Huntington, NY Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Town Code § 87-52(A)(1), part of Chapter 87's building construction article, sets the trigger point plainly: no fence over six feet tall may be built, installed, placed or modified anywhere in the Town of Huntington without a building permit issued by the Department of Engineering Services. The cap includes ornamentation: fence posts and decorative post tops may not top out past six feet six inches from grade unless a permit is on file. The rule was amended first by Local Law No. 2-2007 and again by Local Law No.

L. No. 39-2021): deer fencing up to eight feet tall is exempt from the permit requirement entirely, recognizing that garden and property deer barriers need more height than a typical yard fence. Height itself is measured from grade to the fence's highest point under § 87-52(A)(2), and where a fence sits on top of a retaining wall, the code measures from the base of that wall rather than the ground the fence post sits in, closing a gap that would otherwise let a homeowner stack a six-foot fence on a four-foot wall and call it code-compliant.

Anyone planning a fence near a retaining wall on a property line should also check § 87-52(A)(3), which sets a separate measuring rule for fences within five feet of a wall that itself sits within ten feet of the boundary. Fence permit applications go through the same Department of Engineering Services that reviews building permits generally, and the permit is required before construction, installation or modification begins, not after the fact.