Carmel's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Section 5.09 caps residential front-yard fences at 42 inches, side and rear-yard fences at 6 feet, and fences inside the buildable area (no required yard) at 9 feet. Heights are measured from the fence's topmost point to the adjacent ground.
Fence heights in Carmel are governed by UDO Section 5.09 (FW-01: Fence and Wall Standards), not a single citywide number. For residential lots three acres or smaller, fences in any required Front Yard 'shall not exceed forty-two (42) inches in height' (5.09(B)(1)). Fences in any required side or rear yard 'shall not exceed six (6) feet in height, as measured from the topmost point thereof to the ground adjacent to the fence' (5.09(C)). Residential fences not in any required yard but within the buildable area 'shall not exceed nine (9) feet in height' (5.09(D)(1)). Special cases raise the front limit: on through lots backing a Collector, Arterial, Parkway Arterial, or Primary Arterial street, a fence may go up to 6 feet if set back at least 6 feet and buffered (5.09(B)(5)); along a Primary Parkway Street (Keystone Parkway) up to 8 feet (5.09(B)(6)). Open wire-mesh fences around tennis or athletic courts may reach 16 feet (5.09(F)). Height on a berm or masonry wall is measured from the ground next to the berm/wall (5.09(E)).
Enforced by Carmel Community Services / Code Enforcement as a UDO violation. The City typically issues a notice of violation with a compliance deadline; an over-height or non-conforming fence must be lowered, modified, or removed. Installing a fence without the required Improvement Location Permit (5.09(A)) is itself a violation. Unresolved violations can proceed to citations and ordinance-violation fines under the Carmel City Code enforcement provisions.
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