FENCE RULES – NEW FRANKLIN (CITY), OHIO

OVERVIEW

Residential fences are permitted on private property within City of New Franklin, subject to local regulations.

Local fence rules appear primarily in the City of New Franklin Zoning Code. Current administration and zoning-certificate procedures are in Articles 1 through 6 adopted in 2024, while the 2019 Zoning Code supplies the remaining substantive articles, including the general fence, wall, hedge, agricultural-fence, and pool-barrier standards. Constructing or altering any fence requires a City zoning certificate.

This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s code, ordinance, or zoning-resolution 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 resolution 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 New Franklin Zoning Code Articles 1 through 6, 2019 City of New Franklin Zoning Code, City of New Franklin Zoning & Planning materials, City zoning-permit application, New Franklin Right-of-Way Permit Requirements and Submission Guidelines, Ohio Board of Building Standards residential enforcement lookup, Summit County Division of Building Standards fence-permit guidance, Residential Code of Ohio, Ohio Revised Code Chapter 971, and OHIO811 materials as of July 2026.

GOVERNANCE

The City of New Franklin regulates residential fences through its Zoning Code, zoning-certificate process, and related right-of-way procedures.

The City of New Franklin Zoning Department administers the Zoning Code, reviews zoning-certificate applications, and handles zoning enforcement. The Board of Zoning Appeals hears variances and conditional approvals and is the body identified for express approval of certain hazardous, electrified, or barbed-wire fence materials outside the agricultural provisions.

Residential building-code enforcement is listed by the Ohio Board of Building Standards under the Municipal Government of New Franklin and is administered through the Summit County Division of Building Standards. Summit County provides the residential plan-review and inspection contact for New Franklin and publishes the residential fence building-permit threshold.

The City of New Franklin Service Department administers permits for activity inside City rights-of-way.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Zoning Certificate: A City zoning certificate is required before constructing or altering any fence. The certificate is the final zoning approval step before the covered construction activity begins.

• Application Materials: The zoning-certificate process requires the City application and a plot plan, or a site plan or architectural drawings when required, drawn to scale. The online application requests a detailed project description with complete dimensions and requires site and structural plan files. The owner or applicant is responsible for verifying property lines, setbacks, and easements and for preventing encroachment onto neighboring property, easements, or the road right-of-way.

• Residential Building Permit: The Summit County Division of Building Standards states that a residential fence over 6 feet tall requires a building permit. The Residential Code of Ohio separately provides a building-code approval exemption for fences not over 6 feet high. This exemption does not remove the City zoning-certificate requirement and does not authorize a fence that exceeds the applicable zoning height limit.

• Agricultural Fence Permit Language: Article 8 states that only perimeter fences defining agricultural-related parcels require a permit and that interior feedlot fencing does not. The current 2024 zoning-certificate provision separately requires a certificate for constructing or altering any fence. Because the Zoning Code directs the more restrictive requirement to govern, the current citywide zoning-certificate requirement applies unless the City of New Franklin Zoning Department confirms that the agricultural provision controls the specific project.

• Right-of-Way Permit: Any activity inside a City right-of-way requires a separate right-of-way permit through the Service Department. The submitted plan must identify affected rights-of-way, roadways, driveways, drainage structures, and proposed facilities or equipment. This permit is separate from the ordinary zoning certificate and does not authorize a fence to encroach into the right-of-way.

• Pool Barriers: Pools containing more than 1 1/2 feet of water are treated as structures for permit purposes. A fence used as the required pool enclosure is subject to the pool-barrier standards as well as the ordinary fence and zoning-certificate rules.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Property Lines: In the C-D, R-1, R-2, and R-3 districts, fences, walls, and hedges may be placed in a required yard or along the edge of a yard, and side- or rear-yard fencing may be placed along the lot lines. The Zoning Code does not state a separate setback for standard residential fences from property lines; however, all supporting members must remain on the fence owner’s property, and the project must not encroach onto neighboring property, easements, or rights-of-way.

• Solid Fences: Solid fences of an approved type are permitted only in rear yards or to enclose a deck, patio, or pool. A solid fence may not be located within a required side yard and may not enclose the entire perimeter of a standard residential property.

• Residential Lakefront District: In the R-L Residential Lakefront District, no fence, wall, or hedge may be erected within 12 feet of the public right-of-way. Separate lakefront-to-street height zones apply as stated below.

• No-Build, Flood, and Drainage Areas: A fence or wall may not be constructed in a platted no-build zone, conservation/no-disturb zone, floodway, floodplain, or drainage easement where the installation would be detrimental to public health and safety.

• Street and Driveway Visibility: A fence or wall must not be located so that it adversely affects driver vision on a public street or from a driveway intersecting a public street.

• Hedges and Living Fences: Hedges and living fences must be located so that future growth does not extend over the lot line.

• Right-of-Way Work: The fence and its supports must remain outside the road right-of-way. Related excavation, grading, drainage work, or equipment activity inside the right-of-way requires the separate City right-of-way permit.

• Utility Safety: Ohio law requires notice through OHIO811 before excavation where Ohio’s underground utility protection law applies. For covered fence work involving digging, drilling, augering, boring, grading, or other excavation, notice must be given at least two working days, not including the day of notification, but not more than 16 calendar days before excavation begins. For an owner personally excavating at property containing one through four dwelling units or another property category covered by the statutory owner-excavator provision, the notice requirement does not apply unless excavation is planned in a utility easement, a public right-of-way, or an area where utility facilities are known to serve the property; an excavator employed by the owner must comply. OHIO811 is a notification center and does not mark lines itself; participating utilities or their locators mark covered facilities and provide positive-response information. This statewide utility-notice framework is separate from local fence permitting, zoning certificates, development approval, easement limits, right-of-way approvals, floodplain review, stormwater review, drainage review, road or county-engineer review, historic or design review, HOA restrictions, and other applicable requirements.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

• Front-Yard Height: In the C-D, R-1, R-2, and R-3 districts, a fence, wall, or hedge located between the front building line of the principal structure and the road right-of-way may not exceed 4 feet above grade.

• Side- and Rear-Yard Height: In the C-D, R-1, R-2, and R-3 districts, fences, walls, or hedges along side or rear lot lines may not exceed 6 feet above grade. Informal plantings may be higher, but hedges and living fences must not grow over the lot line.

• Accent and Picket Fences: Accent fences and picket fences are limited to 4 feet, must only partially enclose an area, and must serve an ornamental purpose.

• Brick, Stone, or Masonry Walls: A brick, stone, or masonry wall located forward of the building line may not exceed 3 feet.

• Residential Lakefront Heights: In the R-L Residential Lakefront District, a fence, wall, or hedge may not exceed 3 feet for the first 20 feet back from the water’s edge. From that point toward the street, and ending no closer than 12 feet from the public right-of-way, the maximum is 4 feet. A completely see-through, all-metal security fence is limited to 4 feet along its entire run.

• Agricultural Fences: A fence incident to agricultural use is limited to 6 feet and has no required setback from the property line under the agricultural-fence provision.

• Corner-Lot Visibility: No obstruction to view over 2 feet high may be placed within the corner triangle formed by the street right-of-way lines and a line connecting points 30 feet from their intersection.

• Height Measurement: Fence height is measured from the established grade line to the highest point of the fence, including posts and finials. Side- and rear-yard fence height may not be artificially increased by mounding.

• Pool Barrier Height: A regulated pool must be completely surrounded by a fence or wall at least 4 feet high. An above-ground pool with vertical surfaces at least 4 feet high requires fencing and gates only where access to the pool is available.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Maintenance and Appearance: Fences, walls, and hedges must be well maintained, harmonious and appropriate in appearance with the immediate area, and not hazardous to neighboring uses.

• Sharp or Harmful Materials: No sharp wire or points may project from the top, sides, ends, or bottom of a fence. Electrified fencing, broken glass, barbed wire, scrap material, or another substance reasonably calculated to cause bodily harm is not permitted without express approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals, subject to the separate agricultural-fence provisions.

• Agricultural Materials: Generally accepted agricultural fencing is permitted for agricultural uses, including low-impedance electric fencing and barbed wire, provided barbed-wire strands are at least 4 feet above the ground.

• Supporting Members: Supporting members must face the inside of the fenced area, away from adjoining property, unless the fence is designed with identical appearance on both sides. All supporting members must be located on the fence owner’s property.

• Berms and Earth Forms: A wall, fence, or hedge may not be placed on top of a berm or earth form higher than 18 inches.

• Access: All portions of the property must remain accessible from outside the fenced area through a gate or other opening.

• Pool Gates: Doors and gates in a required pool enclosure must have suitable locking devices to prevent unauthorized entry.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Private restrictions operate independently from City of New Franklin fence rules. HOA covenants, subdivision restrictions, deed restrictions, easements, architectural-review covenants, private boundary agreements, and recorded agreements may be more restrictive than the City’s published fence standards.

The issuance of a zoning certificate or building permit does not remove an applicable private restriction unless the controlling private document or authority provides otherwise.

REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT

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

• Zoning-Certificate Review: Construction or alteration of a fence is reviewed through the City zoning-certificate process, including the proposed dimensions, location, property lines, setbacks, easements, and right-of-way limits.

• Building-Code Review: The residential building-permit trigger applies to fences over 6 feet tall. The City zoning limits remain separate and may prohibit that height in the applicable district.

• Height and Visibility: Review may involve the 4-foot front-yard and 6-foot side- and rear-yard limits in the standard residential districts, the 2-foot corner-visibility limit within the 30-foot sight triangle, and driveway or street-visibility conditions.

• Placement and Construction: Review may involve solid-fence placement, lakefront right-of-way spacing, property-line encroachment, supporting-member orientation, berm height, access gates, and prohibited or specially approved materials.

• Special Residential Contexts: Additional standards apply to the R-L Residential Lakefront District, fences incident to agricultural use, and fences serving as private pool barriers.

• Mapped and Infrastructure Conditions: Site-specific review may involve platted no-build areas, conservation/no-disturb areas, floodways, floodplains, drainage easements, road rights-of-way, and associated excavation or drainage activity.

• Maintenance Enforcement: Complaint-based zoning enforcement may involve deteriorated, hazardous, improperly located, or noncompliant fences, walls, and hedges.

• Utility Safety: Excavation for fence posts may require timely OHIO811 notice and positive-response confirmation before work begins.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within City of New Franklin, based on the referenced published materials as of July 2026.

In addition to local fence rules, certain Ohio laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in Ohio.

It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, zoning resolutions, permits, zoning certificates, development approvals, applicable building-code requirements, 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, restricted-floodway or stream conditions, stormwater requirements, drainage conditions, road or highway conditions, county-engineer jurisdiction, railroad adjacency, historic district status, design-review status, rural or agricultural context, livestock, partition-fence or preferred-partition-fence context, certified residential building-department status, contracted administration, pool-barrier use, OHIO811 utility-safety requirements, utility-clearance conditions, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants, deed restrictions, private agreements, recorded partition-fence agreements, or conservation easements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with the City of New Franklin Zoning Department and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, zoning resolutions, published guidance, or direction from City of New Franklin Zoning Department staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.