FENCE RULES – MATTHEWS (TOWN), NORTH CAROLINA
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Town of Matthews, subject to local regulations. For properties located outside Town of Matthews municipal limits, Mecklenburg County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.
Local fence rules appear primarily in the Town of Matthews Unified Development Ordinance, including the fence and wall standards in § 155.601.21, the Crestdale Conservation District (CrC) standards, sight-triangle rules, floodplain rules, SWIM buffer rules, and public right-of-way provisions in the Town Code.
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 Town of Matthews Planning & Development page, Town of Matthews Code Enforcement Commons page, Town of Matthews Unified Development Ordinance, and Town of Matthews Code of Ordinances Chapters 95 and 150 as of June 2026.
GOVERNANCE
Town of Matthews regulates residential fence placement and height through its Unified Development Ordinance. The UDO defines a fence as an artificially constructed barrier of wood, masonry, stone, metal, wire, and/or other manufactured or durable natural materials erected to enclose, screen, or separate areas; it excludes hedges, shrubbery, trees, and other natural growth.
The UDO does not place every fence-related rule in a single fence code. Fence rules appear in the general fence and wall standards, residential district standards, the Crestdale Conservation District (CrC) standards, sight-triangle standards, floodplain regulations, SWIM buffer rules, right-of-way provisions, driveway provisions, and subdivision or plat-related provisions.
Administration is divided among several offices. The UDO identifies the Town Planning Director, Town Zoning Administrator, Town Public Works Director, Town Engineer, Town Floodplain Administrator, Town Storm Water Administrator, Town Board of Adjustment, Town Board of Commissioners, Mecklenburg County Land Use and Environmental Services Agency (LUESA), and Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement Division as part of the local administrative structure.
The Town Planning and Development Department handles zoning inquiries, development review, and code enforcement coordination. Mecklenburg County LUESA handles building permits, zoning permits, and inspections under the published administrative structure. The Mecklenburg County Floodplain Administrator administers floodplain development permits by interlocal arrangement, and the Town Public Works Director / Town Engineer administers street, driveway, right-of-way, and public-improvement standards.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Building Permit Baseline: Under the North Carolina State Building Code baseline, fences not over 7 feet high are exempt from a building permit. Town of Matthews does not publish a stricter local residential fence permit threshold or an all-fences permit rule in the official source materials reviewed for this page. Town of Matthews does not publish a separate taller-fence permit workflow in the official source materials reviewed for this page.
• Zoning Compliance: Building permit requirements are separate from zoning, setback, subdivision, floodplain, historic, coastal, right-of-way, easement, and plat requirements. Confirm any applicable zoning conditions, setbacks, and plat requirements with Town Planning and Development Department before construction.
• Floodplain Development: A Floodplain Development Permit is required for any development within the Community Special Flood Hazard Area (CSFHA). The floodplain rules allow non-solid fences under a General Floodplain Development Permit when the activity results in no technically measurable increase in FEMA or Community Base Flood Elevations, and require written notification to the Floodplain Administrator with a project description and sketch plan before work begins. Fence work that does not meet the general-permit treatment is handled through the Individual Floodplain Development Permit process.
• Right-of-Way / Driveway Approval: If a project places a wall, structure, landscape structure, private utility, or other encroachment in a Town-maintained street right-of-way or a street expected to be accepted by the Town, the Town Code requires a Right-of-Way Encroachment Agreement unless an exception applies. If a fence project also opens, constructs, reconstructs, alters, or relocates a driveway across a public sidewalk or into a Town-maintained street, a written driveway permit from the Town Engineer or designee is required; NCDOT requirements apply where a state-maintained street is involved.
• Stormwater / SWIM Buffer Review: The code does not publish a stormwater approval requirement for a standard residential fence alone. Separate SWIM buffer, drainage, stormwater, floodplain, or land-disturbance requirements may apply when a fence project is part of regulated grading, impervious-surface work, stream-buffer work, or floodplain development.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Property Lines: 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.
• Required Setbacks and Yards: The UDO allows fences and walls in required residential setbacks and yards subject to the applicable height, visibility, opacity, and district standards. In R-20, R-15, R-12, R-9, R-MH, R-VS, and CrC, the required-yard standards for single-family residential districts apply, except where the CrC district-specific rule controls.
• Other Residential Developments: For housing developments in other districts that are exclusively or primarily residential, including R-15MF, R-12MF, SRN, and C-MF, fences and walls in required front setbacks, side yards, and rear yards are subject to the UDO’s residential-development height standards.
• Sight Triangles: Fences, walls, plantings, mailboxes, and other objects may not be installed or maintained where they obstruct required intersection or driveway visibility. The UDO sight-triangle standard applies to the triangular visibility area formed from intersecting right-of-way lines, or from a right-of-way line and a private street or driveway curb or pavement edge.
• Public Rights-of-Way: Fences, walls, structures, and related improvements must not encroach into a Town-maintained street right-of-way unless the applicable right-of-way approval process allows the encroachment.
• Street, Sidewalk, and Multiuse Path Clearance: A fence, trellis, awning, shrub, or other obstruction from private property may not overhang a public street at less than 20 feet above the traveled street area, or overhang a public sidewalk or multiuse path at less than 8 feet above the path or sidewalk and 2 feet alongside it.
• Open Space and Easements: Final plats, approved site plans, recorded easements, recorded open-space areas, and recorded utility or drainage easements may limit fence placement. The UDO prohibits encroachment into recorded public utility easements by structures and requires approved open-space areas to remain consistent with approved documents.
• Floodplain and SWIM Buffers: Fence placement within the Community Special Flood Hazard Area, a SWIM buffer, or another regulated drainage or buffer area must fit the applicable floodplain, buffer, and stormwater standards. Non-solid fences in the floodplain are treated differently from solid obstructions under the floodplain rules.
• Utility Safety: North Carolina law requires notice to the North Carolina Notification Center / NC 811 before excavation where the Underground Utility Safety and Damage Prevention Act applies. For fence projects that involve digging, including fence post holes, notice for non-subaqueous excavation must be given not less than three full working days before the proposed start date, and the notice expires 28 calendar days after the work start date. North Carolina law also includes specific exemptions, including certain work by the owner of a single-family residential property on the owner’s own land and certain agricultural or gardening excavations.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• Single-Family Residential Districts: In R-20, R-15, R-12, R-9, R-MH, and R-VS, no wall or fence may exceed 4 feet in height in any required front setback, or 6 feet in height within any required side or rear yard. In CrC, the district-specific rule controls where it differs.
• Crestdale Conservation District: In the Crestdale Conservation District (CrC), fencing and walls are not encouraged. On residential properties, no wall or fence may exceed 6 feet in height within any required yard, and no wall or fence in a required yard may exceed 25% opacity. This height and opacity limitation does not apply to walls and fences that are not in any required yard or setback.
• Primarily Residential Developments in Other Districts: For housing developments in other districts that are exclusively or primarily residential, including R-15MF, R-12MF, SRN, and C-MF, no wall or fence may exceed 6 feet in height in any required front setback, required side yard, or required rear yard.
• Fence Height Measurement: Fence height is measured on the exterior side of the fence from the ground directly under the fence to the highest point of the fence, excluding qualifying capitals or ornamental projections.
• Uneven Ground: Where ground elevation is inconsistent, fence height along an unbroken run of up to 16 linear feet may be averaged, provided that no point along that run exceeds 10% of the applicable stated height limit.
• Capitals and Ornamental Projections: Fence capitals or ornamental projections may extend 6 inches above the actual fence height if spaced between 5 feet and 12 feet apart centerline to centerline, 12 inches above the actual fence height if spaced more than 12 feet apart, or 18 inches above the actual fence height if spaced more than 24 feet from any other capital or ornamental projection.
• Sight Triangle Standard: The UDO defines a sight triangle using points located 35 feet from the intersection on intersecting right-of-way lines, or on a right-of-way line and the curb or pavement edge of a private street or driveway. Within the required sight triangle, a fence, wall, structure, sign, plant, shrub, tree, berm, mailbox, or other object may not obstruct cross-visibility between 2 feet and 10 feet above the street-intersection center level.
• Street-Intersection Visibility: The Town Code separately prohibits fences, shrubs, bushes, or plantings on private property from substantially obstructing vision between 2 feet and 10 feet above the average elevation of the intersecting street surfaces. That visibility area is measured 25 feet from the lot corner where the street right-of-way is 50 feet or less, and 40 feet where the street right-of-way is more than 50 feet.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Fence Definition: The UDO defines fences as barriers made of wood, masonry, stone, metal, wire, and/or other manufactured or durable natural materials. Hedges, shrubbery, trees, and other natural growth are not fences under this definition.
• Finished Side: When applicable, the finished side of the fence must face the exterior of the property.
• Opacity: In the Crestdale Conservation District (CrC), residential fences and walls in required yards may not exceed 25% opacity. Outside the CrC district, the UDO states that fully opaque fences and walls are not desired at entrances to housing areas or along front setbacks of dwellings. Privacy fences and walls intended to create private yards, courtyards, or play spaces for residents are allowed along street edges, but the UDO identifies landscaping or other features to visually break the appearance of a solid single plane for pedestrians.
• Prohibited Materials: The code does not specify a standard residential prohibited-material list for fences. The code does not publish a standard residential prohibition on chain link, barbed wire, or electric fencing in the official source materials reviewed for this page.
• Floodplain Non-Solid Fence Standard: In the floodplain context, a non-solid fence is treated as a fence with at least 75% open area, with vertical supports no more than 25 square inches in cross-sectional area.
• Utility and Essential-Use Fences: The UDO’s ordinary residential fence and wall height limitations do not apply to walls and fences constructed around public utilities, communications towers and related equipment, or similar essential nonresidential uses. Those fences are separate from ordinary residential yard fencing and may be subject to landscape-screening provisions elsewhere in the UDO.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
HOA covenants, subdivision restrictions, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, agricultural agreements, private maintenance agreements, and private boundary agreements operate independently from Town fence rules and may be more restrictive.
The UDO states that it does not interfere with easements, covenants, or other agreements between private parties. Where the UDO imposes greater restrictions or higher standards than another agreement, the UDO controls local land-use compliance.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Local Height and Yard Limits: Fence and wall review may involve the 4-foot required-front-setback limit, the 6-foot required side and rear yard limit, the 6-foot primarily residential development limit, and the CrC 25% opacity standard.
• Sight and Visibility: Review may involve the 35-foot UDO sight triangle, the 2-foot to 10-foot visibility window, the Town Code 25-foot / 40-foot street-intersection visibility areas, and the street, sidewalk, and multiuse-path overhang clearances.
• Right-of-Way and Driveway Work: Review may involve a proposed encroachment into a Town-maintained street right-of-way, a driveway change, a sidewalk crossing, or work involving a state-maintained street.
• Floodplain Development: Review may involve whether a fence is inside the Community Special Flood Hazard Area, whether it qualifies as a non-solid fence under the General Floodplain Development Permit framework, or whether an Individual Floodplain Development Permit is required.
• Easements, Plats, and Open Space: Review may involve recorded public utility easements, drainage easements, final plats, approved site plans, open-space areas, or subdivision-specific conditions.
• Stormwater and SWIM Buffers: Review may involve regulated land disturbance, drainage changes, stream buffers, SWIM buffer boundaries, or floodplain and stormwater standards that apply to the site.
• Conditional or Flexible Design Approvals: In project-level development contexts such as R-VS, CrC, MUD, and cottage cluster housing, flexible-design or conditional approval may modify fence and wall height as part of an approved development plan. That process is not a blanket standard for ordinary individual residential lots.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Town of Matthews, based on publicly available source materials reviewed as of June 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain North Carolina laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in North Carolina.
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 requirements, watershed status, coastal or CAMA jurisdiction, historic district status, rural or agricultural context, pool-barrier use, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants or private agreements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with Town Planning and Development Department and Mecklenburg County LUESA and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Town of Matthews staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.