Goodyear, AZ Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Zoning Ordinance Section 4.3.3(A)(7) and (8) set the permit trigger in two parallel sentences: a building permit must be obtained prior to the installation of any wall that exceeds six feet in height, and a building permit must be obtained prior to the installation of any fence that exceeds six feet in height. Six feet is also the ordinary maximum allowed in a side or rear yard under Section 4.3.3(A)(4), so in practice the permit threshold lines up with the point where a residential fence would already need a height exception, a perimeter wall, a screening wall, or a taller industrial enclosure.

Height for permit purposes follows the general measuring rule in Section 4.3.2(A)(4): from the lowest adjacent grade, or from the top of the road or alley crown where that grade is higher, and from the highest adjacent grade for screening devices. A permit applicant for a wall over six feet also has to clear the structural-engineering requirement in Section 4.3.2(A)(6): non-retaining concrete block or masonry walls over six feet, measured from the inside finished grade, need structural calculations prepared by a licensed structural engineer before Development Services will approve them. Retaining walls are handled under their own separate engineering review rather than the six-foot fence and wall permit trigger in Section 4.3.3(A)(7)-(8).