FENCE RULES – CEDARTOWN (CITY), GEORGIA
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within City of Cedartown, subject to local regulations. For properties located outside City of Cedartown municipal limits, Polk County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.
In City of Cedartown, the main residential fence standards appear in the City of Cedartown Code of Ordinances and the official Fence Permit Application, especially Sec. 18-51, Fencing requirements. Historic-district fence standards appear in Sec. 54-65, Fencing in historic districts, and are administered through the Cedartown Historic Preservation Commission Certificate of Appropriateness process.
Additional fence-related context appears in the Code of Ordinances sections on prohibited fencing types, intersection obstruction, swimming pools, and existing sight-distance hazards, and in the City of Cedartown Road Design and Construction Standards for drainage-easement and street-visibility context.
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 the City of Cedartown Code of Ordinances, Fence Permit Application, Certificate of Appropriateness Application, Residential Building Permit Application, Building Inspection & Zoning Department, Code Enforcement Department, Official Zoning Map, and City of Cedartown Road Design and Construction Standards, as of June 2026.
GOVERNANCE
City of Cedartown administers residential fence requirements through the City of Cedartown Code of Ordinances, the Fence Permit Application, the Building Inspection & Zoning Department, and Code Enforcement officials.
The citywide fence standards are in Sec. 18-51, Fencing requirements. Historic-district fence standards are in Sec. 54-65, Fencing in historic districts, and are administered through the Cedartown Historic Preservation Commission and the Certificate of Appropriateness process.
The Building Inspection office is located inside City Hall, and the Code Enforcement office is located inside the Cedartown Police Department. Public Works administers street and water-maintenance functions that may be relevant where a fence project involves city streets, roadway visibility, utilities, drainage, or public infrastructure.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Fence Permit Required: All fencing in the city requires a permit on forms established by the City Manager and/or Code Enforcement officials.
• Fence Permit Application: The Fence Permit Application asks for job-site information, whether the project is Residential, Commercial, or Other, property and owner information, contractor information, fence material, linear footage, fence height, fence location, and applicant signature. The form also includes a contractor business-license attachment field.
• Residential Building Permit: The City publishes a separate Application for Residential Building Permit, but the residential building-permit form does not state a separate building-permit trigger for ordinary residential fences. The City publishes a dedicated Fence Permit Application for fencing.
• Historic-District COA: No fence may be erected, altered, reconstructed, or demolished in any City of Cedartown Historic District without first obtaining a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Cedartown Historic Preservation Commission.
• Historic-District COA Submittals: For historic-district fences, the ordinance requires a site plan showing the fence location, elevation drawings showing design, materials, and dimensions, photographs of existing conditions, and material samples if requested. The COA application also identifies Fence(s), Wall(s), and/or Landscaping as a project type and lists supporting documentation for Site Changes – Fences, Walls & Systems.
• Historic-District COA Process: The COA application states that applications must be complete with attachments before review, the applicant or a representative must attend the Historic Preservation Commission meeting, building permits will not be issued until a COA is approved by the Historic Preservation Commission, the COA is valid for 18 months once approved, and the COA is void if construction does not begin within 12 months of approval.
• Minor Historic-Fence Repairs: Replacement of less than 25 percent of an existing historic fence with matching materials may be administratively approved by the Historic Preservation Officer. Maintenance work that substantially alters the appearance or materials requires a new COA.
• Swimming Pool Barriers: A fence used to enclose a regulated swimming pool is part of pool-code review, not an ordinary yard-fence rule. The swimming-pool section requires qualifying pools to be enclosed by a 5-foot fence maintained in good condition with a self-closing gate and lock, and the pool fence must comply with visibility requirements.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Fence Location: The Fence Permit Application requires the applicant to identify the fence location, fence height, fence material, and linear footage.
• Property-Line Setbacks: 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.
• Historic-District Placement: In a City of Cedartown Historic District, solid privacy fences are permitted only in side and rear yards and must not extend past the front facade of the principal structure. Open fencing styles, such as picket or decorative iron, are preferred for front yards.
• Drainage Easements: The City of Cedartown Road Design and Construction Standards state that drainage easements off the street right-of-way must be clearly defined on the plat and deed, that the property owner must keep the easement free of obstructions so free and maximum flow is maintained, and that drainage improvements may not be altered without prior written approval from the City.
• Swimming Pool Location Context: A swimming pool may not be constructed within a required front yard, and a pool may not be located closer than 10 feet to the rear lot line or an interior side lot line. This is a pool-placement rule and does not create a separate ordinary yard-fence setback.
• 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 Yard: Fences may be a maximum height of 4 feet in a front yard.
• Rear Yard: Fences may be a maximum height of 6 feet in a rear yard.
• Side Yards Outside Historic Districts: The citywide fencing section does not state a separate side-yard maximum height for non-historic residential fences.
• Historic Districts: In a City of Cedartown Historic District, fences may be a maximum height of 4 feet in front yards and 6 feet in side/rear yards.
• Swimming Pool Fences: A fence used to enclose a regulated swimming pool must be 5 feet in height. Pool fencing must be located so that it does not obstruct visibility at road intersections and must comply with all code visibility requirements.
• Corner-Lot Sight Triangle: In all zoning districts, no fence, wall, hedge, or shrub planting that obstructs sight lines at elevations between 2 feet and 12 feet above the roadways may be placed on a corner lot within the triangular area formed by the street property lines and a line connecting points 25 feet from the intersection of the street lines. For a rounded property corner, the measurement runs from the intersection of the street property lines.
• Existing Visibility Hazards: The code identifies fences, walls, and foliage that impair sight distances at a curve or intersection as conditions that must be made conforming within one calendar year.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Uniform Materials: Fences must be of uniform or like material throughout a property.
• Hog Wire: Hog wire fencing is not allowed.
• Barbed, Electric, and Concertina Fencing: Barbed wire, electric, and concertina fencing may not be built, erected, or maintained within any residential area, public establishment, or along or adjacent to any sidewalk or street in the city.
• Historic-District Permitted Materials: In a City of Cedartown Historic District, permitted materials are wood painted or stained, wrought iron, brick, cast iron, and historically appropriate composite materials.
• Historic-District Prohibited Materials: In a City of Cedartown Historic District, prohibited materials are chain link, except in rear yards if screened, vinyl, plastic, concrete block (CMU), and modern industrial materials.
• Historic-District Design: Historic-district fences must be compatible with the architectural style and historical character of the primary structure and adjacent properties. Open fencing styles, including picket or decorative iron, are preferred for front yards.
• Historic-District Finish and Maintenance: Wood fences in historic districts must be painted or stained within one year of installation. Wrought iron must be kept painted and free of rust. Fences must be maintained in good repair and free of rot, rust, peeling paint, or broken sections.
• Standard Residential Construction Details: Outside the stated historic-district, pool-barrier, visibility, drainage-easement, and material rules, the code does not specify standard residential fence opacity, post spacing, footing, finished-side orientation, or gate-swing standards.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private covenants, homeowners association rules, deed restrictions, subdivision restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, private boundary agreements, agricultural agreements, recorded agreements, and conservation easements operate independently from City of Cedartown requirements and may be more restrictive than the municipal standards summarized here.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Fence Permit Review: All fencing in the city requires a permit through the City’s fence-permit form.
• Height Review: Standard citywide review includes the 4-foot front-yard maximum and 6-foot rear-yard maximum. Historic-district review also includes the 6-foot side/rear-yard maximum.
• Historic Review: Fences in any City of Cedartown Historic District are reviewed through the Certificate of Appropriateness process before they are erected, altered, reconstructed, or demolished.
• Material Review: Fence review may include the citywide uniform-material requirement, the prohibition on hog wire fencing, the prohibition on barbed wire, electric, and concertina fencing in residential and sidewalk or street contexts, and the additional historic-district material standards.
• Visibility Review: Corner-lot fences, walls, hedges, and shrub plantings are subject to the 2-foot to 12-foot sight-line rule within the 25-foot triangular area at street intersections. Existing fences, walls, or foliage that impair sight distance at a curve or intersection are also treated as conformity issues.
• Drainage-Easement Review: A fence located where it could obstruct a drainage easement may be reviewed against the requirement that drainage easements remain free of obstructions and that drainage improvements not be altered without prior written City approval.
• Pool-Barrier Review: A fence used to enclose a swimming pool is reviewed under the swimming-pool section, including the 5-foot height, self-closing gate and lock, maintenance, and visibility requirements.
• Complaint-Based Enforcement: The Cedartown Code Enforcement Department accepts concerns about property conditions within city limits and seeks voluntary compliance with the City’s Code of Ordinances.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within City of Cedartown, 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 Cedartown Building Inspection & Zoning Department, Code Enforcement officials, and the Cedartown Historic Preservation Commission where applicable, and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from City of Cedartown staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.