Ankeny, IA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Section 191.14(2) of the Ankeny Code of Ordinances sets Ankeny's residential fence height limits by yard. Any yard adjacent to a street counts as a front yard for this rule, and fences there cannot exceed 48 inches if built of chain link or 42 inches for any other fence material. On corner lots, a fence that exceeds those front-yard heights, 48 inches for open chain link or 42 inches for other materials, must instead conform to the principal building setback requirements cross-referenced at Section 191.05.

In side and rear yards, opaque or solid fences and walls are capped at six feet, but a fence can reach eight feet total if the portion above six feet is built with at least 70 percent open surface area, letting light and visibility through the top two feet. Through lots carry their own rear-yard rule: a fence in the designated rear yard must sit no closer to the street right-of-way than the far edge of any platted landscape or open space buffer, and residential fences taller than six feet in a through lot's rear yard without such a buffer need a five-foot setback from the property line.

Every fence, at any height, must still leave the sight-distance triangle required at intersections under Section 191.16 clear between 30 inches and ten feet, and fences of any height are allowed with agricultural uses as long as that visibility is preserved. The Planning and Building Department measures these heights as part of the fence permit review required under Section 191.14(1).