Sioux City, IA Fence Regulations: Permit Requirements (2026)

Sioux City layers two permit tracks for fences. (1) Zoning permit / development review under Title 25: any fence subject to the Title 25 chapter 25.03 development standards requires a zoning check by the Community Development Department. The review verifies height (district-specific cap), placement (front, side, rear yard, corner sight triangle), prohibited materials (barbed wire in residential, electrically-charged fences other than invisible pet fences, junk materials), and setback from property lines or right-of-way. Application typically requires a site plan to scale showing the lot, structures, proposed fence location with distances to property lines, height, material, and the property owner's signature. (2) Building permit under Title 20 chapter 20.04: structural elements - masonry walls over four feet, retaining walls supporting a surcharge or over four feet measured from bottom of footing, and combination fence-on-wall configurations - typically trigger a building permit administered by the city Building Inspection Division. Sioux City participates in the Iowa statewide building code framework (Iowa Code ch. 103A; the State Building Code Bureau under the Department of Public Safety) for nonresidential and multi-family structures; one- and two-family residential dwellings (and accessory fences) fall under the locally-adopted Title 20 chapter 20.04 standards. The Iowa partition-fence law (Iowa Code ch. 359A, implemented locally at Sioux City Code chapter 20.48) handles cost-sharing between adjoining owners but does NOT substitute for the Title 25 zoning permit. Building/zoning approval is required regardless of whether the neighbors share cost.