Fence Regulations in Dearborn Heights, MI (2026)
5 verified fence regulations for Dearborn Heights, Michigan, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Height Limits
City Code Sec. 13-3 caps residential fences at six feet in the rear yard and generally bars fences in the front or side yard except for a short list of exceptions with their own height limits. Sec. 13-13 layers on a corner-lot sight triangle where fences, walls and plantings cannot block driver visibility between thirty inches and six feet high.
Dearborn Heights Fence Height and Sight Triangle
Some RestrictionsDearborn Heights City Code §§ 13-3(b)-(d), 13-13(c)(1)
(b)A suitable fence not to exceed six (6) feet in height may be erected around the rear yard of an area zoned for residential uses.(c)A fence shall not be erected around or in the front yard of an area zoned for residential uses except as provided at section 13-3(e) or section 13-3(f) below.(d)A fence shall not be erected around or in the side yard of an area zoned for residential uses except a...
Fence Permit Requirements
In the City of Dearborn Heights, no fence may go up until the Building and Engineering Department issues a zoning permit under City Code Sec. 13-2. Applications need a complete plan set with a plot plan showing where the fence will sit, and a processing and inspection fee the City Council sets by resolution.
Dearborn Heights Fence Permit Requirements
Some RestrictionsDearborn Heights City Code § 13-2
Fences described in this chapter shall not hereafter be erected unless and until a zoning permit shall be issued from the department prior to the commencement of any construction. All applications for zoning permits shall be accompanied by a complete and detailed set of plans and specifications, including a plot plan showing the proposed location of the fence or fences. All applications for suc...
Neighbor Fence Rules
When a Dearborn Heights property owner puts up a new privacy fence next to an existing chain-link fence on a shared property line, City Code Sec. 13-5 makes that owner responsible for either removing the old chain link or, if the neighbor wants to keep it, maintaining the strip of ground between the two fences.
Dearborn Heights Shared Fence Responsibility Rules
Some RestrictionsDearborn Heights City Code § 13-5(b)
(b)An owner of property who installs a privacy fence shall remove any existing chain-link fence alongside the privacy fence running down the joint property line unless the adjacent property owner elects to keep the chain-link fence. If the adjacent homeowner elects to keep the chain-link fence, it shall be the responsibility of the owner of the property where the new fence has been erected to m...
Retaining Walls
Dearborn Heights treats a retaining wall as zoning-regulated work: City Code Sec. 36-4 lists retaining walls among the improvements that need a zoning compliance certificate from the building official before construction, and Sec. 36-395 separately requires any retaining wall built as a landscape element to be kept in good, undamaged condition.
Dearborn Heights Retaining Wall Permit Rules
Some RestrictionsDearborn Heights City Code §§ 36-4(a), (e), 36-395(f)(3)
By way of illustration, and not by way of limitation, work involving the following things necessarily relates to zoning, land use, and/or other property issues:(1)Accessory structures less than one hundred (100) square feet in area.(2)Fences.(3)Retaining walls.(4)Water tanks.(5)Sidewalks.(6)Driveways. ... (3)Constructed elements. All constructed or manufactured landscape elements, such as but n...
Material Restrictions
Dearborn Heights bans barbed wire and razor wire on any residential fence citywide under City Code Sec. 13-7, and Sec. 13-4 limits acceptable fence material to four-foot or six-foot chain link, shadow plank, ornamental iron, vinyl (PVC) fencing systems, or hedges and plantings, with old or used material barred entirely.
Dearborn Heights Fence Material and Barbed Wire Rules
Significant RestrictionsDearborn Heights City Code §§ 13-4(a)-(b), 13-7
(a)Fences shall not be constructed of old or used material.(b)Acceptable fence material shall be as follows:(1)Four-foot chain link, shadow plank, ornamental iron, vinyl fencing system (also known as "PVC"), or hedge/plantings.(2)Six-foot chain link, shadow plank, ornamental iron, vinyl fencing system (also known as "PVC"), or hedge/plantings. ... No person shall construct or maintain a barbed ...
Looking for Wayne County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Dearborn Heights city rules.
Fence Regulations in Wayne County →