Skokie, IL Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Skokie Village Code Sec. 118-61(d) sets a general fence height ceiling of 6 feet from ground level for any fence in a required yard, then carves out three exceptions. A fence in a residential zoning district is capped at 5 feet when it sits along a side lot line or in a required side yard and abuts another residentially zoned lot, protecting sightlines and light between neighboring homes. Fences can rise to 8 feet in an industrial zoning district, and that same 8-foot allowance extends to a residential lot's side or rear lot line where it abuts either an industrial district or an alley bordering an industrial district.

Within a sight distance triangle, the limit drops sharply to 30 inches from ground level, matching the broader sight-triangle rule in Sec. 118-52 that keeps the 30-to-84-inch zone clear near intersections in all districts. A Village building permit is required before any fence is constructed, installed, or replaced under Sec. 118-61(a), and fence posts and other supporting structural members must face the owner's own side or be enclosed on both sides by fencing under Sec. 118-61(b). Fences are also barred outright from front yards and corner side yards in residential districts except at schools, parks, government uses, and public utilities, or as a decorative fence approved through site plan review for a nonresidential use.

The Zoning Board of Appeals is expressly barred from granting a variance to allow a front yard fence or an increase in fence height, so relief from these limits is not available through the standard variance process.