Bryan, TX Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Bryan sets residential fence height by where the fence stands, not by what it is made of. City Code § 130-37(b)(6) applies in any residential district and reaches the required front setback of a single-family, townhouse, duplex, or patio home lot. Inside that setback, the measuring point is the adjacent paved street surface. A fence, a screening wall, or a combination of berms and fences or screening walls placed 25 feet or less from that pavement cannot exceed 36 inches. The same structure placed more than 25 feet from the pavement can reach six feet. Because the rule counts a berm and fence combination as one barrier, piling soil under a fence does not buy extra height: the berm and the fence are measured together against the same limit.

Subsection (b)(7) covers the rest of the lot. Where a fence is erected to the rear of the minimum required front setback line, it cannot exceed eight feet in height above the grade of the adjacent property. That puts the Bryan backyard ceiling two feet above the six-foot ceiling for the outer part of the front setback, and 60 inches above the 36-inch ceiling nearest the street.

Other parts of § 130-37 sit next to these limits. Screening fences between zoning districts must be not less than six feet or more than eight feet high under (b)(5)(c), and screening regulations apply only when a full site plan review is required for nonresidential or multifamily development under § 130-37(a). A wall or fence of not less than 54 inches with a self-latching gate at all entrances must enclose a swimming pool area or surrounding yard area under (b)(8). Under subsection (c), a screening fence must be maintained by replacing or repairing dead, loose, damaged, or missing materials within 30 days after notification by the zoning official.

Section 130-37 itself prescribes numeric height limits and screening standards rather than a fee schedule or application form for an ordinary residential fence. The one permit it names is the outdoor storage permit, which the site development review committee can grant for exceptions to screening and landscaping requirements under (b)(3).