Walworth County, WI Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Under section 74-248 of the Walworth County Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 74), no zoning permit is required for essential services, residential fences per section 74-165, or an accessory structure of 100 square feet or less, except in planned campground developments. That exemption is not a blank check: the same sentence requires the fence to still meet the setback and use requirements of the ordinance, including the floodplain rules in section 74-173. The actual dimensional standards for fences sit in section 74-165(3). No fence may exceed two and one-half feet in height within the vision triangle formed at a street or alley intersection by two lines drawn 50 feet from the corner.

Outside that triangle, fences are allowed on the property line but may not exceed six feet in the side and rear yards, may not exceed six feet in the street yard, and may not sit closer than two feet to an existing right-of-way. In the shoreyard, a fence must meet the shoreyard setback except where subsection 74-174(B)(3)(h) provides otherwise. Fences along freeways may run up to ten feet on the property line. Entrance pillars are capped at six feet in height and two feet in width, and may not sit closer than two feet to a right-of-way.

Open security fencing such as woven wire or wrought iron may reach ten feet in non-residential, non-conservation districts, staying at least two feet off the right-of-way, while closed screening fences in business, industrial and park districts may also reach ten feet but must sit at least 25 feet from a right-of-way and ten feet from a property line. Agricultural fences in agricultural and conservation districts are instead regulated under Wis. ch. 90. The County Zoning Administrator, per section 74-247, enforces these standards and can require removal or correction of a noncompliant fence even though no permit was ever issued for it.