Sedgwick County, KS Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

The Wichita-Sedgwick County Unified Zoning Code, the joint instrument that governs land use in both the City of Wichita and the unincorporated county, sets fence and screening-wall standards under Sec. e(1)(b), the accessory-structure setback rules that apply across every zoning district, from the RR Rural Residential district down through SF-20, SF-10 and the county's other single-family classifications. The baseline rule is an eight-foot height cap, measured from the shorter side of the fence, meaning the side with less vertical exposure above finished grade. That eight-foot allowance applies uniformly whether the property sits inside Wichita or out in the unincorporated county.

A tighter rule kicks in at corners. Within the City and in those portions of the unincorporated county built along 'urban standard roads,' meaning roads with curbs and gutters rather than open ditches, any fence or screening wall that is more than 80 percent solid is capped at three feet if it sits within 20 feet of where the fence line meets the street right-of-way, or within 20 feet of a driveway's intersection with that right-of-way. The same three-foot limit applies to dense shrubbery and natural growth in that same 20-foot zone under the adjoining setback-feature rule.

The Zoning Administrator, defined in Sec. 1-2 of the Sedgwick County Code as the official who administers the UZC, reviews compliance during permit review for fences abutting a public street. Rural county roads without curbs and gutters are not swept into the three-foot corner cap by this clause, so the eight-foot general limit is the operative ceiling there. Property owners planning a fence near a county road intersection should confirm with the Metropolitan Area Building and Construction Department whether their road segment counts as an urban standard road before building past three feet at the corner.