Everett, WA Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Chapter 16.56 EMC, titled "Fences," carries the citywide permit rule at § 16.56.030: "A building and/or electrical permit shall be obtained, from the building department, prior to erection or re-erection of any fence." The word "re-erection" means rebuilding or substantially replacing an existing fence triggers a new permit, not just first-time construction; the rule traces back to prior code § 2.40.030, so it predates Everett's current codification. The same chapter regulates two specific fence types that also fall under this permit duty. EMC 16.56.010 bars any electric fence within city limits unless it is battery-powered (or another building-official-approved method), uses controllers approved by a nationally recognized testing lab, and carries "an 'electric fence' warning sign... posted at not more than fifty-foot intervals." EMC 16.56.020 bars barbed wire fences citywide unless the fence sits in the A-1 Agricultural Use Zone, is placed atop a woven-wire or solid wooden fence at least six feet tall for security purposes, or encloses at least twenty-two thousand square feet used solely for pasturing or sheltering permitted animals.

Enforcement authority sits with the police, not the planning department: EMC 16.56.040 states "the chief of police and/or the chief's duly authorized representative shall be the enforcing officer of this chapter." EMC 16.56.050 then ties violations of the whole chapter, including the missed-permit rule, to "the enforcement procedures established pursuant to Chapter 1.20 EMC," the city's unified code-compliance ordinance adopted by Ord. 3901-22 in 2022.