Owensboro, KY Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Front yard (residential)
- 3 ft maximum height
- Interior side yard
- 6 ft maximum height
- Interior rear yard or alley
- 8 ft maximum height
- Street side/rear yard
- 6 ft unless Board of Adjustment variance
- Industrial zones
- No height cap beyond sight triangle rules
- Barbed/electric wire
- Prohibited in residential and MHP zones
- Penalty
- $10 to $500 per conviction, each day a separate offense
Summary
In the City of Owensboro, a residential fence or wall in the front yard cannot exceed three feet, an interior side yard fence tops out at six feet, and a fence along an interior rear yard or an alley can reach eight feet under the joint Owensboro-Daviess County Zoning Ordinance. Fences along a street-side or street-rear yard are capped at six feet unless the Board of Adjustment grants a variance.
3-7(g) Walls and Fences. ... Walls and fences may be located in required yards subject to the following limitations. Support posts may exceed the fence height by a maximum dimension of one foot (1') inclusive of any terminating ornamentation or finial. ... (3)Height in Residential Zones. In residential zones, a wall or fence of not more than three feet (3') in height may be erected in any front yard, except as otherwise required by Article 17 or Article 21 of these regulations. A wall or fence of not more than six feet (6') in height may be erected within any interior side yard. A wall or fence of not more than eight feet (8') in height may be erected or maintained within any interior rear yard or rear yard adjoining an alley. A wall or fence of not more than six feet (6') in height may be erected or maintained in any rear or side yard adjoining an arterial, collector or local street, unless a variance is granted by the Owensboro Metropolitan Board of Adjustment.
Full Breakdown
Section 3-7(g) of Appendix F, the joint Owensboro-Daviess County Zoning Ordinance, sets fence and wall heights by zone type and yard location. In residential zones, a front-yard fence or wall cannot exceed three feet unless Article 17 (landscape buffers) or Article 21 (the Downtown Overlay District) requires something different. An interior side yard allows up to six feet, and an interior rear yard, or a rear yard backing an alley, allows up to eight feet. Where the rear or side yard instead adjoins an arterial, collector, or local street, height drops back to six feet unless the Owensboro Metropolitan Board of Adjustment grants a variance. Corner lots that back up to each other get extra room: their street side yards can go to six feet and street rear yards to eight feet, subject to a case-by-case sight-triangle review by the city or county engineer.
Outside industrial and residential zones, a six-foot fence is allowed in any front, side, or rear yard adjoining a street, and up to eight feet in any other rear yard; industrial zones have no height cap at all beyond sight-triangle rules. Support posts and finials may add up to one extra foot beyond the fence height limit. Every fence, regardless of height, must still satisfy the sight-distance triangle requirements of the current AASHTO geometric design standard at street and driveway intersections under Section 3-6(f), and be approved by the city or county engineer. Barbed wire and electrified fencing are both prohibited in residential and manufactured-housing-park zones.
Violations & Fines
A fence built taller than the applicable limit, or without the required sight-triangle clearance, violates the Zoning Ordinance under Section 5.6 and carries a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than five hundred dollars per conviction, with each day the fence remains noncompliant treated as a separate offense. The Zoning Administrator can order a nonconforming fence removed and, per Section 5.12, void any permit issued in conflict with the ordinance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall can my front yard fence be in Owensboro?
How tall can a backyard fence be in Owensboro?
Do corner visibility rules limit fence height in Owensboro?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Owensboro
How Owensboro compares: Cities That Allow the Tallest Residential Fences·Compare Owensboro to another location·View the Kentucky fence regulations overview
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