Knox County does not require ordinary residential fences, but its Zoning Ordinance mandates opaque screening fences in specific cases, such as a 5-to-6-foot enclosure around off-street parking approved in a restrictive zone and a 7-foot enclosure around mobile home parks.
For a standard single-family lot, no fence is required. The Knox County Zoning Ordinance imposes fencing only in specific screening and buffering situations. Where off-street parking is approved as a use-on-review in a more restrictive zone, all sides except ingress and egress must be enclosed with an opaque ornamental fence, wall, or dense evergreen hedge between 5 and 6 feet high (Sec. 3.51.10.B). A mobile home park must be entirely enclosed at its boundaries by a solid wall, fence, or evergreen hedge at least 7 feet high, set back 25 feet from any public street. Salvage or wrecking storage requires an 8-to-12-foot opaque enclosure.
Failing to install a required screening fence or buffer violates the Zoning Ordinance and carries a $10-$500 civil penalty under Section 6.20.02, with each day a separate offense.
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