FENCE RULES – MARTINSBURG (CITY), WEST VIRGINIA
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within City of Martinsburg, subject to local regulations. For properties located outside Martinsburg municipal limits, Berkeley County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.
Local fence rules appear primarily in Section 1329.05, Fences and Walls, of the City of Martinsburg Zoning Ordinance and current Codified Ordinances. Related provisions address historic preservation review, private swimming pools, and the locally adopted West Virginia State Building Code. The City of Martinsburg Planning, Zoning & Building Department administers zoning, fence permits, building permits, inspections, and code enforcement.
This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s code, ordinance, or zoning materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the controlling regulatory text does not specify one. If no local code, ordinance, or zoning text 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 Martinsburg Codified Ordinances through January 1, 2025; the City of Martinsburg Zoning Ordinance adopted July 21, 2021; the Fence Permit Application; the Historic Preservation Review Commission Application for Certificate of Appropriateness; City Code Section 1711.01; Title 87 Series 4; the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Act; and West Virginia 811 utility-safety materials as of July 2026.
GOVERNANCE
The City of Martinsburg regulates residential fences within its corporate boundaries through the City of Martinsburg Zoning Ordinance. Section 1329.05 contains the primary fence and wall rules. Related provisions address historic preservation, swimming pools, floodplain conditions, and other site-specific requirements.
The City of Martinsburg Planning, Zoning & Building Department administers zoning, development review, permit issuance, inspections, and code enforcement. Under the Zoning Ordinance, the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee performs the principal zoning-administration functions.
City Code Section 1711.01 adopts Title 87 Series 4, West Virginia State Building Code, including the 2018 International Residential Code, 2018 International Building Code, and 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code. The City administers the adopted codes through its own Planning, Zoning & Building Department rather than through a county or regional enforcement arrangement.
The Historic Preservation Review Commission administers the Certificate of Appropriateness process for covered exterior work, including fences exposed to public view within a historic preservation district.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Fence Permit: A City fence permit is required for a fence less than 7 feet high.
• Building Permit: A City building permit is required for a fence 7 feet high or higher. Normal maintenance and replacement with like materials are excluded from the permit process.
• Application Information: The City fence application requests the fence type, height, length, estimated value, property and contractor information, and a plat showing the fence location and all utility, drainage, and access easements.
• State Building Code Context: The locally adopted 2018 residential and building codes include a building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet. Martinsburg publishes a more specific local process: a separate City fence permit applies below 7 feet, and a City building permit applies at 7 feet or higher.
• Historic Preservation Review: Within a historic preservation district, a fence exposed to public view may not be erected, altered, restored, moved, or demolished until the Historic Preservation Review Commission approves a Certificate of Appropriateness. The application calls for photographs, drawings or sketches, a written project description, and material information.
• Pool Barrier Review: A fence used as a barrier for a private swimming pool, spa, or hot tub must comply with the locally adopted 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code. The incorporated code uses a 48-inch minimum barrier height and regulates openings, climbability, self-closing and self-latching gates, and access control.
• Contractor Licensing: The City application requests applicable West Virginia and Martinsburg contractor-license information. West Virginia law defines compensated residential contracting at a project cost of $5,000 or more while excluding a person who personally performs construction work on real property the person owns or leases. Local permits remain separate from the state licensing threshold.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Rights-of-Way and Easements: Fences and walls are not permitted within any right-of-way or drainage or stormwater-management easement.
• Property Lines: Perimeter fences and walls must be installed along and up to a property line but remain within the property limits. A fence shared by adjoining properties must be installed on the property line.
• Stormwater Flow: A fence or wall may not obstruct the flow of stormwater unless it is part of a City-approved stormwater system.
• Visibility Areas: A fence or wall is prohibited within a clear-view triangle or the site-visibility area adjacent to a railroad. It may not create an obstruction to vision, pedestrian or vehicular safety, or a required sight-distance triangle.
• Floodplain Locations: A fence or wall is not permitted below the 100-year floodplain of a lake, river, or wetland.
• Special Lot Configurations: On a cul-de-sac lot, pipe-stem or flag lot, or other lot on a dead-end street, a fence or wall may not extend beyond the front porch or principal face of the principal structure. A rear-yard fence may not extend beyond the front principal face of the principal structure on the lot.
• Building Lines and Yards: Fences and walls are exempt from ordinary building-line and yard requirements except for the specific placement, visibility, height, and special-lot restrictions stated in Section 1329.05.
• Utility Safety: West Virginia law requires notice through West Virginia 811 before excavation or demolition where the Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Act applies. For covered fence work involving digging, drilling, augering, boring, trenching, grading, or other excavation, notice must be given not less than 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and federal or state legal holidays, and not more than 10 workdays before work begins. A change in the proposed starting date or time requires at least 24 hours’ advance notice, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. West Virginia 811 notice is separate from local fence permitting, zoning approval, building-code review, easement limits, right-of-way or WVDOH approval, floodplain review, stormwater review, drainage review, historic or design review, HOA restrictions, and other applicable requirements.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• Front Yards: A fence or freestanding wall in a Residential or Mixed-Use District may not exceed 48 inches in the front yard. The front yard is measured from the principal face of the dwelling.
• Rear Yards: A fence or freestanding wall in a Residential or Mixed-Use District may not exceed 7 feet in the rear yard.
• Side Yards: The current fence section does not specify a separate numerical maximum height for an ordinary residential side-yard fence.
• Sight Distance: Regardless of height, a fence or wall may not obstruct vehicular or pedestrian visibility, a required sight-distance triangle, a clear-view triangle, or the designated visibility area adjacent to a railroad.
• Permit Threshold Distinction: The 7-foot building-permit threshold is an administrative trigger and does not authorize a fence that conflicts with a zoning height, placement, visibility, historic-review, pool-barrier, easement, right-of-way, stormwater, or floodplain rule.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Construction and Maintenance: Fences and walls must be durably constructed and well-maintained. A deteriorated fence or wall must be replaced or removed.
• Privacy-Fence Orientation: The finished side of a privacy fence must face abutting properties and rights-of-way unless the fence is not visible from adjoining property.
• Prohibited Construction Materials: A fence may not be constructed from fabric, junk, junk vehicles, appliances, tanks, or barrels.
• Electric Fencing: Electric fences are prohibited in all zoning districts except for in-ground pet fencing.
• Barbed and Razor Fencing: Barbed-wire fencing is prohibited for standard residential use. Razor fencing is prohibited in all zoning districts.
• Pool Barriers: A residential pool, spa, or hot-tub barrier must meet the material, opening, climbability, gate, latch, and access-control requirements of the locally adopted 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private restrictions operate independently from City of Martinsburg fence rules.
HOA covenants, deed restrictions, subdivision restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, recorded agreements, acknowledged agricultural partition-fence agreements, conservation easements, and other private restrictions may impose stricter limits than the City permit, placement, height, visibility, material, historic-review, drainage, floodplain, or pool-barrier requirements.
A City fence permit, building permit, Certificate of Appropriateness, inspection, or other approval does not determine private boundary rights, private easement rights, HOA approval, or compliance with private covenants.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Permit Review: Erecting a fence without the required City fence permit below 7 feet or the required City building permit at 7 feet or higher.
• Height and Yard Location: A front-yard fence exceeding 48 inches, a rear-yard fence exceeding 7 feet, or a fence extending beyond the permitted location on a dead-end, cul-de-sac, flag, or pipe-stem lot.
• Visibility and Public Areas: A fence within a right-of-way, clear-view triangle, railroad visibility area, or another location that obstructs vehicular or pedestrian sight distance.
• Property Lines, Easements, and Drainage: A fence outside the property limits, in a drainage or stormwater-management easement, or obstructing stormwater flow.
• Floodplain Conditions: A fence or wall below the 100-year floodplain of a lake, river, or wetland.
• Historic Preservation: Fence work exposed to public view within a historic preservation district without an approved Certificate of Appropriateness.
• Materials and Maintenance: Prohibited fabric or junk-based construction, electric fencing other than in-ground pet fencing, residential barbed wire, razor fencing, improper privacy-fence orientation, or a deteriorated fence.
• Pool Barriers: A private pool, spa, or hot-tub barrier that does not comply with the locally adopted building-code requirements.
• Contractor Information: Paid work for which the City application requires applicable West Virginia and Martinsburg contractor-license information, including residential contracting at the state $5,000 threshold when the statutory contractor definition applies.
• Utility Safety: Fence-post excavation or other covered earth disturbance that does not follow West Virginia 811 notice requirements.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within City of Martinsburg, based on the referenced published materials as of July 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain West Virginia laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in West Virginia.
It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, certificates, development approvals, applicable building-code requirements, surveys, or professional guidance. Rules and interpretations may change, and application may vary based on zoning district, county zoning coverage, site conditions, easements, rights-of-way, floodplain or floodway status, stream conditions, stormwater requirements, drainage conditions, road or highway conditions, WVDOH jurisdiction, historic district status, design-review status, rural or agricultural context, livestock, lawful-fence or agricultural partition-fence context, State Building Code adoption and enforcement status, contractor-licensing context, pool-barrier use, West Virginia 811 utility-safety requirements, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants, deed restrictions, private agreements, acknowledged partition-fence agreements, or conservation easements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with the City of Martinsburg Planning, Zoning & Building Department and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from City of Martinsburg Planning, Zoning & Building Department staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.