Bellingham's Title 20 Land Use Code regulates fence height, location, and the vision clearance triangle, but does not impose a cost-sharing requirement on adjoining neighbors and does not include a 'finished side' rule. The City of Bellingham Permit Center publication 'Fences, Walls and Hedges' explains that fence height limits in BMC 20.30.110 apply within a required yard and that the property owner is responsible for confirming boundaries. Boundary disputes and shared-fence cost-sharing between neighbors are governed by Washington State common law and statutes (including RCW 16.60 fencing of livestock), not by the Bellingham Municipal Code.
BMC 20.30.110 (Fences) sets height and location standards for fences in a required yard and provides an administrative exception path through the planning and public works directors. Neither BMC 20.30.110 nor BMC 20.12.060 (Vision Clearance Triangle) imposes a neighbor cost-sharing, notice, or partition-fence obligation. Bellingham has no municipal good-neighbor ordinance assigning the finished side of a fence to one neighbor. The City of Bellingham Permit Center handout 'Fences, Walls and Hedges' provides procedural guidance to property owners but does not arbitrate private boundary disputes. Property line determination is the owner's responsibility, generally through a Washington licensed land surveyor. Washington State law (including RCW 16.60 fencing of livestock and common-law trespass and boundary doctrines) governs shared-fence and encroachment disputes between neighbors. The Bellingham Permit Center can be reached at (360) 778-8300 (210 Lottie Street) for questions about Title 20 compliance; private disputes are resolved through civil action.
A fence placed beyond the property line is a private trespass that the City does not enforce; a court can order removal. A fence over the BMC 20.30.110 height limits, or over 36 inches inside the BMC 20.12.060 vision clearance triangle, is a code violation enforceable by the City regardless of neighbor agreement. Failure to obtain an administrative exception before exceeding the height limit is non-compliant with Title 20.
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