Fence Regulations in Amherst, NY (2026)
4 verified fence regulations for Amherst, New York, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Height Limits
Amherst caps residential fences and walls at six feet, rising to eight feet where the lot abuts a nonresidential district, with a 12-foot allowance for tennis court enclosures. Corner lots also carry a clear vision triangle that keeps fences low near intersections.
Amherst Fence Height Limits by District
Some RestrictionsAmherst Code § 7-5-1
No fence or wall in a residential district shall exceed six feet in height, except where it abuts a nonresidential district, in which event it shall not exceed eight feet in height, provided, however, that a fence or wall not exceeding 12 feet in height enclosing a tennis court shall be permitted.
Fence Permit Requirements
In the Town of Amherst outside the Village of Williamsville, a fence itself does not need a separate building permit. Amherst Code § 83-5-1 lists fence installation among the exempt categories, but the exemption drops away the moment that fence becomes part of an enclosure surrounding a swimming pool.
Amherst Fence Permits Required Only For Pools
Light RestrictionsAmherst Code § 83-5-1(1-1.1.1)(c)
No person, firm or corporation shall commence the relocation, replacement, demolition, erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, improvement, removal or change of any required means of egress, rearrangement of parts of a structure in a manner that affects egress, the removal from service of all or part of a fire protection system for any period of time, or conversion of any building, str...
Retaining Walls
A retaining wall in the Town of Amherst skips the building permit that most other structures need. Amherst Code § 83-5-1 exempts retaining wall construction from a building permit unless the wall supports a surcharge or impounds Class I, II or IIIA liquids. Separately, the Zoning Ordinance's § 7-5-3 lets a "necessary retaining wall" stand where an ordinary fence over three feet cannot: inside a required front yard.
Amherst Retaining Wall Permit and Height Rules
Light RestrictionsAmherst Code § 83-5-1(d); § 7-5-3
§ 83-5-1: "...no permit shall be required for work in any of the following exempt categories: ... (d) The construction of retaining walls unless such walls support a surcharge or impound Class I, II or IIIA liquids;" § 7-5-3: "No fence or wall, other than a necessary retaining wall, over three feet in height shall extend into the required front yard of any lot, except in an industrial district."
Material Restrictions
Amherst's zoning code bars barbed wire and similar security topping on fences in nonresidential districts, and caps those fences at eight feet unless they screen a loading dock, dumpster, outdoor storage or mechanical equipment required elsewhere in the code.
Amherst Bars Barbed Wire on Business Fences
Some RestrictionsAmherst Code § 7-5-2
With the exception of those used for screening loading docks, dumpsters, refuse containers, outdoor storage and mechanical equipment as required by this Ordinance, no fence or wall in a nonresidential district shall exceed eight feet in height or have barbed wire or a similar style security toping.
Looking for Erie County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Amherst city rules.
Fence Regulations in Erie County →