers must meet the local and adopted-code requirements below. A new manufactured-home installation permit covers site preparation and installation, including fences and final occupancy inspections.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Property lines and front setback areas: Section 8-222 requires side and backyard fences along the property line unless the city manager grants a variance. Between the front building setback line and front property line in a residential district, 8-225 allows only decorative fences no higher than 3 feet. Establish the legal boundary and the actual setback line before placing posts; an existing fence or map line is not a substitute for a survey or recorded boundary evidence.

• Rights-of-way and recorded restrictions: Keep fence work consistent with public rights-of-way, utility and access easements and recorded plat conditions. Ownership, easement rights and permission to use a boundary are separate from city permit approval. Protect existing utility and street infrastructure; owners and contractors responsible for construction-related damage must repair or replace it to the city’s satisfaction.

• Drainage features: Section 8-225(d) prohibits fences on or across drainage easements, natural or artificial drains, streams, creeks and channels in the city. Preserve drainage flow and access. Section 40-4 applies the more restrictive or higher standard where subdivision requirements differ from another lawfully adopted rule. Public drainage-easement crossings are also prohibited by 40-569(5)(b). Recorded plat/easement conditions remain applicable, and the floodplain-development approval requirement described above is subject to these location restrictions.

• Floodplain and floodway sites: Flood controls cover manmade development such as grading and excavation. Regulatory floodway encroachment requires hydrologic/hydraulic analysis showing no increase in base-flood levels, subject to the separate community process for a permitted increase under federal rules. Easements and more stringent overlapping restrictions remain applicable. The administrator determines the plans and certifications appropriate to the actual fence-related work.

• Runoff and disturbed soil: Do not discharge construction sediment, soil, brush, rubbish or household hazardous waste into the city’s storm drainage system. Use necessary erosion and sediment controls. Covered cut/fill must protect adjacent property entirely on site through engineered retaining walls or sloping and must preserve drainage/utility easements. Slopes over 3 feet high generally may not exceed 3 horizontal to 1 vertical, with approved engineered-wall and refilled-trench branches. Stabilize stockpiles after 14 days and temporarily protect disturbed areas not developed within 30 days. Texas Water Code 11.086 also prohibits damaging diversion or impoundment of natural surface water, subject to its statutory qualifications.

• Pipeline excavation and easements: Railroad Commission pipeline-damage rules have their own scope, including certain manual excavation beyond 16 inches. Follow the applicable pipeline ticket, response and safe-excavation requirements; its ordinary ticket life is 14 working days, subject to the rule’s longer written-agreement and refresh provisions, and required records generally must be kept four years. Separately, Health and Safety Code 756.121–.123 requires operator notice for covered construction, repair, replacement or maintenance on, across, over or under pipeline easements/rights-of-way. Work must meet the operator’s no-increased-risk determination, payment for necessary documented protective improvements before proceeding, an existing written agreement, or the stated regulated-utility natural-disaster branch. Applicable contrary written agreements and statutory scope exceptions remain. A locate does not grant property or easement rights.

• Joint or attached fence removal: Agriculture Code 143.121–.123 restricts removal of a jointly owned dividing fence or a fence attached to another person’s fence except by mutual consent or the statutory process. An owner with an interest in the attached fence may physically withdraw it after six months’ written notice of intended separation to the other fence owner or that owner’s agent, attorney or lessee. An owner whose fence is wholly on the owner’s land may require an attached fence to be disconnected and withdrawn after six months’ written notice to the attached-fence owner or that owner’s agent, attorney or lessee. Resolve actual ownership and attachment before removal.

• Locates before digging: Request Texas811 utility locates before post excavation, check ticket responses and markings, and follow the lawful start instructions. Utilities Code chapter 251 covers explosives or powered/mechanized equipment, including augers, disturbing soil 16 inches or more. Its ordinary notice window runs from no earlier than the 14th day before work to no later than 48 hours before work, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, with statutory exceptions. A notice given before 11:59 a.m. Saturday has the stated following-Tuesday 11:59 a.m. start branch, or Wednesday if Monday is a legal holiday. Preserve marks and excavate carefully; arrange separate identification of private irrigation, pool and outbuilding lines that the public locate system may not mark.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

• General residential heights: Sections 8-220 and 18-132 generally allow 3 feet in front yards and 8 feet at sides/rear; Chapter 18 describes the required front-yard area. The decorative-only front-setback-area requirement above also applies. Pool minimums and special district/property conditions are separate.

• General residential corners and driveways: No fence or shrub over 36 inches may occupy the corner triangle formed by connecting points 30 feet along the front and side property lines from the street intersection. Fences, trees, shrubs and lawn decorations must preserve approaching-traffic views, traffic signs and street views from the property’s and neighboring driveways. A shorter fence can still violate a sight-obstruction rule.

• R5 manufactured/mobile-home areas: Section 26-44 makes a front fence optional, maximum 3 feet. Side and rear fences are required, maximum 6 feet; a rear fence abutting a utility easement may reach 8 feet. In the R5 corner triangle joining points 30 feet along front/side property lines from the intersection, no fence may be erected and no shrub with mature height over 18 inches planted. Section 26-47 exempts the stated section and Division 2 requirements for homes/parks operating before March 1, 1999; replacement manufactured homes may be required to conform. Other applicable city requirements remain.

• Agricultural properties and residences with acreage: Section 18-135 exempts properties granted an agricultural special-use permit under 6-76 from Article V property-maintenance standards, including that article’s fence rules. Chapter 8, pool, flood and other applicable requirements remain separate. Converse generally requires a livestock/fowl special-use permit, with FFA/4-H and qualifying continuing agricultural-use branches. Existing agricultural use at adoption can continue on its lot of record without that permit until voluntarily discontinued for 90 days. Associated site plans address screening/security, fences, nearby residences and public easements.

• Qualifying agricultural operations under Texas law: Agriculture Code chapter 251 protects qualifying operations and agricultural improvements, including agricultural fences. City requirements within corporate limits are subject to clear-and-convincing evidence of an enumerated imminent danger, no adequate less restrictive means, and the prescribed health report and council resolution. State limits also protect specified accepted practices and feed/forage vegetation, restrict mandatory adjacent-road mowing and similar work, and prevent requiring agricultural tax designation as a condition. A dog actively protecting livestock on property controlled by the owner has the statutory city-restraint exception; wildlife-management operations can require the specified written management plan. Section 251.006’s improvement protection depends on its conditions and preserves state/federal enforcement. Actual operation and use control these protections; acreage or residential ownership alone is not an exemption.

• Channel-adjacent property: Chapter 40 requires safety fencing at channel vertical walls over 2 feet, or where channel side slopes exceed 2:1 and depth exceeds 2 feet. Fencing must preserve motorists’ sight distance. Apply this condition where the actual residential property/channel is subject to those requirements.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Ordinary residential materials: Chapter 8 names wood, concrete, brick, approved vinyl and galvanized chain-link. Chapter 18 additionally names stone, masonry, wrought iron and materials designed to simulate its listed materials. The lists differ; settle the proposed material’s compliance under the applicable provisions with the Building Division before purchase. Vinyl approval remains required, and PVC is not separately named. For ordinary yard fences the code does not specify a finished-side orientation or a separate barbed-wire, razor-wire or electric-fence classification; applicable adopted construction codes, animal rules and private restrictions still govern the actual design.

• Posts, footings and maintenance: Section 8-225 requires posts embedded in concrete at maximum 8-foot centers; 8-222 requires conformance with the latest International Building Code. Keep fences free of loose, missing or broken components and excessive lean; a visible privacy fence’s top may not be 1 foot or more off plumb from its bottom. At a private-property/public-right-of-way boundary, the homeowner is responsible for maintenance and appearance. At a boundary between two private properties visible from a public right-of-way at standing eye level, the homeowners are jointly responsible for maintenance and appearance. Private ownership and cost agreements require separate resolution. Section 8-224 provides a 30-day repair letter and city-manager extensions, for circumstances beyond the owner’s control, no longer than 60 days.

• R5 materials and screens: Applicable R5 side/rear fences use wood, concrete, brick, galvanized chain-link or another material approved by the building inspector. R5 privacy screens/sunshades must be wood or another material matching the dwelling’s design and colors; plastic, canvas, cloth and bamboo screens/shades are prohibited. The existing-home exception stated above retains its exact scope.

• Protected trees during fence work: The root protection zone extends 1 foot per inch of trunk diameter. Applicable preserved trees need protective fencing at least 4 feet high at that zone’s edge; the arborist may require chain-link where encroachment is likely. Sign all sides, provide silt fencing at the uphill interface, keep safeguards functional and prevent construction encroachment. Protected zones require proper drainage and 4–8 inches of mulch; grading, paving and building in them are prohibited.

• Private pool scope and construction fencing: The local definition includes swimming/recreational bathing structures containing water over 24 inches deep, including in-ground, aboveground and onground pools, hot tubs and spas. Chapter 8 requires an outdoor pool fence. The adopted 2024 swimming-pool code also regulates barriers, including indoor-pool access; in-ground pool/spa excavation requires construction fencing at least 4 feet high until the permanent barrier is complete. Multiunit/association and public pools have separate state classifications and requirements.

• Pool height, clearances and openings: Local 8-223 requires a barrier at least 48 inches high, measured from grade on the side away from the pool, with at most 2 inches beneath it. The adopted code requires the height around the entire perimeter and for 3 feet horizontally outside. Its base clearance is 2 inches over nonsolid surfaces and 4 inches over solid surfaces; the local outdoor-fence clause specifies 2 inches. A barrier mounted atop the pool structure has a maximum 4-inch gap above that structure. Openings must exclude a 4-inch sphere; solid barriers must not provide climbable indentations or projections except normal tolerances and tooled masonry joints.

• Pool horizontal, chain-link and diagonal members: When the tops of horizontal members are less than 45 inches apart, put the horizontals on the pool side and limit vertical spacing and decorative cutouts to 1¾ inches. At 45 inches or more, vertical spacing may be 4 inches; cutouts remain at most 1¾ inches. Local chain-link mesh is at most 1¼-inch square unless slats fastened at the top or bottom reduce openings to at most 1¾ inches. The adopted model code specifies maximum 1¾-inch openings with its slats fastened at both top and bottom. Local diagonal openings are at most 1¾ inches; the adopted code also limits diagonals to 45 degrees from vertical. Use the applicable local and adopted requirements together.

• Pool gates and latches: Pedestrian gates must open outward away from the pool, self-close and self-latch, and accommodate a lock. They must not swing over stairs. Service gates remain locked when unused; multiple gates require at least one secured leaf and an adjacent self-latching leaf. Under local 8-223, a release less than 54 inches from the gate bottom must be on the pool side at least 3 inches below the top, with no opening over one-half inch within 18 inches of it. The adopted residential code’s outside-accessed non-self-locking release is at least 54 inches above finished floor/ground; a self-locking control/release is no higher than 54 inches. A private-pool release accessible only on the pool side is at least 3 inches below the top; openings within 18 inches of an inside latch are at most one-half inch.

• Pool mesh and screen alternatives: A screen enclosure used as a barrier must comply with the barrier provisions and be designed by a registered design professional; its walls are not dwelling walls. Barrier screen mesh requires at least 100 pounds per square foot tensile strength under ASTM D5034 and 150 pounds per square foot ball-burst strength under ASTM D3787. Non-chain-link mesh fencing must comply with manufacturer instructions and ASTM F2286, have compliant hinged gates, remain off onground residential pool tops and sit with its inside at least 20 inches from the water’s nearest edge.

• Dwelling walls and direct pool access: Local 8-223 offers an ASTM F1346 powered safety cover, the specified door/screen alarms, or self-closing/self-latching doors with releases at least 54 inches above the floor and doors swinging away from the pool. Its alarms must start within 7 seconds, sound at least 30 seconds at 85 dBA measured 10 feet away, sound distinct from other household alarms, reset automatically and allow temporary deactivation for no more than 15 seconds; the switch is at least 54 inches above the door threshold.

• Adopted-code wall and cover alternatives: Section 305 also provides the UL 2017 water-hazard entrance alarm branch for direct-access doors, gates and operable windows with sills below 48 inches, an ASTM F1346 listed/labeled cover, or approved equivalent protection such as self-closing/self-latching doors. Alarm-deactivation controls in ordinary dwellings are at least 54 inches above the finished floor; in required Accessible, Type A or Type B dwelling units they are between 48 and 54 inches. Section 305.1 exempts qualifying lockable spa/hot-tub covers and powered swimming-pool covers complying with ASTM F1346 from its 305.2–305.7 barrier provisions. Chapter 8’s local outdoor-fence requirements also remain; confirm the complete design and any proposed cover/wall alternative with the Building Division.

• Aboveground/onground pool access and surroundings: A wall used alone as a barrier must be on grade, at least 48 inches high around its perimeter, comply with the barrier requirements and be permitted by the manufacturer. A top-mounted barrier must maintain the overall 48-inch height, comply with the barrier requirements and follow manufacturer instructions. Secure, lock or remove ladders/steps unless they are surrounded by a compliant barrier; resulting openings must exclude a 4-inch sphere. Keep climbable permanent objects/equipment away; the adopted code requires same-lot equipment outside the barrier, including pumps, filters and heaters, at least 36 inches from it.

• Natural pool-barrier alternatives: Under adopted 305.6, where the pool area abuts natural water, no public shoreline access is allowed and required barriers extend at least 18 inches beyond the water’s edge, no barrier is required between shoreline and pool. Approved natural topography, such as rock formations preventing access, can qualify only with protection at least equivalent to 305.2–305.5. These alternatives remain subject to the local outdoor-pool requirements and the approved site design.

• Animal enclosures: Ordinary animal enclosures must prevent escape; livestock need suitable secure enclosures. For legally designated dangerous dogs, the defined enclosure has secure sides and top at least 6 feet high; sides embed at least 2 feet if the floor is unsecured. It must be locked, allow movement, exclude public/children, prevent escape, carry required marking and be at least 5 feet from another property line or adjoining fence. Classified aggressive dogs have their own secure-enclosure and warning-sign requirements; the level-2 declassification branch retains the enclosure duty. The agricultural livestock-protection-dog exception stated above also has its statutory scope.

• Livestock and fowl at residences with acreage: Specified equines/cattle require chain-link or another suitable secure fence, no running at large, 200-foot separation on all sides from the specified human-use buildings and 1,250 square feet per animal. Hogs, sheep and goats require 200-foot separation and 375 square feet per animal, with the stated veterinary-hospital exception. The general domestic-fowl limit is eight; roosters, guineas, ducks, geese, peacocks and other loud nuisance fowl are prohibited. Enclosures require 50 feet from others’ building structures and 20 feet from the owner’s human-use buildings, sanitary conditions and sufficient space. Additional fowl can be approved with annual inspection. Apply the agricultural permit/continuing-use qualifications and state agricultural-operation protections above.

• Other small-animal enclosures: Section 6-82 requires pens, coops or enclosures for rabbits, guinea pigs, white rats/mice, hamsters and other small animals at least 25 feet from others’ buildings used for sleeping, dining or living. Keep the enclosure sanitary and reasonably free of offensive effects on neighbors and the public.

• Locked fire-access gates: Section 20-63 has key-access/security-padlock provisions for the stated fire-access gates and locked fences, with an express exemption for owner-occupied one- and two-family dwellings. Nonexempt residential access must satisfy its applicable fire-access conditions.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Deed restrictions, subdivision covenants, architectural approvals, private easements and boundary/maintenance/cost agreements may independently affect fence design and location. Public permits do not decide private ownership, association approval or cost allocation. Check the property’s actual recorded instruments and applicable Texas limits on enforcement.

Under Property Code 202.022–.023, covered associations generally cannot prohibit qualifying security measures, including perimeter fences, but may regulate fence type and prohibit fences obstructing a license area, sidewalk or drainage easement. They may require a driveway gate at least 10 feet from the right-of-way of a defined laned roadway. Subject to the statute, they may use a dedicatory instrument to prohibit fencing extending in front of the front-most building line.

The 2025 provisions protect maintenance of perimeter fencing or fencing in front of a dwelling’s front-most building line installed before September 1, 2025. The front-line prohibition cannot be enforced against an owner whose residential address is exempt from public disclosure under state or federal law, or an owner who supplies law-enforcement-agency documentation of a need for enhanced security. Section 202.023 excludes condominiums governed by the stated condominium chapters and Chapter 215 master mixed-use associations.

Section 202.022 separately protects qualifying pool enclosures that meet applicable safety law: transparent mesh or clear panels in metal frames, no more than 6 feet high and designed not to be climbable. Associations may regulate appearance/colors, but may not prohibit the protected black transparent-mesh enclosure in metal frames. This statutory HOA protection operates alongside public pool-barrier and city 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:

• Permits and construction: Fence approval, contractor registration, inspections, specified posts/footings, maintenance and applicable pool-barrier construction.

• Location and visibility: Property-line placement, front setbacks, corners, driveways, rights-of-way, drainage features and recorded easement/plat conditions.

• Special property conditions: R5 and agricultural branches, floodplain/floodway work, grading, trees, animal enclosures and nonexempt fire access.

• State and private responsibilities: Utility/pipeline excavation and statutory fence-separation duties operate alongside municipal requirements. Association enforcement, ownership and private cost disputes follow their separate instruments and applicable law.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within the City of Converse, 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 Division and the responsible office for each applicable issue, and review applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with controlling law, adopted regulations or official requirements, the controlling authorities govern. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.