Lakewood, WA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

090(B)(12), let a property owner build a fence within the required yard setbacks, or right on the property line, subject to height limits that change by yard. Interior side yards and the rear yard allow a maximum of six feet, while the front yard is capped at four feet. Two carve-outs raise the front yard limit to six feet: the back half of a corner lot's front setback next to the rear lot line and rear of the structure, and any front yard fronting a principal arterial street.

090(A)(9), bars fences, hedges, or any planting from materially impeding vision between three and nine feet above grade within a triangle formed by lines twenty feet along each street from the point where two streets intersect, so drivers can see cross traffic before entering the intersection. Fences must also never obstruct the sight distance of a driveway, private street, or public street under (B)(12)(a), a rule that applies everywhere in the city regardless of yard or zone. Commercial and industrial developments get an added option: a fence can exceed six feet outright when it is part of an approved design review permit application, without the owner needing a separate variance.

Anything taller than six feet outside that design-review path needs both a variance and a building permit before it goes up, tying the height rule directly to the City's permit process rather than leaving it as an honor system.