Pontiac, MI Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Zoning Ordinance Section 4.103, Fences or Walls, sets height limits by district and yard type. In residential districts (subsection A), decorative, non-opaque front or side-street-yard fences, such as wood picket or wrought-iron-appearing fences, cannot exceed four feet measured above immediate ground level; rear or interior side-yard fences that are decorative, concealing, or opaque cannot exceed six feet. Fences may sit in any required or non-required yard, but barbed wire and other similar hazardous materials are prohibited outright in residential districts. In the M-1, M-2 and IP-1 industrial districts (subsection B), front-yard decorative fences top out at three feet, while side, rear and non-required front yards allow walls or fences up to eight feet.

Mixed use districts (subsection C) cap front-yard decorative fences at three feet and side/rear fences at six feet, with a separate six-foot cap on the wall plane between a building's facade and the street. General requirements in subsection D apply citywide: fences within 200 feet of a residential district must be wood, brick, masonry, wire mesh, or metal bars no thicker than one and one-half inches in diameter (or another material the building official approves); no fence may be erected inside a corner clear-vision area under Section 2.303; and fences must be oriented with their finished side facing outward toward adjacent parcels or the street. Concrete block for screening walls is permitted only in rear yards.