FENCE RULES – BUFORD (CITY), GEORGIA

OVERVIEW

Residential fences are permitted on private property within City of Buford, subject to local regulations. For properties located outside City of Buford municipal limits, unincorporated areas are regulated by the applicable county, including Gwinnett County and Hall County where applicable.

Local fence rules appear primarily in the City of Buford Zoning Ordinance, Article VII, Section 700, Walls and Fences. Related requirements appear in the City of Buford Zoning Ordinance, the City of Buford Development Regulations, the City of Buford Code of Ordinances, the Land Disturbance Plan Preparation Checklist, and the Post-Construction Stormwater Management for New Development and Redevelopment 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 City of Buford Zoning Ordinance Articles III, V, VII, and XIII; City of Buford Development Regulations Articles 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9; the City of Buford Land Disturbance Plan Preparation Checklist; the City of Buford Post-Construction Stormwater Management for New Development and Redevelopment; and the City of Buford Code of Ordinances as of June 2026.

GOVERNANCE

The City of Buford regulates residential fences through its zoning, development, stormwater, floodplain, and property-maintenance materials.

The City of Buford Zoning Ordinance defines a fence as a structural barrier, including a wall, that is used for enclosure, screening, or demarcation. The Zoning Ordinance defines the Director as the Director of the Department of Planning and Development or designee.

The Director of Planning and Development administers the front-yard fence permit requirement, right-of-way setback reduction authority, column approval, lighting approval for columns, and subdivision entrance wall or fence approval under Zoning Ordinance Article VII, Section 700.

The City of Buford Development Regulations address land disturbance, development activity, stormwater facilities, drainage, easements, right-of-way conditions, pool location plans, and intersection visibility standards.

The Planning Director, or designee, is the floodplain administrator for the City of Buford Code of Ordinances, Chapter 22, Floodplain Management and Flood Damage Prevention.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Front-Yard Fence Permit: In a residential zoning district, front-yard fences must be permitted by the Director of Planning and Development.

• Corner Lots: The code interprets corner lots as having two front yards for the residential fence rules.

• Building Permit: The City of Buford does not publish a separate local all-fences permit rule, side- or rear-yard fence permit rule, or fence-specific building-permit threshold for standard residential fences in the official source materials reviewed for this page. Georgia does not provide a general statewide residential fence permit exemption that can be substituted for a local rule.

• Right-of-Way Setback Reduction: Residential fences must be set back at least 20 feet from the public right-of-way. The Director of Planning and Development may reduce that setback by up to 10 feet if the existing roadway right-of-way is less than 40 feet and the petitioner provides documentation sealed by a Georgia-registered professional engineer showing that line of sight for the subject road is still achieved with the fence placement.

• Subdivision Entrance Walls and Fences: A subdivision entrance wall or fence may not exceed 10 feet in height and is subject to approval by the Director of Planning and Development after submission to Development Review of a landscape plan, site plan, and architectural elevations.

• Stormwater Facility Fences: Fences that enclose an approved stormwater management facility are handled under Buford Development Regulations Section 8.2.7, not the ordinary residential fence material rules in Article VII. The zoning rule states that these fences must be black chain link and 4 feet in height. Development Regulations Section 8.2.7 also requires a 12-foot access gate, a durable fence material, placement within an easement at least 10 feet wide, no encroachment on the detention facility, and compliance with Zoning Ordinance location requirements.

• Land Disturbance: The soil-erosion ordinance exempts minor land-disturbing activities such as fences when they result in minor soil erosion. Fence work that is part of non-exempt land disturbance, development activity, clearing, grading, stream-buffer work, or a larger development project may require land-disturbance, erosion-control, or plan-review approval under the City of Buford Development Regulations and related ordinances.

• Post-Construction Stormwater: Projects that create, add, or replace 5,000 square feet or more of new impervious area, or that involve land-disturbing activity of 1 acre or more, must meet the City’s post-construction stormwater requirements unless an exemption applies.

• Floodplain Review: If a fence project is within a floodplain or a site with an area of special flood hazard or future-conditions flood hazard, the project must comply with the City of Buford Code of Ordinances, Chapter 22, and the floodplain use provisions in the Zoning Ordinance.

• Stream Buffer Review: On property containing a stream protection area, land development activity, including clearing, grading, excavation, construction, or installation of impervious cover, is subject to the City of Buford Stream Buffer Protection Ordinance in Zoning Ordinance Article XIII.

• Chattahoochee River Corridor Certificate: If any portion of a proposed project is located within 2,000 feet of the bank of the Chattahoochee River, a certificate authorizing development under the Metropolitan River Protection Act is required before the City or another agency may grant a permit for clearing, grading, or construction activity.

• Swimming Pool Fence Review: A swimming pool serving a single- or two-family residence requires approval of a Swimming Pool Location Plan before issuance of the swimming-pool building permit. The plan must show the pool and enclosing fence in relation to the residence, property boundaries, setback lines, septic system, and easements, and must comply with the Zoning Ordinance and Swimming Pool Code.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Public Right-of-Way: Residential fences must be set back at least 20 feet from the public right-of-way unless the Director of Planning and Development approves a reduction under the conditions stated in the Zoning Ordinance.

• Front Yards: A fence in a front yard requires a permit from the Director of Planning and Development.

• Corner Lots: A corner lot is treated as having two front yards for the residential fence rules.

• Side and Rear Property Lines: The ordinance does not state a setback requirement for standard residential fences from side or rear property lines; however, fences must be located entirely on the owner’s property and must not encroach into rights-of-way or easements.

• Easements: Fence placement must account for recorded easements, drainage easements, utility easements, stormwater-facility easements, and any site-specific easements shown on plats or approved plans.

• Stormwater Facilities: A fence around an approved stormwater detention facility must be located within an easement at least 10 feet wide, must not encroach upon the detention facility, and must include a 12-foot access gate.

• Drainage and Stormwater: Fence work tied to a development plan, stormwater facility, drainage easement, or land-disturbance plan must not conflict with approved drainage, stormwater-management, or maintenance-access requirements.

• Floodplain Placement: In a floodplain, fences may be permitted only when they have sufficient open area to permit the free flow of water and debris, and they remain subject to the Floodplain Management Ordinance and Development Regulations.

• Stream Buffer Placement: On property containing a stream protection area, land development activity is subject to a 50-foot undisturbed natural vegetative buffer measured from the top of the stream bank and an additional 25-foot setback beyond the buffer where impervious cover is prohibited.

• Utility Safety: Georgia law requires notice to the Utilities Protection Center, commonly known as Georgia 811, before excavation where Georgia’s underground utility damage-prevention law applies. For fence projects that involve mechanized digging, including mechanized post-hole excavation, the locate request effective date must be not less than two (2) business days and not more than eight (8) business days after the request is received, and work under that locate request may not begin more than 30 calendar days after the effective date.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

• Front and Side Yards: No wall or fence may exceed 6 feet in height within a front yard or side yard.

• Minimum Height: Residential fences must have a minimum height of 4 feet.

• Rear Yards: The code does not specify a separate maximum height for a standard residential fence located only in a rear yard.

• Corner Visibility Area: On a corner lot, within the area formed by the street-side lot lines and a 20-foot miter line joining points measured from the intersection of those lot lines, no fence, wall, or hedge may be higher than 3 feet.

• Obstructions at Intersections: Within the same corner visibility area, there may be no obstruction to vision between 3 feet and 15 feet above the established grade of either intersecting street, except a post, column, or tree not exceeding 1 foot in greatest cross-sectional dimension, or standards erected by the City of Buford.

• Corner Sight Distance: Intersection corner sight distance must equal or exceed 10 times the regulated speed of the intersecting street, measured along the right-of-way line, unless calculated under the AASHTO alternative described in the Development Regulations.

• Columns: Fence columns must match the fence height and must be at least 4 feet and not more than 6 feet high.

• Subdivision Entrance Walls and Fences: A subdivision entrance wall or fence may not exceed 10 feet in height.

• Stormwater Facility Fences: A fence enclosing an approved stormwater management facility must be 4 feet high.

• Pool Fences: Swimming pools must be enclosed with a protective fence. The City Code also states that swimming pools must be completely surrounded by a fence at least 4 feet high.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Residential Fence Material: Residential fences must be constructed of ornamental or decorative aluminized metal in a wrought-iron picket style and must be black in color.

• Prohibited Residential Materials: Wood, woven wire, and metal fabric are not allowed for residential fences under the City’s fence section.

• Screening: Screening must be accomplished only by landscaping.

• Barbed and Electric Fences: Barbed wire and electric fences are not allowed.

• Columns: Columns are allowed but not required. If used, they must be constructed of rock, brick, stacked stone, or similar material matching the architecture of the home, must be approved by the Director of Planning and Development, must be square, and must be at least 20 inches wide.

• Column Lighting: Lighting of or on fence columns is subject to approval by the Director of Planning and Development.

• Stormwater Facility Fence Material: A fence enclosing an approved stormwater management facility must be black chain link, 4 feet high, durable, and compliant with Buford Development Regulations Section 8.2.7.

• Maintenance: Fences must be well-maintained and structurally sound. Required maintenance includes removing loose or rotting material, attaching braces and supports according to building practices, replacing damaged or missing parts with similar or comparable materials, keeping exterior gates, gate assemblies, and hardware in good condition, and ensuring entrance latches function properly.

• Protruding Nails: Fences must be maintained free of nails protruding more than 1/16 inch beyond the face of any uncovered fence member.

• External Bracing: A fence may not be externally braced in place of replacing or repairing posts, columns, or other structural members.

• Finished Side: The code does not specify a separate finished-side orientation rule for standard residential fences.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Private restrictions operate independently from City fence rules.

HOA covenants, subdivision covenants, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, conservation easements, recorded drainage or utility easements, and private boundary agreements may be more restrictive than City rules.

The City of Buford source materials reviewed for this page do not state that the City enforces private HOA or deed-restriction fence standards as City fence regulations.

REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT

Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:

• Front-Yard Fence Review: A residential front-yard fence requires a permit from the Director of Planning and Development.

• Right-of-Way Placement: Residential fences must meet the 20-foot public right-of-way setback unless the Director approves a reduction under the ordinance conditions.

• Line-of-Sight Review: A right-of-way setback reduction depends on a roadway right-of-way of less than 40 feet and documentation sealed by a Georgia-registered professional engineer showing that the line of sight is still achieved.

• Height Review: Front-yard and side-yard fences are reviewed against the 6-foot maximum and 4-foot minimum height rules.

• Intersection Visibility: Corner-lot fences, walls, and hedges are reviewed against the 20-foot corner miter area and 3-foot height limit.

• Material Review: Residential fences are reviewed for the required black ornamental or decorative aluminized metal wrought-iron picket style, and for the prohibition on wood, woven wire, metal fabric, barbed wire, and electric fences.

• Column Review: Fence columns and lighting on columns are reviewed by the Director of Planning and Development.

• Maintenance Review: Fence maintenance may involve loose or rotting materials, missing or damaged parts, improper bracing, gate and latch condition, and protruding nails.

• Stormwater Facility Review: Fences around approved stormwater facilities are reviewed under Development Regulations Section 8.2.7 and the stormwater-facility easement and access-gate requirements.

• Floodplain Review: A fence in a floodplain is reviewed for sufficient open area to permit the free flow of water and debris, and for compliance with the City’s floodplain-management rules.

• Stream Buffer Review: Fence work involving clearing, grading, excavation, construction, or other land development activity on property with a stream protection area may be reviewed under the 50-foot buffer and 25-foot setback standards.

• Land-Disturbance Review: Minor fence work resulting in minor soil erosion is exempt from the soil-erosion ordinance, but non-exempt land disturbance or fence work included in a larger development project may be reviewed through land-disturbance, erosion-control, and stormwater processes.

• Pool Barrier Review: A fence used as the enclosing fence for a swimming pool is reviewed through the swimming-pool location plan and pool-code context, not as only an ordinary yard fence.

• Utility Safety: Mechanized fence-post excavation is subject to Georgia 811 utility-notice requirements where Georgia’s underground utility damage-prevention law applies.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within City of Buford, based on publicly available source materials reviewed as of June 2026.

In addition to local fence rules, certain Georgia laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in Georgia.

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, land-disturbance requirements, road or highway encroachment, historic district status, design-review status, rural or agricultural context, livestock context, pool-barrier use, overhead high-voltage line work, utility safety requirements, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants, deed restrictions, private agreements, or conservation easements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with the City of Buford Planning and Zoning Department, the Director of Planning and Development, and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from City of Buford staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.