FENCE RULES – SHEPHERDSVILLE (CITY), KENTUCKY
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within City of Shepherdsville, subject to local regulations. For properties located outside City of Shepherdsville municipal limits, Bullitt County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.
Local fence rules appear primarily in the County/City Zoning Regulations administered through the Bullitt County Planning Commission and Administrative Official. The City of Shepherdsville Code adds separate rules for local building permits, streets and drainage, stormwater, floodplain development, property maintenance, pool barriers, and encroachments.
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 City of Shepherdsville Code of Ordinances Chapters 151, 152, 154, 155, 156, and 158; County/City Zoning Regulations for Bullitt County and the Cities of Hillview, Lebanon Junction, Mount Washington & Shepherdsville; Bullitt County Subdivision Regulations; City of Shepherdsville Building Resources, Engineering, Stormwater MS4, Floodplain Permit, and Code Enforcement materials; and Bullitt County Planning and Development materials as of June 2026.
GOVERNANCE
The City of Shepherdsville uses a shared planning and zoning framework through the County/City Zoning Regulations for Bullitt County and its participating cities. Those regulations identify the Bullitt County Planning Commission and the Administrative Official as the local zoning administration structure for zoning permits, certificates of zoning compliance, site plan review, conditional uses, variances, and enforcement of the zoning regulations.
The City of Shepherdsville Code separately governs local building permits, city streets and drainage ditches, stormwater management, flood damage prevention, property maintenance, private pool barriers, and code enforcement. The city’s planning and zoning materials route zoning maps, zoning regulations, and zoning-change matters through Bullitt County Planning and Development.
The City of Shepherdsville does not publish a single consolidated residential fence chapter. Fence rules are distributed across zoning, building-permit, right-of-way, floodplain, stormwater, subdivision, property-maintenance, and pool-barrier sources.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Building Permit: City Code §151.21(A)(1) excepts fences from the city’s local building-permit trigger for buildings or structures when construction exceeds $1,000 or affects capacity, bearing walls, or the roof. That local building-permit exception does not remove zoning, right-of-way, floodplain, stormwater, pool-barrier, subdivision, easement, or private-restriction requirements.
• Zoning Compliance: The County/City Zoning Regulations regulate fences, walls, hedges, and vegetation in yards and residential visibility areas. The regulations also establish a certificate of zoning compliance / zoning permit structure for proposed use of buildings or land, administered through the Administrative Official. The city and county materials do not publish a separate fence-only zoning permit form for ordinary residential fences.
• Encroachment / Right-of-Way Approval: A development project that approaches or connects to a City street or road may need a City encroachment permit. The City encroachment application includes categories for landscape on right-of-way/easement and structure in right-of-way/easement.
• Floodplain Review: Work in a mapped special flood hazard area is subject to Chapter 156. A development permit is required before construction or other development begins in a special flood hazard area, and the city floodplain process requires Division of Water approval before work begins.
• Stormwater / Land Disturbance: A Storm Water Quality Management Plan permit is required before land-disturbing activity that disturbs one acre or more. Chapter 154 excludes ordinary installation of a fence, sign, telephone or electric pole, and other posts or poles from the land-disturbance-activity definition. A fence that is part of a larger site-disturbing project can still fall within stormwater or construction-site review for that broader project.
• Pool Barrier: A fence used as the barrier for a private swimming pool, hot tub, or spa with water more than 24 inches deep must meet the separate pool-barrier standards in Chapter 158.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Required Front Yards: Fences and walls are permitted in required front yards, but they may not materially impede vision across the yard above 30 inches. The code does not publish a separate front-yard fence setback from property lines; however, fences must remain on private property and must not encroach into rights-of-way or easements.
• Side Yards, Rear Yards, and Other Yard Edges: Outside required front yards, fences, walls, and hedges are permitted in a yard or along the edge of the yard. The code does not state a setback requirement for standard residential fences from side or rear property lines; however, fences must remain on private property and must not encroach into rights-of-way or easements.
• Planned Unit Developments: In Planned Unit Developments requiring site plan review, the Planning Commission may permit fences, walls, or hedges above 30 inches in the front yard when the site and buildings are designed to accommodate the enclosure, or when the Planning Commission requires the enclosure as a condition of approval.
• Corner Lots and Intersections: On a corner lot in any residential district, fences, walls, vegetation, and other objects must preserve the residential intersection-visibility area described in the zoning regulations.
• Rights-of-Way and Easements: Fences, landscaping, fill, or other structures proposed in or affecting a city right-of-way or easement are handled through the city encroachment and engineering-review process. The subdivision regulations and recorded plats may also show rights-of-way, easements, property lines, and setback lines that affect fence placement.
• Drainage Ditches and City Property: The City Code prohibits encroaching upon, damaging, or altering any drainage ditch on a city street or public alley, and prohibits damaging city property. Excavation or disturbance of a city-maintained street requires the separate city excavation permit process.
• Subdivision Plats: For platted lots, subdivision documents can show easements, rights-of-way, property lines, building setback lines, and protective covenants. The subdivision regulations also require proper sight lines at street intersections and a clear sight triangle free of shrubs, structures, signs, and other visual obstructions.
• Floodplain / Stream Encroachment: In special flood hazard areas where Chapter 156 applies, development is subject to floodplain permitting. For streams without established base flood elevation data or floodways, Chapter 156 restricts encroachments, including fill material or structures, unless engineering certification shows the cumulative effect will not increase the base-flood water-surface elevation by more than one foot at any point within the community.
• 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 Height: The code does not specify a general maximum height for standard residential fences outside the required-front-yard visibility rule, Planned Unit Development site-plan conditions, pool-barrier standards, floodplain or stormwater constraints, and private restrictions.
• Required Front Yard Height / Vision Limit: In any required front yard, fences and walls may not materially impede vision across that yard above 30 inches.
• Residential Corner-Lot Visibility: On a corner lot in any residential district, nothing may be erected, placed, planted, or allowed to grow in a way that materially impedes vision between 2.5 feet and 10 feet above the centerline grades of the intersecting streets. The regulated area is measured from the intersecting street centerlines for 90 feet from their point of intersection, with a diagonal line joining the endpoints. Existing tree branches must not be closer than 6 feet to the ground.
• Pool Barrier Height: Private swimming pools, hot tubs, and spas containing water more than 24 inches deep must be surrounded by a fence or barrier at least 48 inches high, measured from the side of the barrier away from the pool.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Standard Residential Materials: The code does not specify standard residential fence materials, finished-side orientation, or opacity requirements outside the required-front-yard visibility rule, pool-barrier standards, and any site-plan, subdivision, easement, or private restrictions that apply to the property.
• Fence and Wall Maintenance: Fences and walls are treated as accessory structures under the property-maintenance code and must be maintained structurally sound and in good repair.
• Exterior Fence Surfaces: Exterior surfaces, including fences, must be maintained in good condition. Wood surfaces other than decay-resistant woods must be protected from the elements and decay by painting or another protective covering or treatment; metal surfaces subject to rust or corrosion must be coated to inhibit rust and corrosion.
• Pool Gates and Barriers: Gates and doors in pool barriers must be self-closing and self-latching. If the self-latching device is at least 54 inches above the bottom of the gate, the release mechanism must be on the pool side of the gate. Self-closing and self-latching gates must close and latch when released from an open position of 6 inches from the gatepost. Existing pool enclosures may not be removed, replaced, or changed in a way that reduces their effectiveness as a safety barrier.
• Drainage and Site Condition: Fences must not be placed or maintained in a way that obstructs required drainage ways, city drainage ditches, public ways, or traffic visibility.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private restrictions operate independently of City of Shepherdsville and Bullitt County public regulations. HOAs, subdivision covenants, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, recorded plat notes, private boundary agreements, and similar private documents may impose stricter fence limits than the public code.
The zoning regulations recognize that more restrictive private deed restrictions or private covenants can control where they impose higher standards. The subdivision regulations also treat protective covenants and easements as part of the recorded subdivision context.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Building-Permit Exception: The city building-permit section expressly excepts fences from the local building-permit trigger in §151.21(A)(1), but zoning, right-of-way, floodplain, stormwater, pool-barrier, subdivision, easement, and private restrictions can still apply.
• Front-Yard Visibility: Fences or walls in a required front yard that materially impede vision above 30 inches are within the zoning fence rule.
• Residential Corner Lots: Fence, wall, hedge, tree, or vegetation placement that blocks the required corner-lot visibility area between 2.5 feet and 10 feet above centerline grade can be reviewed under the residential intersection-visibility rule.
• Rights-of-Way and Easements: Fences, landscaping, fill, or structures in a city right-of-way or easement can trigger the encroachment and engineering-review process.
• Drainage and Public Ways: Fences that obstruct drainage ways, city drainage ditches, sidewalks, streets, alleys, public ways, driveways, or traffic visibility can be reviewed under the City Code and property-maintenance provisions.
• Floodplain and Stream Conditions: Fence-related construction, fill, obstruction, or other development in a special flood hazard area can trigger Chapter 156 floodplain review, including development-permit and engineering-certification requirements where applicable.
• Stormwater / Site Disturbance: Ordinary fence-post installation is excluded from the Chapter 154 land-disturbance-activity definition, but a larger project disturbing one acre or more or involving site-disturbing construction activity can be reviewed under Chapter 155 and the city’s MS4 process.
• Pool Barriers: A fence used as a pool, hot tub, or spa barrier is reviewed under the separate Chapter 158 pool-barrier requirements, including the 48-inch barrier height and self-closing, self-latching gate standards.
• Maintenance: Existing fences and walls can be reviewed when they are not structurally sound, not in good repair, or create exterior-property, drainage, obstruction, or safety issues.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within City of Shepherdsville, 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 Bullitt County Planning and Development and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from City of Shepherdsville staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.