Apple Valley, MN Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

The permit trigger sits in § 155.351(A) of the Apple Valley Code of Ordinances, the fence section of the zoning chapter enforced by the City of Apple Valley in Dakota County, Minnesota. The trigger is height: a fence, wall or similar barrier in excess of seven feet, measured from the ground to the top of the fence, needs a permit before anyone constructs or causes it to be constructed. The measurement skips a two-inch ground clearance, so a fence raised off the dirt by that gap is measured from the ground without counting the gap. The section applies to persons, firms and corporations alike, so a contractor building for an owner is covered just as the owner is.

Height limits in the same section decide how often the seven-foot line matters. In residential districts that are not farms, § 155.351(D) caps a boundary line fence at 3½ feet, with exceptions: fences up to eight feet on the side property line from the rear lot line to the front setback line of the principal building, and up to eight feet along a rear property line that is also the rear line of an abutting lot or that abuts a street right-of-way. Corner lots have their own limit: fences within 30 feet of the intersecting curb line are subject to § 155.335. A residential fence built to the eight-foot maximum therefore crosses the seven-foot permit line. In business, industrial and institutional districts, § 155.351(E) limits property line fences to eight feet unless the City Council permits more, and § 155.351(G) lets the City Council permit special purpose fences, such as the Zoological Garden perimeter fence, after making findings that the fence is necessary to protect, buffer or improve the premises.

Once a permit is required, § 155.351(B) also lets the building inspector demand a survey by a registered land surveyor to establish the property boundary before the fence goes up. Any fence that needs a building permit must meet the Minnesota State Building Code, so the inspection follows the state code as well as the city zoning rules.