7 rules for unincorporated Clackamas County, Oregon.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated urban residential Clackamas County, fences and sight-obscuring plantings may reach 6 feet at or behind the front building line, but only 4 feet forward of it (toward the street). Inside cities, the city's code applies.
Clackamas County ZDO 315, Table 315-3
Maximum Height for Fences and Sight-Obscuring Plantings: 6 feet at or behind the building line of the dwelling closest to front lot line(s)... or 4 feet forward of the building line of the dwelling closest to front lot line(s).
The county's Zoning & Development Ordinance regulates fence height and location, but a standalone land-use permit is generally not required for an ordinary residential fence. Verify with Planning (503-742-4500) before building, especially near roads or in resource zones.
Clackamas County's ZDO sets fence height and placement but does not resolve who pays for a shared boundary fence; that is a civil matter under Oregon's partition-fence law (ORS Chapter 96) between neighbors, not a county code enforcement issue.
Retaining walls are a permitted accessory use in unincorporated Clackamas County residential districts, but taller walls require a building permit and engineering under the Oregon structural/residential code, and all walls must respect corner-vision and setback standards.
Clackamas County ZDO 315, Table 315-1
Fences and Retaining Walls [listed as] P [permitted primary/accessory use in the urban residential zoning districts].
Beyond height, Clackamas County requires fences to preserve corner vision: nothing sight-obscuring over 30 inches within a 20-foot radius of an intersection or where a driveway meets a public road, so drivers can see.
Clackamas County ZDO 308.08(G)
Corner Vision: No sight-obscuring structures or plantings exceeding thirty (30) inches in height shall be located within a twenty (20) foot radius of the lot corner nearest the intersection of two public, county or state roads, or from the intersection of a private road or easement and a public, county or state road.
For an ordinary residential fence in unincorporated Clackamas County, the ZDO restricts height and sight-obscuring placement, not the material. It does not ban wood, vinyl, chain-link, or masonry fencing; barbed/electric wire is limited mainly to farm and non-residential contexts.
Clackamas County does not require a specific fence material for homes. Wood, cedar, vinyl, composite, chain-link, and masonry all comply as long as the fence meets ZDO height limits (6 ft behind the building line, 4 ft forward) and corner-vision rules.
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