Olympia, WA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

OMC 18.40.060(C) sets fence heights for the City of Olympia by yard. For fencing, the front yard is the first 10 feet of any lot, tract or parcel that abuts a public street or right of way, excluding alleys, and a corner lot has a front yard plus a flanking side yard. Inside a required yard the limits are 48 inches (4 feet) in the front yard, 72 inches (6 feet) in side yards and flanking side yards, 72 inches in rear yards, and 30 inches (2 feet 6 inches) in the clear sight triangle. Height is measured to the top of the fence, excluding posts, from the high point of the adjacent final grade. Pillars, posts and similar features can project a maximum of two feet above maximum fence height.

Other numbers in the same subsection matter. Legally established agricultural uses can build rear and side yard fences to eight feet, and a front yard fence around a defined garden bed can also reach eight feet, but both must use deer fence-type material and cannot be chain link or chicken wire. Hedges are capped at 48 inches in the front yard and are unlimited in side and rear yards. Front yard fences around common areas such as open space and stormwater tracts must be a minimum of 25 percent unobstructed. No closed gate, garage door or bollard can obstruct a driveway within 20 feet of a street right-of-way.

The clear sight triangle applies to corner building sites in districts that require a front and side yard (OMC 18.40.060(B)), with standards tied to Chapter 4 of the Engineering Design and Development Standards of the City. The Department can approve an administrative exception to maximum fence height where five listed conditions all exist, including that the exception is the minimum necessary.