Kenosha County, WI Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required
- Most fences, §12.19.010
- Snow fence exemption
- ≤4 ft, removed May 1-Nov 1 each year
- Decorative fence exemption
- ≤2 ft in any district
- Agricultural fence exemption
- A-1 to A-4 districts, within ROW
- Finished-side rule
- Must face the neighboring property
- Pool fences
- Governed separately, §12.20.070
- Enforcing agency
- Division of Planning Operations
Summary
In Kenosha County's unincorporated towns, most new, moved, or rebuilt fences need a zoning permit under Section 12.19.010, except the specific exempt fence types listed in Section 12.19.020, such as small decorative fences and seasonal snow fences.
No fence, except those fences provided for in section 12.19.020, shall hereinafter be located, directed, moved, reconstructed, extended enlarged, converted or structurally altered without a zoning permit and without being in conformity with the provisions of this Ordinance, and State Statutes and the Wisconsin Administrative Code. The fence shall also meet all the structural requirements of local and State codes. All fences shall be constructed in a manner that the finished side of the fence faces the neighboring property.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 37 (2026), passed March 17, 2026).
Full Breakdown
010 bars locating, moving, reconstructing, extending, enlarging, converting or structurally altering any fence "without a zoning permit and without being in conformity with the provisions of this Ordinance, and State Statutes and the Wisconsin Administrative Code," and requires the fence to meet all state and local structural codes. It also sets an orientation rule: the finished side of the fence must face the neighboring property, not the fence owner's own yard. 020 lists what doesn't need that permit, provided the fence doesn't block traffic visibility: snow fences up to 4 feet made of wood pickets bound by wire or plastic mesh, which must come down between May 1 and November 1 each year and cannot extend past the highway right-of-way; decorative fences no taller than 2 feet in any district; agricultural fences in the A-1 through A-4 districts, so long as they stay within the highway or road right-of-way; and wire-strand agricultural fences placed in the shore yard, the 100-year floodplain, or the C-1 Lowland Resource Conservancy District.
070 rather than the general fence rules. Permit applications go through the Division of Planning Operations, the same office that administers accessory-building and pool permits under Chapter 12.
Violations & Fines
Installing, moving, or rebuilding a fence without the required permit, or in a way that violates Section 12.19.010's finished-side rule, exposes the property owner to the ordinance's general penalty under Section 12.53.010: a forfeiture of $10 to $500 per violation plus prosecution costs, with each day of continued noncompliance a separate offense and unpaid forfeitures defaulting to up to 30 days in the county jail. Citations may be issued by the Planning and Development Director, Administrator, or authorized deputies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all fences in Kenosha County need a permit?
Which side of the fence has to face my neighbor?
Is a snow fence around my driveway permit-exempt year-round?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kenosha County
Compare Kenosha County to another location·View the Wisconsin fence regulations overview
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