Pitt County, NC Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Section 6(C)(8), Visibility at Intersections, in the Zoning Ordinance's Supplementary Dimensional Requirements, states flatly that no building, structure, wall, fence, shrub or tree may be erected, maintained or planted on any lot so as to obstruct the horizontal or vertical sight distance area at a road intersection, as that area is defined in Section 15. Section 15 supplies the numbers behind that rule: the Sight Distance Area, Horizontal is formed by extending lines 40 feet along the centerline of each intersecting road from their point of intersection and connecting the ends with a straight line, forming a triangle with two 40-foot legs.

The Sight Distance Area, Vertical is the zone between three feet and ten feet above the road grade at that same intersection point. Read together, a fence built inside that 40-foot corner triangle has to stay under 3 feet tall, or be built with open construction that keeps the 3-to-10-foot band clear, so drivers can see over or under it. The same section separately governs driveway intersections with roads, requiring a comparable horizontal and vertical sight distance easement under Section 8's driveway standards. Outside those mapped triangles, the Ordinance's 'Fence' definition in Section 15 covers wood, stone, brick, block, wire or metal barriers used for boundary or confinement, but the code text does not carry a separate numeric front, side or rear height cap for ordinary residential fences; use-specific fencing rules instead attach to particular uses, such as the 6-foot security fencing required around some industrial and swimming-pool areas.