Waynesville, MO Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Section 405.680 supplements the district-by-district area and height tables in Waynesville's zoning code with rules that apply citywide. A solid fence, wall or hedge in a front yard cannot rise above 3 feet, while an open-style fence, one that lets light and sightlines through rather than blocking them solidly, is allowed up to 6 feet in the same front yard. Corner lots carry a second, stricter limit layered on top of the front-yard cap: within the sight triangle formed by the two intersecting street lines, measured 20 feet back from their point of intersection along each line, nothing over 3 feet in height, measured from the crown of the street, may be erected, placed or maintained, whether it is a fence, wall, hedge or other structure or planting.

That triangle rule exists to keep drivers' sightlines clear at intersections and applies in every zoning district, not just residential ones. Corner lots also carry a distinct setback requirement in the same section: the required side yard on the street side of a corner lot must be 25 feet. Where a lot's odd shape or hillside grade makes the yard rules impractical to apply, § 405.680 lets the Board of Adjustment modify or determine the applicable regulations. Fences are exempted from the code's lot-coverage calculation entirely, so a fence does not count against the maximum building footprint a lot is allowed even when it sits inside a required yard.

A fence built over height, or placed inside the corner sight triangle, is enforced the same way as any other Chapter 405 zoning violation, under § 405.740's misdemeanor penalty.