Permit Requirements
Required: a Type II certificate of appropriateness for fences and walls in this district.
The certificate is required where the work would otherwise require a building permit. You must obtain it from the director of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission before work starts.
Decision deadline: the director must issue the certificate within 14 days of receiving a completed application, or deny it within 14 days with notice to the applicant.
Appeals: any aggrieved person may appeal the director's approval or denial of a Type II certificate.
Where to apply: file the certificate application with the Atlanta Urban Design Commission. Construction permits are handled by the city's bureau of buildings.
Repair work under 2,500 dollars: in a landmark or historic district, no certificate of appropriateness, no permit and no permit fee is required for repair work with a total valuation under that amount, as long as the work is otherwise lawful.
Repair work under 10,000 dollars: the citywide permit exemption at that valuation does not apply to work in a landmark or historic district that affects the exterior of the structure or site.
Both dollar figures cover repair work only. The code defines repair work as the reconstruction or renewal of part of an existing structure for maintenance, so a new fence is not repair work.
Hedge removal: clearing or removing a shrub massing or hedge over three feet high requires a Type II certificate decided by the commission itself, not by the director.
Height - Front Yard
Front yard: no fences or walls, and none in any yard adjacent to a public street or between a principal structure and a public street.
Height - Side/Rear
Side or rear yard: 6 ft max, where the yard is not adjacent to a public street.
No fence or wall is allowed in a side or rear yard adjacent to a public street.
Height Notes
Fence height is measured as the vertical distance 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 allowed height of any fence placed on top of that wall.
The district fence rules run subject to the citywide rules for walls and fences in required yards, which govern material as well as height.
Where the district requirements are at variance with any other adopted statute, ordinance or code, the most restrictive, or the one imposing the higher standard, governs.
Near intersections: in any dwelling district, and despite the ordinary height limits, no fence or wall over 2.5 ft may be erected or maintained within 20 ft of any street intersection. That height is measured from the grade at the intersecting street right-of-way lines.
Greater heights: the board of zoning adjustment may grant a special exception in any district for a taller wall or fence in a required yard, only on findings about security, privacy, light and air, topography or the character of the neighborhood.
Corner Lots
No fence or wall is allowed in any yard adjacent to a public street, so on a corner lot the yard along the side street is closed to fences and walls.
Within 20 ft of any street intersection: no fence or wall over 2.5 ft in any dwelling district. Height there is measured from the grade at the intersecting street right-of-way lines, and this applies despite the ordinary fence height limits.
Visibility triangle at street intersections: 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.
That triangle is the area bounded by the first 20 ft along the intersecting edges of the right-of-way, projected where the right-of-way is rounded, and a line connecting the ends of those two 20 ft lines.
Visibility triangle at driveways: the same visibility rule applies where a driveway meets a street, measured 20 ft along the intersecting edges of the roadway and driveway surfaces.
Materials Allowed
Fences and walls must be constructed of vertical iron pickets, brick, stucco, vertical wood pickets, or coated chain link.
Materials Prohibited
The district sets a closed list of permitted fence and wall materials, so any material not on that list is not allowed.
Barbed wire and razor wire: not on the district's permitted materials list, so they are not allowed for a fence or wall here.
Uncoated chain link: not allowed. Only coated chain link is on the permitted list.
Citywide, no part of any fence in any district may contain barbed wire or razor wire along the public right-of-way or along any private drive that services pedestrians.
Historic Districts
You are in the Druid Hills Landmark District. These rules apply on top of Atlanta's citywide code.
The fence and wall rules apply across the entire district, including every subarea.
Any proposed development, new construction, addition, alteration or demolition in the district requires a certificate of appropriateness.
Setbacks
The district sets no fence setback and no minimum distance from a fence to a lot line.
Fences and walls are not allowed in the front yard, in any yard adjacent to a public street, or between a principal structure and a public street. In the side or rear yard they may be erected up to the height limit on this page.
Citywide, fences, walls and hedges may occupy required yards, subject to the height and material limits and to the visibility rules.
Swimming pool and accessory buildings, tennis courts and the like: on Fairview Road, and on Springdale Road, Oakdale Road, Lullwater Road and Lullwater Parkway, these must sit not less than 25 ft from the side or rear lot line. That is a setback for the pool or court itself, not for a fence.
Design Requirements
The front facing portion of fences must be no less than 40 percent open.
Where the district chapter does not specifically address the application, the commission applies the district's general preservation standards. Those standards cover retaining and preserving historic character, preserving distinctive materials and features, and keeping new work compatible with the historic materials, features, size, scale, proportion and massing of the property.
Atlanta's zoning definitions treat a fence as a barrier at least 50 percent open to light, air and vision, and a wall as one where 50 percent or more of the gross vertical surface is closed.
Gates
The district chapter sets no fence gate rule, and the citywide rules for walls and fences in required yards set none either.
With no gate specific rule, the height, material and openness limits on this page are what govern a gate in the fence line.
A gate must not materially impede visibility within the triangle where two streets meet or where a driveway meets a street.
Floodplain Rules
No structure is permitted within any 100-year floodplain in this district. Atlanta's zoning definitions list fences and walls as structures, so a fence in the 100-year floodplain is not allowed here.
Citywide, construction, reconstruction, repair, modification or demolition of any structure within all floodplains, including special flood hazard areas, requires review and approval of a permit by the commissioner.
FEMA flood maps adopted by the city are used for general reference purposes only. A flood study or a field run survey, certified by a professional engineer or registered land surveyor, may be required to establish where the floodplain actually falls on a parcel.
Structures must be located so as to preserve the natural terrain of the district, with proper drainageways to prevent increased water runoff and erosion, siltation of streams or flooding of property.
Color Restrictions
The district chapter sets no fence color or paint requirement.
The chapter names coated chain link as an allowed material without specifying a coating color or type.
Fence color can still be reached by the general preservation standards where the district chapter does not specifically address the application.
Notes
Governed by the Druid Hills Landmark District regulations, Atlanta Code Chapter 20B, which apply on top of the citywide zoning code.
This is the City of Atlanta portion of Druid Hills, which sits in DeKalb County. Parts of the Druid Hills neighborhood lie outside the city limits in unincorporated DeKalb County and are not covered by this chapter.
The fence rules apply across the entire district, including all of its subareas.
Fences and walls need a Type II certificate of appropriateness from the director of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission.