Phoenix limits fences and freestanding walls in a required front-yard setback to 40 inches, and allows up to 6 feet within or bounding a rear or side yard. Walls up to 8 feet are allowed along side and rear yards abutting an arterial street or as freeway noise-mitigation walls.
Phoenix Zoning Ordinance Section 703.A governs fence and wall heights in residential districts. Fences in a required front-yard setback are limited to 40 inches; in a Historic Preservation Overlay District front-yard fences may not exceed 3 feet and require a certificate of appropriateness under Section 812. Fences located within or bounding a rear or side yard may reach 6 feet. Exceptions allow a 54-inch fence in a front yard adjacent to an arterial street (subject to a use permit), an 8-foot solid wall for developments subdivided after May 2, 2008 that share a property line with undeveloped non-residential land, and freeway noise-mitigation walls exceeding 703.A.2 limits where an approved Freeway Mitigation Specific Plan applies. Height is measured from the higher of the adjacent finished grade elevations, averaged perpendicular within 50 feet of the fence.
Fences exceeding zoning height limits are zoning violations enforced by the Planning and Development Department and Neighborhood Services. The city may issue a notice of violation and require the fence be lowered or removed; uncorrected violations can lead to civil/criminal code-enforcement action under the Phoenix City Code.
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