How De Pere Handles Fence Regulations: A Practical Guide
De Pere maintains 93 local ordinances across all categories, and 4 of those deal specifically with fence regulations. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where De Pere falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.
Neighbor Fence Rules
De Pere puts the burden of finding the property line on the fence owner, not the neighbor. Sec. 54-7(b) requires the owner to locate all lot lines before building, allows fences right on the line, and Sec. 54-7(c)(5) requires the finished, most attractive side to face the adjoining property.
Key details: Survey duty: Owner must locate property lines first. On the line: Fences may sit directly on a lot line. Finished side rule: Attractive side must face the neighbor. Encroachment: Prohibited onto adjacent property. Utility easement fences: Removable at owner's expense.
A boundary fence that fails these rules, wrong-side construction, an unlocated property line that turns into an encroachment, or plantings left untrimmed onto a neighbor's yard, is enforced the same way as any other Sec. 54-7 violation: a forfeiture of $5.00 to $200.00 for each offense under Sec. 54-7(g), with each day the condition continues after the building inspector's notice counting as a separate offense.
Retaining Walls
De Pere's building design standards cap knee walls and retaining walls used to manage sloping ground-story facades at 30 inches, allowing a taller run for only a 15-foot stretch of facade. It applies to buildings governed by the Article IX ground-story design rules on sloped streets.
Key details: Height cap: 30 inches. Exception length: Max 15-foot facade section. Applies to: Sloping-street ground-story facades. Governing section: § 14-92(10)(a)3 and (b)3.
A knee wall or retaining wall built taller than 30 inches along more than the permitted 15-foot section of a sloping-street facade is a zoning violation enforced by the development services director. The city may issue a municipal citation under city code § 1-11, and continued noncompliance after notice is treated as a separate offense for each day it persists.
The rules around retaining walls in De Pere lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.
Height Limits
De Pere caps residential fence height at three feet in the front or street-side yard setback, four feet if it is a see-through design, six feet along every other lot line, and eight feet where the fence abuts nonresidential zoned property. Sec. 54-7(c) sets these limits and layers a vision-triangle rule at intersections.
Key details: Front/street-side yard limit: 3 ft (4 ft if see-through). See-through exception: Must be 60% or more open. Other lot lines: 6 ft maximum. Abutting nonresidential zoning: 8 ft maximum. Height measured from: Finished grade to top of panel.
Sec. 54-7(g) makes any violation of the fence regulations, including the height limits, subject to a forfeiture of not less than $5.00 and not more than $200.00 for each offense. Once the building inspector has given notice of a violation, every day the noncompliant fence remains standing counts as a separate offense, so an unresolved height violation can compound quickly.
Material Restrictions
De Pere bans six categories of fencing material on residential lots: barbed wire, permanent chicken wire, thin wire or plastic mesh, hardware cloth, snow fencing, and agricultural or electric fencing. Sec. 54-7(c)(7) lists each prohibited type by name, and the same forfeiture that covers every other fence violation applies to using them.
Key details: Barbed wire: Prohibited (Sec. 54-7(c)(7)a). Chicken wire: Permanent chicken wire prohibited. Mesh fencing: Banned if thinner than 11-gauge wire. Hardware cloth & snow fencing: Both prohibited. Agricultural/electric fencing: Banned, incl. deer and strand fencing.
A fence built from a prohibited material is treated the same as any other fence violation under Sec. 54-7(g): a forfeiture of not less than $5.00 and not more than $200.00 for each offense, with every day the fence remains in place after the building inspector's notice counting as a separate offense. The building inspector can also decline to sign off on the building permit Sec. 54-3(f)(2) requires for any fence until the prohibited material is removed.
The Bottom Line
De Pere's fence regulations rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming De Pere is broadly strict or permissive.
These rules come from De Pere's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.