Apex regulates fence location, height, and finish under UDO Sec. 8.2.7 but does not impose a cost-sharing requirement on neighbors. Section 8.2.7.A.2 requires the finished side of a fence to face an adjacent property or public right-of-way, except in the Downtown Festival District where the side facing an alley may be unfinished. Per the Town's published FAQ, 'your fence can be placed up to, but not on or over your property line,' and Apex does not survey property lines or arbitrate private boundary disputes. Boundary, cost-sharing, and partition issues are private civil matters governed by North Carolina common law.
The Apex UDO addresses the appearance side of fences directly: Sec. 8.2.7.A.2 reads 'All fencing shall be finished on the side facing a public right-of-way or adjacent properties, except within the Downtown Festival District where the side facing an alley may be unfinished.' The Town of Apex Planning Department FAQ states that 'your fence can be placed up to, but not on or over your property line' and recommends 'leaving some room between your property line and your fence for maintenance purposes.' For residential fences along major or minor thoroughfares, Sec. 8.2.7.C.2 requires visual interest 'through changes in fence setbacks or materials, or through the use of decorative posts with finials, or through the use of plants spaced every 20 feet on the side of the fence or wall facing the public thoroughfare. Plantings shall not be planted within the public right-of-way.' Apex does not have a municipal partition-fence statute or a mandatory neighbor cost-sharing requirement; under North Carolina common law (Chapter 1 of the NCGS, action for trespass; Chapter 47 for boundary instruments), disputes about shared fences, encroachment, and maintenance costs are pursued privately. Property line determination is the responsibility of the owner, typically through a North Carolina licensed land surveyor; the Town of Apex does not perform surveys.
Erecting a fence with the unfinished side facing a neighbor or right-of-way (outside the Downtown Festival District alley exception) violates UDO Sec. 8.2.7.A.2. Building over a property line is a civil trespass that the Town does not enforce, but a court can order removal. A residential thoroughfare-facing fence that lacks the required visual interest required by Sec. 8.2.7.C.2 can be cited by the Planning Department.
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Apex, NC
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