ScottsdaleAZ.Gov

Fence Heights are determined by the zoning ordinance requirements; the standards listed below are general and are intended for informational purposes only.   The City Zoning Ordinance dictates certain requirements for fence heights and locations. You must check the City Zoning Ordinance to ensure that the height and location of your fence meets these requirements. To determine the exact height restrictions for your property, submit a setback request (request for development standards).

The height of the fence is measured from the inside of the enclosure.

Front Yards

Walls, fences and hedges shall not exceed 3 feet in height on the front property line or within the required front yard in all single family districts except R1-5, except as provided in Article VII of the Zoning Ordinance.

Front Yards in R1-5 Districts

Fences a maximum of 6 feet in height are allowed provided:

1. The yard enclosed shall not include more than 33 percent of the area between the front property line and the front setback line.
2. The fence shall be set back 3 feet from the front property line.
3. Corner lots must comply with the restrictions listed below.

Front Yards in R1-7 Districts

Fences a maximum of 6 feet in height are allowed provided:

1. The yard enclosed shall not include more than 40 percent of the area between the front property line and the front setback line.
2. The fence shall be set back 3 feet from the front property line.
3. Corner lots must comply with the restrictions listed below.

Rear and Side Yards

Eight-foot fences and hedges are allowed on the property line or within the required side and rear yard.  You can build a fence up to 6-feet in height with standard construction details provided to you by the City.  Fences up to 8-feet in height may be allowed but will require engineered plans to be submitted and approved by the City.   In some districts, fences and hedges up to 12 feet are allowed subject to a sixty-foot setback from the side and rear property line; engineering plans are required.  

Corner Lots

As an aid to safe movement of vehicles at and near street intersections and in order to promote more adequate protection for the safety of children, pedestrian, operators of vehicles and for property, for proposed construction hereafter, there are limitations on the height of fences, gateways, ornamental structures, hedges, shrubbery and other fixture construction and planting on corner lots in all districts where front yards are required.

1. Such barriers to clear unobstructed vision at corners of intersecting streets shall be limited to a height of not over 2 feet above the established elevation of the nearest street line, for a distance of 25 feet along both the front and side lot lines, measured from the point of intersection, of the said intersecting lot lines.
2. Within the isosceles triangle formed as required in paragraph 1 of this section, by connecting the ends of the respective twenty-five-foot distances, all the fixtures, construction, hedges, shrubbery and other planting shall be limited to a height not over 2 feet above the elevation of the street line level at the said intersecting streets.
3. Within the said triangle, and in cases where front yards are terraced, the ground elevation of such front yards shall not exceed 2 feet above the established street line elevation at the said intersecting streets.