North Hempstead, NY Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

2A governs fencing in every residence district. A fence cannot be located, at any point, in the area between a public or private street and the nearest effective building line, defined as the line extending a home's exterior wall to the property line; on a corner lot fronting two streets, the effective building line runs the full length of both frontages, so that lot gets no exempt front-yard fence zone. Fences must show their finished, dressed side toward the street or the neighboring property, not the structural framing.

The base height limit is four feet, but a six-foot fence is allowed in six situations: where the lot abuts a business or industrial district; where it abuts a state or county road and the home's main entrance does not face that road; where it abuts Town, county, state, village, or park-district parkland or a Nassau County recharge basin; around a swimming pool as required by § 70-102C; along the rear and side property lines, provided a side-line fence never extends forward of the front building line; and between the dwelling and the side line along the rear building line.

Hedges, privets, trees, and other plantings are not height-limited under this section, except where § 70-203C applies. That section separately forbids any wall, fence, hedge, tree, or shrub on a corner lot that obscures sightlines and creates a traffic hazard at a highway intersection, as determined by the Nassau County Police Department or the local police agency with jurisdiction. Fences erected under a Town permit before May 7, 1996 are grandfathered unless more than half the fence needs repair, at which point the repaired fence must meet the current standard. The Building Department reviews fence applications for compliance with these limits before work begins.