7 rules for unincorporated Manatee County, Florida.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Manatee County, fences within a required front yard max out at 48 inches (4 feet); fences in all other yards may reach 8 feet, or 9 feet where a non-residential district abuts a residential one.
Manatee County LDC 511.6
Fences located within any required front yard shall not exceed forty-eight (48) inches in height above the ground... Fences, berms or combination of berms and fences erected within the required yard shall be a maximum of eight (8) feet in height.
Most fences in unincorporated Manatee County require a building permit, but fences for agricultural uses on agriculturally zoned property are exempt from permitting while still meeting all other fence standards.
Manatee County LDC 511.6.A.2
Fences for agricultural uses on agricultural zoned property shall be required to comply with the requirements of this section, however but do not require, they shall be exempt from having to obtain a Building Permit.
Manatee County's LDC governs fence height and placement, but it does not assign fence ownership or cost-sharing between neighbors. No fence may sit in a right-of-way or easement, and easement-crossing fences need a hold-harmless agreement.
Manatee County LDC 511.6.A.1
No fence or wall may be located in a right-of-way or easement.
Retaining walls are structures subject to the Florida Building Code and Manatee County permitting; like fences and walls, they may not sit in a right-of-way, easement, or visibility triangle, and berm-and-wall combinations are height-limited within required yards.
Manatee County LDC 511.6.C
Fences, berms or combination of berms and fences erected within the required yard shall be a maximum of eight (8) feet in height, except as follows... Where non-residential districts abut residential districts 9'.
Fences in unincorporated Manatee County must stay out of rights-of-way, easements, and visibility triangles, meet the location-based height limits, and (except agricultural fences) generally require a building permit.
Manatee County LDC 511.6.A.1
No fence or wall may be located in a right-of-way or easement. Fences, constructed only of wood, plastic composition, aluminum, wrought iron or chain link fences may be permitted to run along and across drainage or utility easements provided the property owner signs a notarized hold harmless agreement with the County.
Manatee County bars broken glass, spikes, and similar materials on fences. Barbed wire is limited to A and A-1 districts (or any agricultural-use fence), and electrified fences are allowed only as an accessory to an agricultural use.
Manatee County LDC 511.6.B
Fences charged with electricity are permitted only as accessory to an agricultural use. The use of broken glass, spikes, or similar materials on fences shall be prohibited. Fences with barbed wire are permitted only in the 'A' and 'A-1' Districts, and in any district when accessory to an agricultural use.
Common residential materials, wood, plastic composition, aluminum, wrought iron, and chain link, are permitted. These are the only materials the LDC lets cross drainage or utility easements (with a hold-harmless agreement).
Manatee County LDC 511.6.A.1
Fences, constructed only of wood, plastic composition, aluminum, wrought iron or chain link fences may be permitted to run along and across drainage or utility easements provided the property owner signs a notarized hold harmless agreement with the County.
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