Huntington, NY Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Chapter 87's fence standard at § 87-52(A) sets six feet as the town-wide as-of-right height for any freestanding fence, whether it runs along a front, side or rear lot line: the code makes no distinction by yard location, so a homeowner does not need approval to run a six-foot fence anywhere on the property. Fence posts and decorative post tops get a small allowance: they may reach six feet six inches from grade before the fence is treated as over-height. Above either threshold, a Department of Engineering Services building permit is required under § 87-52(A)(1).

The one built-in exception is deer fencing, which the Town Board added on August 11, 2021 by Local Law No. 39-2021: a deer fence can run up to eight feet tall with no permit at all, since standard six-foot fencing does not keep deer out of gardens and landscaping. Measurement itself is fixed by § 87-52(A)(2): height runs from grade to the fence's highest component, and where the fence sits on top of a retaining wall, the starting point shifts to the grade at the base of that wall, not the ground under the fence post.

Section 87-52(A)(3) adds a further rule for fences within five feet of a retaining wall that itself sits within ten feet of a property line: height there is measured to whichever is taller, the grade at the fence's own base or the base of the retaining wall. Huntington's fence-height standard is a single, unified number rather than a graduated one that shrinks in front yards, a notable design choice for the town's fence law.