Miramar's Fence Regulations: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles fence regulations a little differently. In Miramar, Florida, there are 4 distinct rules that residents and property owners should be aware of. Some are stricter than what neighboring cities enforce, and others are more relaxed. Here is what you need to know.

Retaining Walls

Miramar doesn't set a citywide retaining wall height cap, but its Land Development Code does regulate retaining walls built within FEMA-mapped regulated floodways. Section 616.3 requires any retaining wall involving fill placement in a regulated floodway to meet the no-rise engineering standard in Section 612.4 before the city will permit it.

Key details: Governing sections: LDC §§ 616.3 and 612.4. Applies to: Retaining walls placing fill in regulated floodways. Standard: No-rise: no increase in base flood elevation. Required study: Floodway encroachment analysis under § 605.3. Permit authority: Floodplain administrator (Building, Planning & Zoning Director).

Placing fill for a retaining wall in a regulated floodway without the required no-rise encroachment analysis, or without the floodplain development permit Section 604.1 requires, is a violation of Chapter 6 under Section 608.1, enforceable through a notice of violation or stop-work order from the floodplain administrator. Continued work after a stop-work order is a separate offense each day it continues, prosecuted under Section 2-330 et seq. of the City Code of Ordinances per Section 608.4.

Material Restrictions

Section 505.8 bans barbed wire and similar material on any fence or wall inside a Miramar residential district, no exceptions, and limits wood fences to pressure treated pine, redwood, cypress, black locust, or cedar at a nominal one-inch thickness. Non-residential storage and freight yards get a narrow exception for barbed wire, but only where it stays out of sight from a right-of-way.

Key details: Barbed wire in residential districts: Prohibited outright. Acceptable wood species: Pine, redwood, cypress, black locust, cedar. Wood fence thickness: Nominal 1 inch. Storage yard exception: Barbed wire allowed if not visible from ROW. Governing section: LDC § 505.8.

Installing barbed wire or similar material on a residential fence or wall, using an unlisted wood species, or leaving barbed wire visible from a right-of-way on a non-residential perimeter violates Section 505.8 and the LDC's Section 103.1 conformity mandate. The city's code compliance division can issue a notice of violation requiring the prohibited material to be removed, and unresolved violations move to the special magistrate process that handles Land Development Code enforcement citywide.

Fence Permit Requirements

Miramar requires a permit before any fence, wall, or landscaping goes into a utility easement, and Section 505.8 layers on an encroachment agreement for lots platted after January 1, 1996. Once that permit issues, the owner still must give any utility company access to the easement on demand, and the utility owes nothing for damage to the fence while it works there.

Key details: Permit needed: Before fencing a utility easement. Extra step post-1996 plats: Encroachment agreement required. Utility access: Must be granted on demand. Damage liability: Utility owes nothing for fence damage. Governing section: LDC § 505.8.

Building or maintaining a fence, wall, or landscaping in a utility easement without the Section 505.8 permit, or without the encroachment agreement required for lots platted after January 1, 1996, exposes the owner to code enforcement action under the LDC's general conformity mandate in Section 103.1. Under both Section 505.8 and Section 307.16, a utility or the city can remove or destroy a noncompliant fence to perform easement work without any liability for repair or replacement, so an unpermitted fence in an easement can simply be torn out at the owner's expense.

Height Limits

Miramar caps residential fences at six feet under Section 505.8, and front-yard fences are only allowed at all in the Rural, Estate, and RS1 districts, still capped at six feet and subject to the code's clear sight triangle rules. Non-residential fences run higher: eight feet next to residential property and ten feet next to other non-residential property.

Key details: Residential fence height cap: 6 feet. Front-yard fences allowed: Only in RL, E, RS1 districts. Non-residential next to residential: 8 feet max. Non-residential next to non-residential: 10 feet max. Governing section: LDC § 505.8.

A fence exceeding six feet on a residential lot, a front-yard fence built outside the Rural, Estate, or RS1 districts, or a non-residential fence over the eight-foot or ten-foot caps in Section 505.8 is a Land Development Code violation under the Section 103.1 conformity requirement. Miramar's code compliance division can issue a notice of violation requiring the fence to be lowered or removed, and continued noncompliance can be referred to the special magistrate process used for Land Development Code enforcement citywide.

The Bottom Line

Miramar'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 Miramar is broadly strict or permissive.

Keep in mind that Miramar can amend these rules at any council meeting. For the most current version of any rule mentioned here, check the specific ordinance page, where we track updates as they happen.