FENCE RULES – NELSON (COUNTY), KENTUCKY
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Nelson County, subject to local regulations. This page applies to properties in the unincorporated areas of Nelson County; incorporated municipalities such as Bardstown, Bloomfield, Fairfield, and New Haven may regulate fences under their own ordinances.
Fence rules for Nelson County appear across the Joint City-County Planning Commission of Nelson County Zoning Regulations, the Planning Commission’s zoning compliance permit materials and fence checklists, the Nelson County Code Enforcement Ordinance, the Nelson County Floodplain Management Ordinance, and the Nelson County Drainage Ordinance.
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 Joint City-County Planning Commission of Nelson County zoning compliance permit materials, Zoning Regulations for Bardstown, Bloomfield, Fairfield, New Haven, and Nelson County, Kentucky, Building & Zoning Compliance Permit Application, Fences Zoning Compliance Permit Checklist, Fences – Historic District Certificate of Appropriateness & Zoning Compliance Permit Checklist, Nelson County Code Enforcement Ordinance No. 2023-009, Nelson County Floodplain Management Ordinance No. 2024-009.1, Nelson County Drainage Ordinance No. 2023-010.1, Nelson County Nuisance Ordinance, Nelson County Subdivision Regulations, and Nelson County Road Department / County Engineer right-of-way materials as of June 2026.
GOVERNANCE
Nelson County Fiscal Court is the county governing body. Planning and zoning administration is handled through the Joint City-County Planning Commission of Nelson County, which serves Nelson County and the cities of Bardstown, Bloomfield, Fairfield, and New Haven.
The Planning Commission Director and designated representatives administer and enforce the zoning regulations, including zoning compliance permits and zoning interpretation. The zoning regulations require zoning compliance permit applications to include the location, type, and height of walls, fences, and screen plantings when those items are part of the proposed work.
The Nelson County Code Enforcement Department administers the county’s adopted Kentucky Building Code and Kentucky Residential Code functions for applicable residential construction and accessory structures.
The Nelson County Engineer serves as the floodplain and drainage authority for county floodplain, stormwater, drainage, and county right-of-way review. The Nelson County Road Department and the County Engineer administer county encroachment permits for work in county road rights-of-way.
Where historic overlay zoning, landmarks, or historic districts apply, the applicable Historical Review Board and the Joint City-County Planning Commission of Nelson County administer the Certificate of Appropriateness process.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Zoning Compliance Permit: A zoning compliance permit is required for construction, alteration, addition, demolition, or placement of buildings and structures, including accessory structures such as fences 5 feet or more in height.
• Permit Application Materials: For a zoning compliance permit, the application materials require a completed application, deed or plat/survey, and a scaled site plan showing property lines, lot dimensions, existing and proposed structures, driveways, sidewalks, setbacks, the location, type, and height of walls, fences, and screen plantings, and existing or proposed easements.
• Building Permit / Inspection: Under the Kentucky Residential Code building-permit baseline, fences not over 7 feet high are exempt from the building-permit requirement. Nelson County has adopted the Kentucky Residential Code locally. The Planning Commission fence checklist routes fences over 7 feet to Nelson County Code Enforcement for building permit/inspection review after the zoning compliance permit step.
• Historic District Fences: In historic-district or landmark contexts, fence work requires historic review when it is an installation of fencing or another covered exterior/site alteration. The historic fence checklist requires a Certificate of Appropriateness for fences under 7 feet in height. For fences over 7 feet in a historic district, the checklist requires a Certificate of Appropriateness, zoning compliance permit, and building permit/inspection.
• Floodplain Permit: A development permit is required before development begins in a Special Flood Hazard Area. The floodplain ordinance defines development broadly and defines obstruction to include a fence in, along, across, or projecting into a watercourse where it may alter, impede, retard, or change the direction or velocity of water flow.
• Drainage and Stormwater Review: A Stormwater Management and Drainage Plan may be required for new single-family residential developments and may also be required before grading or excavation that would fill, obstruct, or alter a creek, channel, or drainage facility. The County Engineer determines when this review is required.
• County Right-of-Way / Encroachment Permit: An encroachment permit must be obtained before work in a county right-of-way, including fence construction or removal, drainage ditch modifications, utility work, and other construction or disturbance of the county right-of-way unless specifically excluded.
• Pool-Barrier Context: A fence used as part of a regulated swimming pool, spa, or hot tub barrier is reviewed separately from an ordinary yard fence through applicable pool, zoning, and building-code requirements.
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.
• Permit Site Plan: When a zoning compliance permit is required, the site plan must show the proposed fence location, type, height, property lines, existing and proposed easements, and the relationship of structures and improvements to front, side, and rear property lines.
• County Right-of-Way: Fence construction or removal within a county right-of-way requires an encroachment permit from the Nelson County Road Department, the County Engineer, or an authorized representative before work begins.
• Drainage Ways and Easements: County road right-of-way ditches, curbs and gutter storm drain systems, cross drain culverts, roadway drainage easements, creeks, streams, and similar drainage ways must be maintained free of silt, soil, and debris that restricts drainage flow. A fence may not be placed or maintained in a way that obstructs stormwater passage where the drainage ordinance prohibits structures or vegetation that obstruct stormwater flow.
• Stormwater Channels and Lot Lines: Where plans call for stormwater passage or storage along lot lines, the prescribed grades and contours of stormwater channels may not be changed, and no structure or vegetation that would obstruct the flow of stormwater is allowed.
• Floodplain and Watercourse Areas: In a Special Flood Hazard Area or watercourse context, a fence may require floodplain review if it is part of development or if it could function as an obstruction in, along, across, or projecting into a watercourse.
• Historic District Placement: In a historic district or landmark context, fence placement is reviewed through the Certificate of Appropriateness process. The historic fence checklist requires a site plan showing the proposed fence location and existing buildings, structures, parking areas, driveways, sidewalks, open space, and landscaped areas.
• 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
• General Residential Height Limit: The code does not specify a maximum height for standard residential fences on ordinary single-family residential lots.
• Zoning Permit Height Trigger: Fences 5 feet or more in height require a zoning compliance permit. This is a local zoning-permit trigger, not a stated maximum fence height.
• Building-Code Height Trigger: The Kentucky Residential Code building-permit exemption applies to fences not over 7 feet high. The 7-foot figure is a building-permit exemption threshold and building-inspection routing point, not a stated local maximum height.
• Historic District Height Categories: The historic fence checklist separates fence review into fences under 7 feet and fences over 7 feet. Historic-district fences under 7 feet require a Certificate of Appropriateness. Historic-district fences over 7 feet require a Certificate of Appropriateness, zoning compliance permit, and building permit/inspection.
• Street and Railroad Visibility Triangle: At the intersection of any two street or railroad right-of-way lines, the zoning regulations create a visibility triangle using a straight line connecting points 30 feet from the right-of-way intersection. Within that area, obstructions to vision are not permitted between 2.5 feet and 12 feet above the imaginary plane defined by the three points of intersection.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Standard Residential Materials: The code does not specify permitted or prohibited materials for standard residential fences on ordinary single-family residential lots.
• Finished Side / Orientation: The code does not specify a finished-side orientation rule for standard residential fences.
• Barbed Wire, Electric Fence, and Chain Link: The code does not publish a standard residential rule prohibiting or allowing barbed wire, electric fencing, chain-link fencing, or similar fence materials for ordinary single-family residential fences.
• Historic District Materials: In a historic district, the Certificate of Appropriateness checklist requires a sample of building materials and colors or a photograph or illustration of a similar fence design. The historic review process evaluates the proposed fence for compatibility with adopted historic guidelines and the historic district or landmark context.
• Drainage and Watercourse Conditions: Fence materials and construction may not create a drainage obstruction where the drainage or floodplain ordinances regulate obstruction of stormwater channels, drainage ways, floodplain areas, or watercourses.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private restrictions operate independently from county zoning and permit review. Subdivision covenants, HOA rules, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, drainage easements, access easements, and private boundary agreements may be more restrictive than Nelson County regulations.
The zoning regulations state that, where the zoning regulations conflict with existing or future private covenants or deeds, the most restrictive requirement applies. The floodplain ordinance also preserves easements, covenants, and deed restrictions and applies the more restrictive requirement where those private restrictions overlap with floodplain rules.
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: Fence construction or placement at 5 feet or more in height is reviewed through the zoning compliance permit process.
• Building-Code Review: Fences over 7 feet are routed through Nelson County Code Enforcement for building permit/inspection review under the county’s adopted building-code structure.
• Historic Review: Fence installation in a historic district or landmark context is reviewed through the Certificate of Appropriateness process.
• Visibility Review: Fence placement at street or railroad intersections may be reviewed for compliance with the 30-foot visibility triangle and the 2.5-foot to 12-foot obstruction zone.
• Right-of-Way Review: Fence construction or removal in a county right-of-way is reviewed through the county encroachment permit process.
• Drainage Review: Fence placement may be reviewed if it obstructs stormwater channels, drainage ways, county road ditches, drainage easements, creeks, streams, or other drainage facilities.
• Floodplain Review: Fence work may be reviewed by the Nelson County Engineer / Floodplain Administrator when it is development in a Special Flood Hazard Area or when a fence could function as an obstruction in a watercourse.
• Complaint-Based Zoning Enforcement: The zoning regulations allow complaints regarding alleged zoning violations, including illegal fences or illegal work being done.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Nelson 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 the Joint City-County Planning Commission of Nelson County, Nelson County Code Enforcement Department, and Nelson County Engineer / Floodplain Administrator and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Nelson County staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.