Appleton, WI Fence Regulations: Neighbor Fence Rules (2026)

Appleton's fence and wall standards sit in Sec. 23-44 of the zoning code and define a 'boundary fence' as one placed on or near the line common with an adjacent property. Height is measured at grade (with a two-inch allowance for drainage), and a boundary fence or wall tops out at six feet in residential districts and twelve feet in commercial and industrial districts; hedges are the one exception allowed to grow past that to their natural height. Between the front-yard setback line and the abutting lot lines, no boundary fence, wall, hedge or row planting may exceed three feet, protecting sightlines near the street.

Materials are also regulated: barbed wire, electric fencing and single, double or triple strand wire fences are banned everywhere except the AG, M-1 and M-2 districts, and a front-yard fence must be wood, brick, vinyl, wrought iron or stone, since galvanized chain link is barred from front yards citywide. Sec. 23-44(2)d assigns responsibility for which way a shared fence faces: the finished side must be erected to face the adjoining property, while the side with exposed posts or studs must face the lot of whoever built it, so the neighbor is not left staring at the framework.

No fence may come closer than five feet to the right-of-way line of an improved public alley, and every fence must clear the vision-corner rules in Sec. 23-50(g) near intersections. The maintenance duty in Sec. 23-44(a)(6) reaches both properties: the fence itself and the ground on both sides of it must be kept in good repair at all times, regardless of which owner built it.