Greensboro, NC Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Sec. 26-8 of the Code of Ordinances bars anyone from building, erecting, constructing or maintaining a fence, steps, wall or other structure in or over a Greensboro street, street right-of-way or sidewalk. 00 fine. The ordinance carves out two paths to a lawful right-of-way fence. Encroachments that predate January 15, 1981 can stay in place if the city manager or designee determines the fence causes no public nuisance, doesn't impair a motorist's sight distance, doesn't unreasonably interfere with public use of the right-of-way, and doesn't interfere with the city's or a utility's use of the right-of-way for a public purpose, but the owner must sign a waiver assuming liability and indemnifying the city.

Anyone wanting to erect a new fence in the right-of-way after January 15, 1981 has to submit a written application to the city manager or designee; if none of the same four disqualifying conditions applies, the city issues a permit, again conditioned on an owner's liability waiver. Under either path the owner must agree to remove the encroachment on reasonable notice if a disqualifying condition later arises, and the city or a utility company can enter and remove it on 48 hours' notice for a public purpose (no notice required in an emergency), billing removal costs to the property owner.

Whether preexisting or newly permitted, no right-of-way fence can exceed six feet in height, and it must sit at least five feet from the curb, or ten feet from the pavement edge where there's no curb, with the traffic engineer authorized to force a height reduction if the fence blocks a motorist's sight line. This section addresses only the strip of land the city holds as right-of-way; fence rules for the rest of a residential lot fall under the city's separate Land Development Ordinance.