7 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Cumberland County, North Carolina.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Cumberland County, open fences and walls may be any height, but a solid fence or wall is limited to three feet in a front yard and seven feet in a side or rear yard. Fayetteville, Hope Mills, and Spring Lake set their own limits.
Cumberland County Zoning Ordinance Sec. 1102 C
Open fences and walls may be erected to any height. Solid fences and walls shall be limited to three feet in height when projecting into or enclosing a minimum front yard and shall be limited to seven feet in height when projecting into or enclosing a minimum side and/or rear yard.
Cumberland County requires a zoning permit from the Coordinator before erecting any structure, including a fence or wall, on unincorporated land. Separately, the NC State Building Code exempts fences seven feet or lower from a building permit.
Cumberland County Zoning Ordinance Sec. 108 A
It shall be unlawful to commence the excavation for or the construction of any building or other structure, including accessory structures, or to commence the moving, alteration or repair of any structure, or the use of any land or building, including accessory structures, until the Coordinator has issued a zoning permit for such work or use.
Cumberland County zoning limits where a solid fence may sit near shared and street lines but does not allocate cost or ownership of a boundary fence. On a through lot, a privacy fence may run to the rear line, or up to 20 feet from it, depending on any recorded
Cumberland County Zoning Ordinance Sec. 1102 C(2)
Rear yards on through lots may have a privacy fence erected up to the rear property line, as determined by a platted "no access easement" or up to 20 feet from that line in the absence of a "no access easement".
Cumberland County's zoning setback requirements do not apply to any retaining wall, so a retaining wall may be built within a required yard. A retaining wall that also acts as a solid fence is still subject to the front, side, and rear fence-height limits.
Cumberland County Zoning Ordinance Sec. 1102 C
The setback requirements of this ordinance shall not apply to any retaining wall.
Section 1102 C of the Cumberland County Zoning Ordinance sets core fence standards: three-foot front and seven-foot side/rear solid-fence limits, a special corner-lot rule keeping tall fences 20 feet off the secondary right-of-way, and a corner-visibility clearance at intersections.
Cumberland County Zoning Ordinance Sec. 1102 C
When a corner lot follows two front yard setbacks, as determined by the Coordinator, a solid fence or wall greater than three feet in height, but not exceeding seven feet in height, may not be erected within 20 feet of the right-of-way on the street deemed the secondary front yard by the Coordinator.
Where a screening buffer is required in unincorporated Cumberland County, chain-link fencing is not permitted as a screening alternative regardless of modifications. Height rules also turn on whether a fence is 'solid' (25% or less open) or 'open' (more see-through).
Cumberland County Zoning Ordinance Sec. 1102 G
Chain link fencing shall not be permitted as a screening alternative, regardless of type of modifications made to the chain link fence.
Cumberland County classifies a fence by openness: a 'solid' fence or wall is one whose openings pass no more than 25 percent clear vision and airflow, and all others are 'open' fences. This classification, not the material itself, drives the height limits.
Cumberland County Zoning Ordinance Sec. 1102 C
A solid fence or wall is defined as one in which the openings through which clear vision and the free passage of air from one side to the other does not exceed 25 percent of the fence or wall. All others are open fences or walls.
1 cities in Cumberland County have their own fence regulations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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