Waukesha County, WI Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Sec. 02(134) defines "Structure" to include buildings, signs, pools, decks and retaining walls, but expressly states the term "does not include flag poles, mailboxes, fences, basketball hoops" and similar small items. Because fences fall outside that definition, the county's general Road Setback and Offset rules in Sec. 09 do not cap fence height on an ordinary interior or corner side yard. The exception is the Vision Setback triangle created by Sec. 09(1)(B): at a street/highway and railroad crossing the triangle runs 120 feet along each line, at intersections where a street is at least 100 feet wide it runs 60 feet, and at all other intersecting streets it runs 30 feet.

Inside that triangle, Sec. 09(1)(D) caps any structure at two feet above the elevation of the center of the intersection, but it specifically exempts "open fences through which there is clear vision," along with highway signs and utility lines, and separately bars plant material that would block sightlines. A solid privacy fence taller than two feet is not permitted inside that triangle even though it would be fine elsewhere on the same lot. A related but separate exception applies near airports: Sec. 15(3) exempts fences up to five feet from the Airport Safety Zone's general height limit on structures near runways.