7 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Ada County, Idaho.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Ada County, fences may sit inside or outside any setback but cannot exceed six feet above grade on a perimeter boundary or required setback without a variance. On lots one acre or less inside an area of impact, front-yard fences are capped at three feet.
Ada County Code 8-3-6(E)
Fences, walls, latticework, or screens: 1. Are allowed within or outside of any setback, and 2. Shall not exceed a height of six feet (6') above grade on the perimeter boundary or within any required setback area, unless approved by a variance by the Board or as part of an approved use.
Standard residential fences up to six feet generally need no building permit in unincorporated Ada County. Any fence, wall, latticework, or screen exceeding six feet requires a building permit with construction drawings prepared by a licensed Idaho engineer or architect.
Ada County Code 8-3-6(F)
Building Permit Required. Fences, walls, latticework, or screens that exceed six feet (6') in height require a building permit with construction drawings prepared by a qualified and licensed engineer or architect in the state of Idaho.
Ada County zoning lets a six-foot fence sit on the perimeter boundary between neighbors, but any sight-obscuring fence near a street corner must not block the clear-vision triangle. Cost-sharing and exact placement of a shared boundary fence are private matters under Idaho civil law.
Ada County Code 8-3-6(B)
Clear Vision Triangle. No sight-obscuring fence, hedge, wall, latticework, or screen shall violate the clear vision triangle requirements (see definition in Chapter 10) at a street intersection.
In unincorporated Ada County, any retaining wall with a total vertical height of four feet or more, including its footing, must be designed in accordance with the Ada County Building Code. Shorter walls that also serve as fences follow the six-foot fence-height standard.
Ada County Code Title 8 (Grading & Stabilization)
All retaining walls with a total vertical height of four feet (4') or more, including footing, shall be designed in accord with the regulations of the Ada County Building Code.
Section 8-3-6 of Ada County Code sets fence standards for unincorporated land: six-foot height limit, a clear-vision triangle at intersections, an engineered permit above six feet, and a maintenance duty for required screening fences.
Ada County Code 8-3-6(A)
Fences. A. Purpose. This Section provides standards on the types, construction, installation, and uses of fences.
Ada County restricts barbed wire and electric wire fencing to farms, properties in the RP, RR, or RUT base districts, large livestock-confinement sites, or approved security uses. Chain-link fencing does not count as a screening material under the code.
Ada County Code 8-3-6(C)
Barbed Wire/Electric Wire. Barbed wire and electric wire fencing shall only be allowed on properties that meet one or more of the following standards: 1. The property is a 'farm,' as herein defined; 2. The property is in the RP, RR, or RUT base districts.
Ada County recognizes solid fences, walls, and sound walls as screening elements but not chain-link. When a solid fence or sound wall is used for screening, the landscape plan must add vegetation at set rates alongside it.
Ada County Code 8-3-7
Screening Elements... shall include, but not be limited to, deciduous trees (shade and ornamental), evergreen trees, berms, solid fences, walls, and sound walls. Cyclone or chain link fencing (with or without slats) shall not be deemed a screening material.
1 cities in Ada County have their own fence regulations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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