Jacksonville Beach, FL Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Section 34-722 opens with one sentence that governs every fence in the city: all fences are required to receive approval by the planning and development department and submit for a building permit. The same opening sentence ties each fence to section 34-720, the corner visibility rule, which keeps vision clear between 2½ feet and 8 feet above the street centerline grades inside a triangle measured 15 feet from the point where the right-of-way lines meet (10 feet in the CBD).

In residential zoning districts the plan has to show permitted materials: pressure treated wood, composite wood, PVC wood, metal or masonry. Barbed wire and chainlink fences are not permitted. A residential fence tops out at 6 feet and has to sit within the property boundaries, but in a designated front yard the cap drops to 4 feet and the fence must be setback at least 2 feet from the right of way. Side and rear yard fences can reach 8 feet only if the portion above 6 feet is limited to 2 feet of lattice or slats, and chainlink never exceeds 6 feet. A fence in the rear yard of an oceanfront lot in an RS-1 district cannot exceed 3½ feet.

Commercial fences follow subsection (b): wood, masonry, chain link wire or other materials approved by the planning and development department, with barbed wire banned in residential districts. Section 34-722 also requires every fence to be kept in a good state of repair and structurally sound condition, and a fence that is not maintained can be declared a nuisance and abated under Chapter 19 of the Jacksonville Beach Code.