Bernalillo County, NM Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Section 22.B.3 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance sets the countywide fence and wall height cap: "A wall or fence may be built within the required setback, provided it does not exceed eight feet in height and does not in the opinion of the Zoning Administrator create a traffic hazard at intersections of streets and driveways." That eight-foot ceiling applies inside any zone's front, side, or rear setback unless a more specific rule lowers it.

Section 19 layers a stricter rule onto the boundary between land uses: "In a nonresidential zone, a solid wall or a solid fence at least six feet high shall be erected on sides abutting a single family residential zone, except for those sides abutting public right-of-way." The same section lets the Zoning Administrator approve an alternate landscaping plan only if a six-foot wall or fence still runs along the residential boundary, and it caps buffer vegetation inside the sight triangle at three feet, so a hedge cannot substitute for lost visibility, and it repeats the six-foot fence-or-wall requirement wherever a landscaping strip sits next to a parking area.

Corner lots carry an additional, separate duty under section 4.G: "Unobstructed vision clearance for traffic safety shall be maintained by the property owner or occupant on all corner lots regardless of the zone classification with reference to any building, sign, fence, ornament, hedge, shrub, tree, display, or other obstruction, but not including existing buildings." The Bernalillo County Technical Standards define the exact sight-triangle dimensions at each intersection or driveway, and a fence or wall built inside that triangle is a violation even where it meets the general height cap everywhere else on the lot. The Zoning Administrator, not a self-certifying homeowner, decides whether a proposed eight-foot wall creates a traffic hazard at a street or driveway intersection.