Madison, WI Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

142(11)(a) sets Madison's screening fence and hedge heights by yard and district. In required interior side and rear setbacks of residential districts, a screening fence or hedge tops out at six feet; an ornamental fence or hedge may run taller. Where a residential lot's side or rear line abuts a mixed-use, commercial or employment district, or sits next to a public utility or public-service use, the screening fence or hedge may rise to eight feet, the same eight-foot ceiling applies to fences around pools and to fences sited entirely within the building envelope.

Front and street side yard setbacks are far more restrictive: four feet is the general cap, though two exceptions loosen it to six feet, a fence set behind the rear plane of the principal building, or one pulled back at least four feet from the street side yard property line. Ornamental (non-screening) fences in the front yard get their own sliding scale keyed to opacity: five feet if less than 50% opaque, six feet if less than 20% opaque. Height is measured from natural or approved grade; on a lot with a retaining wall or other grade separation, the code measures from the average point between the highest and lowest grade, unless the fence sits at least four feet back from the wall.

Berms and retaining walls cannot be used to artificially inflate the measured height. The Zoning Administrator, in the Building Inspection Division of the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development, enforces these limits and reviews applications for compliance before work begins.