Bethlehem, PA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Article 1318, General Regulations, treats fences differently from buildings when it comes to yard depth. 16, "Fences and Terraces in Side Yards," exempts fences, hedges, or walls not over seven feet high above natural grade from the side yard building line, and the same seven-foot exemption carries over to front yards and rear yards elsewhere in Article 1318: a fence at or under that height can sit anywhere in the yard, including on the property line, while anything taller is treated as a structure and must observe the district's regular front, side, and rear yard depths.

Terraces, steps, uncovered porches, and similar features get their own three-foot allowance measured from the ground-story floor level. Corner lots face an additional restriction that applies in any district: no structure, fence, planting, or other obstruction may stand between a plane two and one-half feet and a plane ten feet above curb level within the sight triangle formed by the street lot lines, measured twenty-five feet back from where those lines, or their extensions, meet. In a commercial district that triangle shrinks to eight feet.

A second, smaller eight-foot sight triangle applies wherever a private accessway meets a public street, with vegetation and obstructions capped at two and one-half feet within it. A fence that meets the seven-foot height cap can still violate the corner-visibility rule if it sits inside one of these triangles and exceeds the two-and-one-half-foot limit there.