GeorgiaFence Rules

Fulton County

Fence Rules in Atlanta - Brookwood Hills, Georgia

Last verified: August 28, 2026

This page is maintained manually and may not reflect very recent ordinance changes. Always confirm current rules with your local permitting office.

For information only. Fence rules change frequently and this site may not reflect every requirement that applies to your property (HOA covenants, easements, variances, recent amendments). Always verify with your local permitting office before building. Full disclaimer

At a glance

In Atlanta - Brookwood Hills, fence height limits are: Required front and half-depth front yards: 4 ft max on R-5 lots; Within 20 ft of a street intersection: 2.5 ft max in a dwelling district; Required side and rear yards: 6 ft max on R-5 lots; Other zoning districts: 9 ft max in any required yard.

Required: you must obtain a fence permit from the Office of Buildings before you build; Certificate of appropriateness: not required. Atlanta's code exempts Conservation Districts from certificates of appropriateness; Urban design commission review: required, and advisory only.

On corner lots in Atlanta - Brookwood Hills: The yard along your second street is a required half-depth front yard, so the 4 ft front yard limit applies there on an R-5 lot, not the 6 ft side yard limit; Within 20 ft of any street intersection: 2.5 ft max in any dwelling district, measured from the grade at the intersecting street right-of-way lines.

Pool fences in Atlanta - Brookwood Hills: Barrier required. Atlanta enforces the state minimum standard codes, including the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code with Georgia Amendments; That code, not the city zoning code, sets the residential pool barrier standard, including self-closing and self-latching barrier gates.

Fence setbacks in Atlanta - Brookwood Hills: Fences and walls may stand in any yard, subject to the height and sight distance requirements; Where part of your lot adjoins a second street, the yard along that street must be at least half the width of the required front yard, and is subject to the same limits as a front yard.

Prohibited fence materials in Atlanta - Brookwood Hills: Barbed wire and razor wire: prohibited in every zoning district, along the public right-of-way or along any private drive that services pedestrians; Required front and half-depth front yards: a fence must be at least 50 percent open, so a solid privacy fence is not permitted there.

Fence Regulations

Atlanta - Brookwood Hills

Apply for Permit
Permit Requirements
Required: you must obtain a fence permit from the Office of Buildings before you build. Certificate of appropriateness: not required. Atlanta's code exempts Conservation Districts from certificates of appropriateness. Urban design commission review: required, and advisory only. You may not construct, alter, demolish or move any building, structure or site here until the commission has reviewed your plans and made written recommendations to you. When you apply, the Office of Buildings refers you to the urban design commission. Fence permits are express permits. The city accepts express permits in person only, not through the online portal.
Height - Front Yard
Required front and half-depth front yards: 4 ft max on R-5 lots. Within 20 ft of a street intersection: 2.5 ft max in a dwelling district.
Height - Side/Rear
Required side and rear yards: 6 ft max on R-5 lots. Other zoning districts: 9 ft max in any required yard.
Height Notes
Zoning drives these numbers. The city's designation record for Brookwood Hills lists the district's existing zoning as R5 and I2, so the R-5 figures cover the residential lots. Confirm the zoning on your own lot before relying on any number. Full citywide ladder: R-1 through R-5, 4 ft in the required front and half-depth front yards and 6 ft in the required side and rear yards. R-G, 4 ft in the front yard and 8 ft in the side or rear yards. All other zoning districts, 9 ft in any required yard. Fence height is measured from the finished ground level, or from the top of a retaining wall, to the highest point of the fence. Where a retaining wall extends above the grade of the surface it retains, that additional wall height is included in the height allowed for a fence placed on that wall. A retaining wall adds no fresh allowance. In R-1 through R-5, a fence at the top of one of the permitted retaining walls is still capped at 4 ft in the required front and half-depth front yards and 6 ft in the required side and rear yards. A fence in the required front and half-depth front yards must also be at least 50 percent open. See materials. Taller fences need a special exception from the board of zoning adjustment, granted only on findings about security, privacy, topography, or neighborhood character. Conservation District status does not change these height limits. It adds an advisory design review before your permit is issued.
Pool Fences
View Pool Fence Safety Requirements
Corner Lots
The yard along your second street is a required half-depth front yard, so the 4 ft front yard limit applies there on an R-5 lot, not the 6 ft side yard limit. Within 20 ft of any street intersection: 2.5 ft max in any dwelling district, measured from the grade at the intersecting street right-of-way lines. Visibility triangle: nothing may be erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow so as to materially impede visibility between 2.5 ft and 8 ft above the grade of the adjoining sidewalk or right-of-way. At a street intersection the triangle is the first 20 ft along each intersecting edge of the right-of-way, projected where the right-of-way is rounded, plus the line joining the ends of those two lines. At a driveway the triangle is the first 20 ft along the intersecting edges of the roadway and driveway surfaces, projected where rounded, plus the line joining the ends of those lines.
Materials Allowed
Required front and half-depth front yards: at least 50 percent open. Atlanta's code permits only a fence there, and defines a fence as a barrier built so that at least 50 percent of the vertical surface is open to light, air and vision. The city's own fence permit guidance names chain link, wrought iron and picket styles as meeting that standard. Required side and rear yards: a fence or a solid wall is permitted. No other material requirement. The Conservation District rules set none, and Atlanta's citywide fence rules name no approved material beyond that openness standard. The urban design commission may comment on materials in its advisory review. Its recommendations are not binding.
Materials Prohibited
Barbed wire and razor wire: prohibited in every zoning district, along the public right-of-way or along any private drive that services pedestrians. Required front and half-depth front yards: a fence must be at least 50 percent open, so a solid privacy fence is not permitted there. The Conservation District rules add no material prohibition of their own.
Historic Districts
You are in the Brookwood Hills Conservation District, designated November 28, 1994. No certificate of appropriateness is required in a Conservation District. Instead, you may not construct, alter, demolish or move any building, structure or site here until the urban design commission has reviewed your plans and made written recommendations to you. That review is advisory only. You may adopt the recommendations, or build your original plans. Where the requirements of Atlanta's historic and cultural conservation chapter are at variance with any other adopted statute, rule, regulation, ordinance or code, the most restrictive, or the one imposing the higher standard, governs. That chapter sets no fence rule of its own, so every fence number on this page comes from Atlanta's general zoning regulations.
Setbacks
Fences and walls may stand in any yard, subject to the height and sight distance requirements. Where part of your lot adjoins a second street, the yard along that street must be at least half the width of the required front yard, and is subject to the same limits as a front yard. The Conservation District rules set no setback of their own.
Design Requirements
Advisory review only. The Conservation District rules set no design standard for fences. Before your permit is issued, the Office of Buildings refers you to the urban design commission. Give the commission's director complete plans for the permit you applied for. The director presents them at the next regular commission meeting. The commission mails its written recommendations to you by first class mail within 5 days of that review. The recommendations are advisory. You may modify your plans to incorporate them, or proceed with your original plans. If no written advisory comments reach you within 30 days of your initial permit application, the Office of Buildings issues the permit at your request without that review. Atlanta's citywide code requires any fence, wall or hedge to be maintained in a safe and sightly condition. Neighborhood contact: Brookwood Hills Community Club, Inc.
Gates
No gate rule for ordinary fences. The Conservation District rules and Atlanta's citywide fence rules both set none. Pool barrier gates are different. The state minimum standard pool and spa code that Atlanta enforces requires them to be self-closing and self-latching.
Floodplain Rules
Fences count as ancillary structures under Atlanta's floodplain rules. Any construction of a structure within a floodplain, including a special flood hazard area, needs review and approval of a permit by the commissioner of the department of watershed management. Traditional floodplain: an ancillary structure may be allowed if it is designed and constructed to minimize and mitigate impact on the floodplain, lets stormwater enter the floodway by sheet flow rather than channelized flow, and results in no net loss in flood storage volume. Floodway: ancillary structures are not allowed. Historically modified floodplain: an ancillary structure may be allowed if it is designed and constructed to minimize and mitigate impact on that floodplain. The city's flood maps are general reference only. A flood study or field run survey may be required to fix the floodplain boundary on your parcel.
Color Restrictions
Not specified. The Conservation District rules set no color or paint requirement, and Atlanta's citywide fence rules set none either.
Source
Atlanta Code Sec. 16-20.004(5); Sec. 16-20.007(b); Sec. 16-20.011(c); Sec. 16-28.006(7); Sec. 16-28.007(5)(b); Sec. 16-28.008(5); Sec. 16-28.008(6); Sec. 16-28.008(9); Sec. 16-29.001(22); Sec. 16-29.001(25); Sec. 8-2078; Sec. 74-203; Sec. 74-204; Sec. 74-205.4(a); Sec. 74-206.4. Permit and pool barrier requirements rest on the Georgia State Minimum Standard Codes as enforced by the City of Atlanta Office of Buildings, including the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code with Georgia Amendments, and on the city's published fence permit guidance.
Notes
Brookwood Hills is a Conservation District, designated November 28, 1994. The city's designation record places it in Land Lots 109 and 110, District 17, Fulton County, and lists the existing zoning as R5 and I2. Atlanta's historic and cultural conservation chapter sets the review procedure for Conservation Districts and contains no fence rule at all, so every fence number on this page comes from Atlanta's general zoning regulations and depends on your lot's zoning district. A fence here needs a city fence permit and an advisory urban design commission review. It does not need a certificate of appropriateness. Pool barriers are set by the state minimum standard codes Atlanta enforces, not by the city zoning code.

Rules can vary within a jurisdiction. Historic districts and zoning overlays often have stricter requirements. Look up your exact address to confirm which rules apply to your property.

Other jurisdictions in Fulton County

Fence rules change from one city and unincorporated area to the next. Compare Atlanta - Brookwood Hills with nearby jurisdictions:

All Fulton County fence rules →

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