Volusia County, FL Fence Regulations: Neighbor Fence Rules (2026)

Section 72-282(7) sets the county's orientation rule for residential and nonresidential fences alike: the finished side, the smooth or decorative face, as opposed to the side showing structural rails, posts or bracing, must face the adjoining lot or any abutting right-of-way, not the fence owner's own yard. The rule exists to keep the unfinished, structural side of a fence from becoming the view a neighbor or passing driver is stuck looking at. It applies to any fence or wall built under section 72-282, whether it's a standard six-foot side-yard fence, an eight-foot nonresidential perimeter fence, or a residential project entry wall.

The section builds in one administrative escape valve: if the adjoining parcel already has its own fence, wall or continuous landscape hedge along that boundary, the applicant may submit a written request asking the zoning enforcement official to waive the finished-side requirement, since the neighbor's own screening already addresses the same visual concern. That waiver is discretionary, the code does not guarantee approval, and there's no separate appeal path written into this subsection beyond asking the official to reconsider. There is no requirement in this section that neighbors share the cost of a boundary fence or agree jointly before one is built; the finished-side rule is the only cross-boundary consideration section 72-282 imposes.