Clinton Township, MI Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Section 1472.02 of the Codified Ordinances bars installing, erecting, or maintaining a fence except in strict compliance with Chapter 1472, and requires a permit from the Clinton Township Building Department before any fence goes up. Section 1472.05 spells out what an application needs: a general plan showing the fence's location, a written statement of height, width, type and construction method, the materials to be used, and the permit fee set by Township Board resolution. The Building Department also reviews and approves the grade for the bottom line of the fence, and can require an owner to submit engineer- or surveyor-prepared elevation grades if the existing topography isn't workable.

Height is capped at four and one-half feet under Section 1472.03(f), though obscuring fences can go higher if the Building Department finds the added height won't endanger public health, safety or welfare, and fences in industrial or commercial districts may exceed that height for functional reasons. Corner-lot obscuring fences can't sit closer than ten feet to a side-street right-of-way, and a required sight triangle must stay clear of obscuring plantings over eighteen inches. No fence may stand in the front yard closer to the street than the front building line.

Owners facing undue hardship can seek a special permit or, on appeal, a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals under Section 1472.06, paying the same fee as any other variance under the Chapter 209 Fee Schedule; the ZBA must decide within forty-five days of a complete application. Fences around private pools must independently meet the state building code's pool-enclosure rules.