Washington County, MN Fence Regulations: Neighbor Fence Rules (2026)

5(2)(A) of the Development Code, applicable within the Shoreland Management Overlay District and the St. Croix River Management Overlay District, sets three neighbor-facing rules for fence placement. Item 6 allows fences to be placed along a property line "provided no physical damage results to abutting property," which is the operative boundary-fence rule: a landowner may build to the line but bears responsibility for damage the fence or its construction causes next door. Item 2 requires the finished, or face, side of the fence to point toward the abutting property, so the neighbor sees the finished side rather than the structural framing or posts.

Item 5 lets the Zoning Administrator require a Certificate of Survey to pin down the property line before construction begins whenever that line is not clearly defined, which prevents a fence from being built based on a guess about where the boundary sits and later found to encroach. Item 3 separately bars building any fence on public right-of-way, and Item 4 requires that fences not block a driveway's sightline to the road. These standards apply inside the two overlay districts; boundary fence disputes elsewhere in the county, including cost-sharing between neighbors, fall under the applicable township ordinance or Minnesota's general partition fence law rather than this county section.