Port St. Lucie's Fence Regulations: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles fence regulations a little differently. In Port St. Lucie, Florida, there are 5 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.

Height Limits

Port St. Lucie caps residential fences at eight feet measured from finished grade. Decorative fencing in front of the building line is limited to four feet, and fences must sit at least 25 feet back from the front property line.

Key details: Residential fence max: 8 ft from finished grade. Front-yard landscape fencing: 4 ft, 2-ft break per 20 ft. Front setback: 25 ft from front property line. Sight triangle: Nothing 2-6 ft above road crown. Code section: Sec. 158.216; Sec. 158.204.

Fence violations go to the Special Magistrate under Chapter 37. Sec. 37.09 allows fines up to $1,000 per day for a first violation and $5,000 per day for a repeat violation.

Material Restrictions

Residential fences in Port St. Lucie must be chain link steel wire (6-9 gauge), aluminum, vinyl coated steel, polyester powder steel, cedar, white oak, cypress, redwood or pressure treated lumber. Chicken wire and barbed wire are not permitted.

Key details: Code Section: Sec. 158.216(A). Permitted metals: Chain link, aluminum, vinyl or polyester steel. Permitted woods: Cedar, white oak, cypress, redwood, treated lumber. Prohibited: Chicken wire and barbed wire. Maximum height: Eight feet from finished grade.

Section 158.216(A)(5) makes the owner remove permitted or unpermitted fencing inside City drainage and utility easements at their own cost. Zoning penalties run through sections 158.999 and 10.99: $50.00 first offense, $200.00 second.

Fence Permit Requirements

A building permit is required before you install a fence in Port St. Lucie; the residential fee is $65.00, or $51.00 online. Section 158.216 sets the materials, height and setback your fence must meet.

Key details: Permit: Required under adopted FBC 105.1. Fence permit fee: $65.00, or $51.00 online. Maximum height: 8 feet from finished grade. Front setback: 25 feet from front property line. Prohibited materials: Chicken wire and barbed wire, residential.

A permit becomes invalid if work is not commenced within 180 days. Zoning violations under section 158.999 are punished as set out in section 10.99: $50.00 first offense, $200.00 second offense if uncontested.

Retaining Walls

Port St. Lucie regulates retaining walls only where they sit in a mapped regulatory floodway. Sec. 152.16(c) ties retaining wall construction that involves fill placement to the floodway limitations in Sec. 152.12(d), which bars the work unless an engineering analysis proves it will not raise the base flood elevation.

Key details: Scope: Applies only inside mapped regulatory floodways. Standard: No increase in base flood elevation allowed. Analysis required: Floodway encroachment analysis, Sec. 152.04(c)(1). Floodplain Administrator: City Engineer. Same rule also covers: Fences, roads, and watercourse crossings.

Building a retaining wall with fill in a regulated floodway without the required floodway encroachment analysis and permit is a violation of the Floodplain Management Regulations under Sec. 152.07(a); the Floodplain Administrator can issue a notice of violation or stop-work order to the owner, the owner's agent, or the contractor performing the work, and continued work after that notice draws penalties prescribed by law (Sec. 152.07(b)-(c)).

Neighbor Fence Rules

Port St. Lucie requires every fence to sit inside the owner's own property line, on the plat the city adopted, under City Code § 158.216(F). The section also makes the property owner responsible for maintaining the ground on both sides of their fence, so a neighbor cannot be made to tend the strip on the fence-owner's side.

Key details: Governing section: City Code § 158.216(F). Placement rule: Fence must sit inside the plat property line. Maintenance duty: Owner maintains both sides of own fence. Easement removal cost: Borne by property owner, § 158.216(A)(5). Fence height cap: 8 feet, residential lots, § 158.216(B).

A fence built on or over the property line, or left to encroach into a City drainage or utility easement, violates section 158.216 and the City can order it removed or relocated at the owner's expense under subsection (A)(5). Fence violations are enforced as Zoning Code violations through the City's code enforcement process in Chapter 37, and if the owner does not restore an easement area the city removes it and bills the owner for the cost.

The Bottom Line

Port St. Lucie'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 Port St. Lucie is broadly strict or permissive.

These rules come from Port St. Lucie's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.