Tooele fence rules and permits

A plain-English guide for Tooele, Utah homeowners. Always confirm with the city before work starts. Rules change.

Do you need a permit?

Depends. Tooele City code 7-2-12 says a building permit is required for any fence or wall over 6 feet high and for any retaining wall over 1 foot high. Confirm what your fence needs with the Tooele City Building Department before you build.

Who to ask: Tooele City Building Department (website)

The rules

• In front yards, solid (view-obscuring) fences, walls and hedges cannot be taller than 3 ft. Open (non-view-obscuring) ones can be 4 ft.
• In a required rear yard or interior side yard, fences, walls and hedges can be up to 8 ft.
• On a corner lot, a rear yard fence next to a public street or a neighbor's front yard is limited to 6 ft.
• A side-yard fence on a corner lot next to a street can be up to 6 ft, but it cannot go into the required front yard or the clear vision area, and the building inspector can rule it a sight hazard.
• Corner lots have a clear vision triangle. Nothing that blocks view and is over 3 ft high may sit inside a triangle formed by the street property lines and a line joining points 40 ft from the intersection of the street back-of-curb lines. Pruned-up trees are allowed.
• Barbed wire, razor wire and electric fences are banned along a street or between lots where either lot is a home.
• Where lots sit at different grades, a fence may go to the maximum height allowed on either side of the property line.
• Where rear and side yards back onto an arterial or major collector street in a residential district, a fence can be 8 ft high next to that street, subject to the clear vision rule at intersections.
• Any fence or wall over 6 ft high needs a building permit. Any retaining wall over 1 ft high needs a building permit.

Call before you dig

Blue Stakes of Utah 811: dial 811. Submit a locate request about 2 business days before you dig. A request expires in 14 calendar days. Free to use.

Local conditions

Tooele sits in a high desert valley with hot summers and cold winters. Specific local frost depth and wind data were not confirmed.

• Cold winters mean frozen ground. Set posts below the local frost line, which the Building Department can confirm.
• Strong sun and dry air dry out wood, so stain or sealer helps.
• Tall solid fences catch wind, so strong posts and bracing matter, especially at 6 to 8 ft.
• Dry, rocky soil at the foot of the mountains can make digging slower.

Good to know

• Tooele had 35,742 residents at the 2020 census and is known for Tooele Army Depot.
• Tooele's rear yard fence limit of 8 ft is taller than the 6 ft limit many cities use.
• The city code makes barbed wire, razor wire and electric fences a nuisance and a class C misdemeanor along streets or between home lots.
• Front yard fences are 3 ft if solid and 4 ft if open.