FENCE RULES – CONCORD (TOWNSHIP) – DELAWARE COUNTY, OHIO
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Concord Township in Delaware County, subject to local regulations.
This page applies to the unincorporated portion of Concord Township in Delaware County governed by Concord Township zoning; incorporated cities and villages regulate fences under their own ordinances.
Local fence rules appear primarily in the Concord Township Zoning Resolution, especially Section 21.13 – Fences and Walls, the current Zoning Permit Process, and the township's visibility, drainage, Planned Residential District, and enforcement provisions. Residential building-code approval is administered by the Delaware County Department of Building Safety, and Planned Residential District (PRD) properties are also subject to approved development plans and the Concord Township Planned Residential District Landscape Standards.
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 the Concord Township Zoning Resolution, Concord Township Zoning Permit Process, Concord Township Planned Residential District Landscape Standards, Ohio Board of Building Standards Building Department Lookup, Delaware County Residential Fence Design Requirements, Delaware County Exempt from Approval guidance, Building Code of Delaware County, Concord Township Right-of-Way Excavation Resolution, OHIO811, and Ohio Revised Code Chapter 971 as of July 2026.
GOVERNANCE
Concord Township adopts and administers its own zoning through the Concord Township Zoning Resolution. The Concord Township Zoning Inspector enforces the resolution and investigates zoning complaints. The township's current Zoning Permit Process expressly lists a fence among the projects that do not require a zoning permit.
The Ohio Board of Building Standards Building Department Lookup identifies residential enforcement for Concord Township as enforced by Delaware County Government. The Delaware County Department of Building Safety administers the Residential Code of Ohio and publishes fence-specific building-approval and design requirements for the township.
Properties in the PRD district are developed under an approved development plan, recorded subdivision plat, and the Concord Township Planned Residential District Landscape Standards. Those standards regulate development-level perimeter screening along public rights-of-way, adjacent sites, and line-of-sight conditions. Concord Township separately administers permits for qualifying excavation or use in township-road rights-of-way, while the zoning resolution prohibits fences and walls within any right-of-way.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Zoning Permit: The current Concord Township Zoning Permit Process expressly states that a zoning permit is not required for a fence.
• Zoning Compliance: The no-permit treatment does not exempt a fence from the zoning resolution's height, right-of-way, sight-triangle, structural-condition, drainage, PRD development-plan, or other applicable standards.
• Residential Building Administration: The Ohio Board of Building Standards lookup identifies residential enforcement for Concord Township as enforced by Delaware County Government. The Delaware County Department of Building Safety administers the Residential Code of Ohio for the township.
• Building-Code Approval: The county's October 2024 Residential Fence Design Requirements require approval for fences 7 feet or more in height and for any fence that forms part of a pool enclosure. Fences less than 7 feet are not regulated by the county building department unless they form part of a pool enclosure.
• Approval Documents: When county approval applies, the department requires township zoning confirmation if applicable, a plot plan showing the proposed fence location, and construction drawings showing the fence section, post spacing, fasteners, and wind-load design.
• Pool Barrier Context: A fence used as part of a private residential swimming-pool, spa, or hot-tub enclosure is reviewed separately under DC 602 and the county's adopted pool-code framework, regardless of the ordinary fence height.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Property-Line Placement: The zoning resolution does not state a setback requirement for standard residential fences from property lines; however, fences must be located entirely on the owner's property and must not encroach into rights-of-way or easements.
• Rights-of-Way: Fences and walls are prohibited within any right-of-way. A township right-of-way excavation or use permit does not authorize a fence placement prohibited by the zoning resolution.
• Sight Triangles: No fence or wall may be located within the sight triangle of a street intersection or where a driveway intersects a street.
• Driveway Sight Triangle: For sites governed by Article XXIII, the driveway sight triangle is formed from the intersection of the driveway edge and street curb or pavement edge by measuring 10 feet along the driveway and 20 feet along the street, then connecting those points.
• Street-Intersection Sight Triangle: For sites governed by Article XXIII, the street-intersection sight triangle is formed by measuring at least 35 feet along each curb line or pavement edge and connecting those points.
• PRD Plan Conditions: On PRD property, the approved development plan, recorded subdivision plat, easements, and the PRD Landscape Standards may establish development-specific screening, line-of-sight, or entry-feature locations. The PRD standards do not publish a separate ordinary lot-fence setback.
• Drainage: Fence construction must maintain proper surface drainage. It may not interfere with an existing tile or surface drain channel unless the channel can be removed or relocated without interfering with drainage on adjacent properties.
• 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
• Residential District Maximum: No fence or wall may exceed 5 feet in any residential zoning district other than FR-1 Farm Residential. This includes ordinary single-family properties in the R-2 Residential and PRD Planned Residential districts.
• FR-1 Farm Residential: The zoning resolution does not specify a maximum height for a standard residential fence in the FR-1 district. County building-code approval applies at 7 feet or more, and the right-of-way, sight-triangle, structural-condition, and drainage rules remain applicable.
• Front, Side, and Rear Yards: The zoning resolution does not publish different fence-height limits for front, side, and rear yards. The applicable district maximum controls throughout the lot, subject to visibility, right-of-way, easement, drainage, and approved-plan conditions.
• PRD Height Context: The uploaded PRD Landscape Standards do not establish a different ordinary residential fence height. The general 5-foot residential-district maximum remains applicable, together with the approved development plan and recorded plat conditions.
• Visibility: Fences and walls are prohibited within required driveway and street-intersection sight triangles. For sites governed by Article XXIII, the published measurements are 10 feet by 20 feet at driveway intersections and at least 35 feet along each street curb line or pavement edge at street intersections.
• Building-Code Threshold: The county's 7-foot building-approval trigger is not a zoning height allowance. In a residential district subject to the 5-foot zoning maximum, the more restrictive 5-foot limit controls.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Structural Condition: All fences and walls must be structurally sound and maintained in good condition.
• Standard Residential Materials: The zoning resolution does not specify prohibited materials, finished-side orientation, opacity requirements, or separate chain-link, vinyl, wood, masonry, barbed-wire, razor-wire, or electric-fence standards for ordinary single-family residential fences.
• PRD Entry Features: The PRD Landscape Standards identify walls, pillars, and fences as potential development entry features, but they do not prescribe a separate material standard for an individual residential lot fence.
• County Design Standard: Where a fence of 7 feet or more is otherwise permitted, Delaware County Building Safety publishes a prescriptive option for fences from 7 feet through 10 feet using minimum 6-inch by 6-inch ACQ posts at a maximum 8-foot on-center spacing, a 36-inch minimum post depth, a 10-inch minimum hole diameter, a 115 mph design wind load, and concrete to within 12 inches of the surface. A sealed alternate design may be submitted.
• Fences Above 10 Feet: Fences 10 feet 1 inch or higher require sealed construction drawings from a registered design professional under the county's fence-design guidance.
• Pool Enclosures: A fence serving as a pool enclosure is regulated under DC 602 and the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code as adopted by Delaware County. Ordinary yard-fence exemptions do not remove the separate pool-barrier requirements.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
HOAs, subdivision covenants, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, agricultural agreements, private boundary agreements, recorded partition-fence agreements, and conservation easements operate independently of township zoning and may be more restrictive.
For PRD developments, the zoning resolution requires the recorded subdivision plat to identify deed restrictions, covenants, easements, and encumbrances used to control the use, development, and maintenance of the land and improvements. Those recorded controls may supplement the township's general fence rules.
For qualifying rural, agricultural, livestock-related, or shared-boundary properties, Ohio Revised Code Chapter 971 may apply separately. It does not replace Concord Township zoning, Delaware County building-code approval, recorded plats, or private restrictions.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Township Zoning Compliance: Although a zoning permit is not required for a fence, the Concord Township Zoning Inspector enforces the fence, height, right-of-way, sight-triangle, drainage, and maintenance provisions and investigates resident complaints.
• Height Review: Residential fences are reviewed against the 5-foot maximum in residential districts other than FR-1, while the FR-1 district has no published township fence-height maximum.
• County Building Review: The Delaware County Department of Building Safety reviews fences 7 feet or more, fences used as pool enclosures, submitted plot plans, and fence construction drawings when county approval applies.
• Visibility and Right-of-Way Review: Fence issues may involve the prohibition within any right-of-way, driveway sight triangles, street-intersection sight triangles, and the published 10-foot by 20-foot and 35-foot visibility measurements where Article XXIII applies.
• PRD Review: Fence, wall, screening, or entry-feature issues in a Planned Residential District may also be evaluated against the approved development plan, recorded plat, and PRD Landscape Standards.
• Drainage Review: Fence construction may be reviewed where it interferes with surface drainage, subsurface tile, or an existing drain channel.
• Utility Safety: Fence post-hole excavation may require OHIO811 notice and positive-response verification before digging where Ohio's underground utility protection law applies.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Concord Township in Delaware County, 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 Concord Township Zoning Inspector, the Delaware County Department of Building Safety where building approval applies, and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, zoning resolutions, published guidance, or direction from Concord Township zoning staff or Delaware County Department of Building Safety staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.