FENCE RULES – CAMPBELL (COUNTY), KENTUCKY
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Campbell County, subject to local regulations. This page applies to properties in the unincorporated areas of Campbell County; incorporated municipalities may regulate fences under their own ordinances.
Local fence rules appear primarily in the Campbell County Zoning Ordinance, especially Article XIII, Fences, Walls and Obstruction to View Regulations, and in Chapter 154 of the Campbell County Code. Related requirements also appear in the county’s building-permit handouts, floodplain-management materials, outdoor swimming pool regulations, and planning and zoning application materials.
This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s adopted materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the code does not specify one.
Compiled From the Campbell County Zoning Ordinance, Article XIII – Fences, Walls and Obstruction to View Regulations, Campbell County Code Chapters 150, 151, 152, 153, and 154, Campbell County Planning, Zoning & Building Inspections permit materials, and Campbell County floodplain-management materials as of June 2026.
GOVERNANCE
Campbell County residential fence regulation in the unincorporated county is administered through the Campbell County Fiscal Court’s land-use, zoning, building, and floodplain framework.
The Campbell County Planning, Zoning & Building Inspections Department provides zoning and building-permit administration for the unincorporated regions of Campbell County. Article XIII of the Campbell County Zoning Ordinance is the main fence-specific source, and it places fence permitting under the Zoning Administrator.
The Campbell County and Municipal Planning and Zoning Commission and the Campbell County and Municipal Board of Adjustments appear in the county’s zoning and planning structure. Overlay districts such as PUD, RCD, and RMHP may use approved development-plan conditions for fence location, type, and height.
Floodplain administration is handled by the Director of Planning and Zoning as Floodplain Administrator for Chapter 151 flood damage prevention requirements.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Zoning Permit: Campbell County’s permit matrix lists fences as requiring a Zoning permit. Article XIII also states that no fence may be erected, unless exempted or specified in the ordinance, until required fees have been paid and the necessary permits have been issued by the Zoning Administrator.
• Building Permit: The permit matrix places standard fences under the Zoning column and does not identify a separate Building permit for a standard fence. Campbell County has adopted the Kentucky Residential Code, but the county’s fence-specific permit matrix treats ordinary fence approval as a zoning-permit item.
• Zoning Permit Application Materials: The zoning-permit provisions require applications to be submitted to the Zoning Administrator’s office. Where a plot plan or development plan is required, the plan may need to show the location, type, and height of walls and fences, along with lot dimensions, setbacks, easements, utilities, drainage, and other site information when applicable.
• Overlay District Approval: In PUD, RCD, and RMHP overlay settings, the location, height, and type of all fences and walls must be as approved by the Planning Commission. The code does not publish one default fence height for those overlay areas because the approved development plan controls.
• Pool-Barrier Review: A fence or wall used as a private swimming-pool barrier is regulated under the outdoor swimming pool rules. The permit matrix lists above-ground pools as requiring Zoning review and in-ground pools as requiring Building and Zoning review, with electrical permits required when electrical features are included.
• Retaining-Wall Review: A fence placed on a retaining wall must comply with the retaining-wall/fence combination rule in Article XIII. The permit matrix states that a landscaping wall less than 4 feet in height requires no permit, an engineered wall less than 4 feet in height requires Zoning review, and an engineered wall 4 feet or more in grade requires Building and Zoning review.
• Floodplain or Stream Review: If fence work is part of development in a mapped special flood hazard area, floodway, watercourse, or stream-construction context, Chapter 151 and the county’s floodplain-management materials may require floodplain development review and any required state or federal approvals before work begins. The floodplain chapter treats a fence in, along, across, or projecting into a watercourse as a possible obstruction when it may affect water flow.
• Right-of-Way and Encroachment Review: The fence row in the permit matrix does not identify a separate encroachment permit for a standard fence. Encroachment review appears separately for projects such as a new curb cut or roadway/access work. A fence must still be kept out of locations where it would create a right-of-way, traffic-visibility, easement, or access conflict.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Property Lines: The ordinance does not state a setback requirement for standard residential fences from property lines; however, fences must be located entirely on the owner’s property and must not encroach into rights-of-way or easements.
• Front, Side, and Rear Yard Meaning: Campbell County’s zoning code defines the front yard as the area between the street right-of-way or front lot line and a line passing through the foremost point of the building. The rear yard is the area between the rear lot line and a line passing through the rearmost point of the building. The side yard is the area between the building and the side lot line, extending between the front and rear yard areas.
• Residential Fence Location Types: For ordinary residential uses in Residential zones, Campbell County separates fence locations into Type A, Type B, and Type C segments. These are location categories, not fence materials. A homeowner can read them this way:
• Type A Location: Type A applies to the most street-facing residential fence segments, including front lot-line segments along the street or right-of-way and the side lot-line portions located forward of the dwelling’s front building line. These are the more open front-yard fence locations.
• Type B Location: Type B applies to residential side-yard transition segments, including fence portions beside the dwelling between the front building line and the rear building line, and cross-fence segments that separate the open front-yard area from the more enclosed side or rear yard.
• Type C Location: Type C applies to the more enclosed rear-yard and rear-side-yard segments, including rear lot-line segments and the side lot-line portions located behind the dwelling’s rear building line.
• Corner Lots and Railroad Crossings: Fences, hedges, plantings, trees, structures, and other obstructions must preserve the required vision-clearance area at corners and railroad crossings.
• PUD, RCD, and RMHP Overlays: In PUD, RCD, and RMHP overlay areas, fence and wall location is controlled by the Planning Commission approval for that development rather than by a separate default residential fence layout.
• Floodplain, Floodway, and Watercourse Areas: In floodplain or watercourse areas, fences may be treated as obstructions or development when they affect flood flow, watercourses, fill, grading, storage, or similar conditions. Floodway encroachments and other floodplain development must satisfy Chapter 151 requirements.
• Grading, Soil Movement, and Tree Removal: Fence work that also involves stripping, excavating, filling, moving soil, tree removal, or erosion and sedimentation-control conditions may trigger the county’s excavation, grading, subdivision, or floodplain review requirements.
• Utility Safety: Kentucky law requires notice through Kentucky 811 before excavation where Kentucky’s underground utility damage-prevention law applies. For fence projects that involve digging, including fence post holes, notice must be given not less than two full working days and not more than 10 full working days before excavation begins, unless a different future start date is allowed by law. Kentucky locate requests are valid for 21 calendar days from the initial request. Kentucky law also includes exemptions, including certain agricultural tilling and certain nonmechanized excavation on private property where no operator right-of-way or easement is encroached.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• Standard Residential Fence System: For standard residential uses in Residential zones, fence height depends on the fence segment’s location type. The county uses Type A for the most street-facing front-yard segments, Type B for side-yard transition segments beside the dwelling, and Type C for rear-yard and rear-side-yard enclosure segments.
• Type A Residential Segments: Type A segments may use Class 1 masonry walls, Class 3 woven wire or chain-link fences, Class 4 wood or other materials that are more than 50% open, or Class 6 hedges. The maximum height for a Type A segment is 42 inches.
• Type B Residential Segments: Type B segments may use Class 1 masonry walls, Class 2 ornamental iron fences that are 80% open, Class 3 woven wire or chain-link fences, Class 4 wood or other materials that are more than 50% open, Class 5 solid wood or other solid fences that are less than 50% open, or Class 6 hedges. The maximum height for a Type B segment is 48 inches.
• Type C Residential Segments: Type C segments may use Class 1 masonry walls, Class 2 ornamental iron fences that are 80% open, Class 3 woven wire or chain-link fences, Class 4 wood or other materials that are more than 50% open, Class 5 solid wood or other solid fences that are less than 50% open, or Class 6 hedges. The maximum height for a Type C segment is 84 inches.
• Visibility Triangle Override: If any Type A, Type B, or Type C fence segment falls inside the required corner-lot or railroad-crossing vision-clearance area, the vision-clearance rule controls. In that triangular area, an obstruction above 36 inches as measured above curb level is not permitted.
• Vision-Clearance Triangle: The triangular vision-clearance area is formed by measuring 50 feet from the intersection of the rights-of-way lines of two streets, or from the intersection of a street right-of-way line and a railroad right-of-way line, and connecting those points with a straight line.
• Traffic Hazard Rule: No fence, structure, vehicle, tree, planting, vegetation, sign, or other obstacle may be placed or retained in a way that creates a traffic hazard or obstructs vision clearance at corners, curb cuts, or railroad crossings.
• Agriculture and River Conservation Zones: In the agriculture and river conservation fence rules, Class 2 or Class 3 fences may be used in front yards up to 96 inches, and Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, Class 4, Class 5, Class 6, or Class 7 fences or walls may be used in side and rear yards up to 96 inches.
• Retaining-Wall Combinations: For a combined fence and retaining wall, the retaining-wall portion may rise to the level of the higher finished grade, and the fence portion must stay within the class and height allowed for the applicable zone. Height is measured at and along the location of the fence and retaining wall.
• Pool Barriers: A private in-ground or above-ground swimming pool must be surrounded by a fence or wall, or the property must be surrounded by a fence or wall, with a self-closing or self-locking door or gate. The barrier must be at least 4 feet and not more than 7 feet high. For private pools, only Class 1, Class 3, Class 4, or Class 5 fences are permitted. For an above-ground pool, the pool wall itself may satisfy the wall-height portion of the requirement if it is at least 4 feet above the surrounding ground level.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Class 1: Masonry walls.
• Class 2: Ornamental iron fences that are 80% open.
• Class 3: Woven wire fences that are 80% open, and chain-link fences.
• Class 4: Wood or other materials that are more than 50% open.
• Class 5: Solid fences, wood, or other materials that are less than 50% open.
• Class 6: Hedges.
• Class 7: Barbed wire or sharp-pointed fences.
• Class 8: Earthen or concrete walls intended to contain or redirect floodwaters.
• Standard Residential Materials: For ordinary residential uses in Residential zones, the allowed material classes depend on whether the fence segment is Type A, Type B, or Type C. Type A does not list ornamental iron, solid fences, barbed wire, sharp-pointed fences, or flood-control walls as permitted materials. Type B and Type C allow solid fences but do not list barbed wire, sharp-pointed fences, or flood-control walls as permitted materials.
• Barbed Wire and Sharp-Pointed Fence Height: In zones other than A-1 and R-RE, barbed wire or sharp-pointed fences, where permitted, must start at least 60 inches above ground level.
• Flood Walls: Class 8 earthen or concrete walls are identified for agriculture and river conservation contexts and must comply with applicable Corps of Engineers and/or County Engineer requirements.
• Finished Side: The code does not specify a finished-side orientation requirement for standard residential fences.
• Electric Fences: The code does not publish a separate electric-fence standard for standard residential fences.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private restrictions operate independently from Campbell County zoning and permit requirements. These may include subdivision covenants, HOA rules, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, recorded agreements, agricultural agreements, or private boundary agreements.
A fence that satisfies Campbell County zoning requirements may still be limited by private restrictions that are more restrictive. Campbell County’s floodplain chapter also preserves more restrictive easements, covenants, and deed restrictions where those private restrictions overlap with floodplain requirements.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Zoning Permit Review: Standard fences are reviewed through the Zoning permit process identified in the county permit matrix and Article XIII.
• Residential Location-Type Review: Residential fences are reviewed by segment location. Type A street-facing front-yard segments are limited to 42 inches and only certain open or masonry/hedge classes. Type B side-yard transition segments are limited to 48 inches. Type C rear-yard and rear-side-yard segments are limited to 84 inches.
• Vision Clearance: Fences, hedges, walls, trees, plantings, and other obstructions may be reviewed where they affect the 36-inch visibility limit inside the 50-foot corner-lot or railroad-crossing vision-clearance triangle.
• Traffic Hazards: Fences may be reviewed where they obstruct vision clearance at corners, curb cuts, or railroad crossings, or where they create a traffic hazard.
• Overlay Development Plans: Fences in PUD, RCD, or RMHP overlay areas may be reviewed against the Planning Commission approval for that development.
• Pool Barriers: Fences used as pool barriers may be reviewed for the 4-foot to 7-foot height rule, permitted fence classes, and self-closing or self-locking gate requirements.
• Retaining Walls: Fence-and-retaining-wall combinations may be reviewed to separate the retaining-wall portion from the fence portion and apply the correct class and height limit to the fence portion.
• Floodplain and Watercourse Conditions: Fence work in special flood hazard areas, floodways, or watercourse locations may be reviewed under Chapter 151 and any applicable state or federal approval requirements.
• Rights-of-Way and Easements: Fence placement may be reviewed where a proposed fence would encroach into a public right-of-way, access area, drainage area, utility easement, road corridor, or other restricted location.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Campbell County, based on publicly available source materials reviewed as of June 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain Kentucky laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in Kentucky.
It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, surveys, or professional guidance. Rules and interpretations may change, and application may vary based on zoning district, site conditions, easements, rights-of-way, floodplain status, stormwater or drainage requirements, road or highway encroachment, historic district status, rural or agricultural context, livestock or farm-boundary context, pool-barrier use, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants, deed restrictions, private agreements, or agricultural conservation easements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with Campbell County Planning, Zoning & Building Inspections Department and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Campbell County staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.