FENCE RULES – SOMERSET (CITY), KENTUCKY
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within City of Somerset, subject to local regulations. For properties located outside City of Somerset municipal limits, Pulaski County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.
Local fence rules appear primarily in the Somerset Zoning Regulations, including the provisions for yards, intersection visibility, historic overlay review, flood plain districts, landscape requirements, development plans, and zoning administration. Building-code administration is handled through the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction – Building Inspection Division, and stormwater/EPSC issues appear in the City’s Storm Water Management Ordinance and building permit 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 Somerset Zoning Regulations, City of Somerset Building Permit Application, Ordinance No. 20-07, City of Somerset Storm Water Management Ordinance, and City of Somerset Subdivision Regulations as of June 2026.
GOVERNANCE
The City of Somerset regulates residential fences through a combination of zoning, building-inspection, stormwater, subdivision, and overlay rules rather than through a single consolidated fence code.
The Somerset Zoning Regulations are administered by the Administrative Official designated by the Somerset City Council. The Planning (Zoning) Commission reviews development plans and administers zoning functions assigned by the ordinance. The Board of Adjustment handles administrative review, conditional-use permits, and dimensional variances where applicable.
The Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction – Building Inspection Division administers the City’s building permit application process. Ordinance No. 20-07 adopts the Kentucky Building Code and Kentucky Residential Code for City enforcement.
The Storm Water Management Ordinance is administered by the City of Somerset as the approving, issuing, and enforcement agency for stormwater and EPSC matters. The Board of Architectural Review and Historic Preservation Officer administer Certificate of Appropriateness review in an H-1 Historic District Overlay.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Local Structure Permit Language: The Somerset Zoning Regulations define a building permit as a document issued by the Administrative Official authorizing the construction of structures, uses of land and structures, and the characteristics of the use. The ordinance defines structure to include walls and fences, and states that no building or other structure may be erected, moved, added to, or structurally altered without a permit issued by the Administrative Official.
• Kentucky Residential Code Context: Ordinance No. 20-07 adopts and enforces the Kentucky Building Code and Kentucky Residential Code locally. Under the Kentucky Residential Code building-permit baseline, fences not over 7 feet high are exempt from a building permit. That building-code exemption is not a local maximum fence height and does not remove the City of Somerset’s zoning permit language for structures, nor the zoning, visibility, historic, floodplain, stormwater, easement, subdivision, or private-restriction controls described on this page.
• Historic Overlay Approval: In an H-1 Historic District Overlay, a Certificate of Appropriateness is required before any new construction, exterior change, or demolition of all or part of any building, structure, or sign on protected premises. The Board of Architectural Review or Historic Preservation Officer may review the application depending on the type of work.
• Stormwater / EPSC Review: The City’s Storm Water Management Ordinance regulates land disturbance activities. Installation of a fence, sign, telephone pole, electric pole, or other post is exempt from obtaining an EPSC permit unless the Enforcement Agency determines that the activity is a problem. Fence projects that are part of broader grading, drainage, construction, fill, or land-disturbance work may fall under the City’s stormwater review framework.
• Subdivision and Plat Controls: For lots within recorded subdivisions or approved development plans, subdivision regulations, easement notes, drainage easements, utility easements, and final plat restrictions may control where a fence can be placed.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Yards and Yard Edges: The Somerset Zoning Regulations allow fences, walls, and hedges in any required yard or along the edge of any yard, as long as they do not obstruct required visibility at intersections.
• Property-Line Placement: 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.
• Corner and Intersection Areas: Fence placement near street intersections must preserve the visibility area described in the zoning ordinance. The visibility rule applies in all districts except the Central Business District.
• Easements and Recorded Plats: Subdivision final-plan language may reserve easements for utilities, drainage, access, or other public or private purposes. Where a recorded plat reserves an easement and states that no structure, tree, or obstruction may be placed in that easement, a fence must stay out of that restricted easement area.
• Stormwater and Drainage Areas: Fence work that is limited to installation of fence posts is exempt from EPSC permitting unless the City determines the activity is a problem. Fence work connected with grading, fill, drainage changes, stormwater facilities, floodplain conditions, or broader construction activity may be reviewed under the City’s stormwater or development-plan rules.
• Historic Overlay Properties: In an H-1 Historic District Overlay, a fence that qualifies as new construction or an exterior change to a structure requires Certificate of Appropriateness review before work begins.
• Floodplain and Floodway Areas: The zoning ordinance includes a Flood Plain District and states that buildings in that district are approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission. In agricultural-area provisions, the ordinance also states that buildings or structures may not be placed in a floodway and may not be constructed in the 100-year floodplain in a way that increases flood heights or obstructs floodwater.
• 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
The Somerset Zoning Regulations do not specify a general maximum height for standard single-family residential fences.
The 7-foot figure in the Kentucky Residential Code is a building-permit exemption threshold for fences not over 7 feet high. It is not stated by the City as a local maximum fence height.
• Intersection Visibility Triangle: Except in the Central Business District, within the triangular area formed by the intersection of two street right-of-way lines, or street and railroad right-of-way lines, and a straight line connecting points 40 feet from that intersection, obstructions to vision are prohibited between 2½ feet and 10 feet above the defined plane. Necessary retaining walls are not prohibited by this visibility rule.
• Yard-Based Height: The code does not specify a separate front-yard, side-yard, or rear-yard maximum height for ordinary residential fences.
• Subdivision Agricultural Boundary Fence: For a residential subdivision adjoining land actively used for agricultural purposes, the subdivision regulations require a diamond mesh wire fence with four-foot posts along the boundary unless the owner of the agricultural property agrees to an exemption. The Planning Commission may still require the minimum fence where necessary for public health, safety, and welfare.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
The code does not specify permitted or prohibited materials for ordinary single-family residential yard fences.
The code does not specify a finished-side requirement, a chain-link restriction, a wood-only requirement, a residential opacity limit, or a standard residential maintenance orientation rule for ordinary single-family residential fences.
• Landscape Buffers: In required landscape-buffer contexts, the zoning ordinance allows a hedge, fence, wall, or earth mound as part of the required buffer and includes opacity and sight-triangle limits for landscape materials. These buffer standards apply to the specific development, zoning, or buffering situations described in the ordinance and are not stated as a general material rule for every single-family fence.
• Agricultural-Boundary Subdivision Fence: Where the subdivision agricultural-boundary requirement applies, the required fence is a diamond mesh wire fence with four-foot posts, unless an approved exemption or agreement applies.
• Historic Overlay Materials: In an H-1 Historic District Overlay, exterior work is reviewed for compatibility with the historic district or landmark. Fence materials or design may therefore be reviewed through the Certificate of Appropriateness process when the fence is part of regulated new construction or exterior change.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private restrictions operate independently from City fence rules. HOAs, subdivision covenants, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, maintenance agreements, private drainage easements, agricultural agreements, and recorded plat notes may be more restrictive than the City’s published zoning standards.
The Somerset Subdivision Regulations distinguish between restrictions that are part of an approved subdivision or development plan and private deed restrictions or covenants that are not included in an approved plan. Private restrictions that are not included as part of an approved subdivision or development plan are not treated as Planning Commission enforcement items, but they may still control the property privately.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Permit Intake: A fence may be reviewed where the City treats it as a structure under the zoning ordinance’s permit language.
• Kentucky Residential Code Exemption: Fences not over 7 feet high fall within the Kentucky Residential Code building-permit exemption baseline, but that exemption does not remove separate local zoning, site, historic, stormwater, floodplain, easement, or subdivision controls.
• Yard Placement: Fences, walls, and hedges are allowed in required yards and along yard edges, but they must comply with intersection-visibility rules.
• Visibility Conflicts: Fences near intersections may be reviewed if they obstruct the required visibility area between 2½ feet and 10 feet within the 40-foot right-of-way triangle.
• Historic Overlay Review: A fence in an H-1 Historic District Overlay may require a Certificate of Appropriateness where it is new construction or an exterior change to a structure.
• Floodplain and Floodway Conditions: Fence-related structures in floodplain or floodway contexts may be reviewed where they affect flood heights, floodwater flow, or mapped floodplain conditions.
• Stormwater and Drainage: Fence-post installation is exempt from EPSC permitting unless the City determines the activity is a problem. Broader grading, fill, drainage, or construction work connected with a fence may trigger stormwater review.
• Subdivision and Easement Restrictions: Recorded plats, utility easements, drainage easements, and subdivision notes may restrict fence placement or prohibit structures and obstructions in easement areas.
• Agricultural-Boundary Subdivision Conditions: Residential subdivision development adjoining active agricultural land may include the required diamond mesh wire fence with four-foot posts unless an approved exemption applies.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within City of Somerset, 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 City of Somerset Administrative Official and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from City of Somerset staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.