Alachua County, FL Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

' The default cap is six feet for any fence or wall in a residential district. Two exceptions raise that ceiling: a subdivision boundary fence or wall, or any fence or wall on a residential lot larger than one acre, may reach eight feet, and the county may approve architectural features up to 12 feet tall where they sit next to a subdivision entrance that is at least 100 feet wide and set back at least 50 feet from the property boundary. The code spells out how height is measured, from the highest point of the fence, excluding the allowed architectural features, down to the centerline elevation of the adjacent street or the ground elevation at the fence's base, whichever distance is less, taken perpendicular to the street centerline.

Subsection (b) separately bars any individual property-boundary or subdivision-boundary fence from a sight triangle as the Florida Department of Transportation defines it under its Design Standards for Design, Construction, Maintenance and Utility Operations on the State Highway System, protecting visibility for drivers and pedestrians near intersections and driveways. 08 on retaining walls, all part of the Unified Land Development Code adopted by Ordinance No. 05-10 on December 8, 2005, with this section most recently amended by Ordinance No. 2020-25. Because Alachua County's nine municipalities run their own zoning codes, this six/eight/12-foot scheme governs only unincorporated county property, residents inside Gainesville, Alachua, Newberry, High Springs, Archer, Hawthorne, Micanopy, LaCrosse or Waldo fall under their own city's fence rules instead.