Erie County has no countywide fence-height ordinance. Fence height is a zoning matter set entirely by your city, town, or village. Rules commonly cap residential fences at 6 feet, with lower limits in front yards.
New York delegates land-use and fence regulation to municipalities, not counties, so Erie County itself sets no fence-height limit. Your specific town, village, or the City of Buffalo controls the maximum height through its zoning code. Limits vary by municipality and by yard. A representative example: the Town of Amherst caps residential fences at 6 feet (8 feet where a lot abuts a nonresidential district, 12 feet enclosing a tennis court), but no fence over 3 feet may extend into a front yard. Check your municipality's zoning code for the exact figure that applies to your lot.
Enforced by the municipal building or zoning department, not the county. Penalties, stop-work orders, and removal orders follow local code.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Erie County, NY
Animal hoarding in Erie County is investigated by the SPCA Serving Erie County and prosecuted as cruelty by the Erie County District Attorney's Animal Cruelt...
Erie County, NY
The Erie County Department of Health treats improper bird and wildlife feeding as a rodent attractant and public-health nuisance and investigates complaints ...
Erie County, NY
Erie County does not license cats, but New York law requires every cat to be rabies-vaccinated, and the county Health Department runs free rabies clinics for...
Erie County, NY
Erie County sets no numeric limit on household pets. Any cap on the number of dogs or cats comes from a town, city, or village ordinance, while state law req...
Erie County, NY
Erie County imposes no countywide livestock ordinance. Keeping cattle, horses, goats, pigs, or other farm animals is controlled by each town, city, or villag...
Erie County, NY
Backyard composting is legal and encouraged in Erie County. The county has no mandate or ban on home composting; nuisance and setback details, if any, come f...
See how Erie County's height limits rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.