Franklin Township, PA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Franklin Township's fence height standard, § 22-725 of the Subdivision and Land Development ordinance, was added by Ordinance 2011-11 in 2011 and sits in Part 7, Site Design Standards. Unless another provision specifies otherwise, a fence or freestanding wall located within any required front yard is capped at 48 inches. The Township allows a taller fence in the same front yard, up to six feet, if the fence or wall (or a combination of both) is built with an opacity of 60% or less, meaning enough of the structure is open rather than solid.

The 48-inch cap and the six-foot exception apply specifically to 'a fence or freestanding wall, not including retaining walls,' so retaining walls are addressed separately in the same section. Because § 22-725 only speaks to the front yard, it does not itself set a numeric ceiling for fences in side or rear yards; property owners with height questions for those yards, or for corner-lot sight-distance issues, need to check the Township's other site-design standards in Chapter 22 rather than assume this section covers them. The rule applies Township-wide, across the AR, LDR, MDR, HDR and other zoning districts, since it is a subdivision and land development standard rather than a district-specific zoning limit.