Fence Rules in Atlanta - Oakland City, Georgia

Type II Certificate of Appropriateness: required to build a fence or a wall in this district. Issued by: the director of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission, within 14 days of application when the work meets the district standards. The director must deny an application that does not meet the district's development controls and architectural standards. Appeals: any aggrieved person may appeal the director's decision on a Type II certificate, in the manner set for Type I certificates. No certificate of appropriateness is required unless the work would otherwise require a building permit. Type I certificates for ordinary repairs and maintenance are not required in this district. Building permit: Atlanta's building code makes it unlawful to erect any structure without first obtaining a building permit unless the code specifically exempts it, and fence construction is not on the city's list of work exempt from permit. Under Atlanta's building code amendments, the usual permit valuation and permit scope exemptions do not apply to exterior work in a historic district. In their place, repair work with a total valuation under 2,500 dollars needs no certificate of appropriateness, no building permit and no permit fee, provided the work is otherwise lawful.

4 ft max for fences in the front yard and in the yard along a second street. Walls other than retaining walls: not permitted in either of those yards. Chain link: not permitted in either of those yards.

6 ft max for fences and walls in the side or rear yard. Retaining walls are excluded from that limit.

The district's fence and wall limits are written for fences and walls visible from a public street when finished. Alleys do not count as public streets in this district. The yard along a second street is the code's half-depth front yard, such as the side street yard on a corner lot. It is a yard parallel to that street, at least half the width of the front yard the district requires. Oakland City has no subareas. One set of rules covers the whole district. The district limits are expressly subject to Atlanta's citywide fence section, which sets: 4 ft for fences in the required front and half-depth front yards and 6 ft for fences or walls in the required side and rear yards in the R-1 through R-5 districts; 4 ft in the front yard and 8 ft in the side or rear yards in R-G; 9 ft in any required yard in all other districts. Notwithstanding those citywide limits, in any dwelling district no fence or wall over 2.5 ft, measured from the grade at the intersecting street right-of-way lines, may be erected or maintained within 20 ft of any street intersection. How fence height is measured: 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 level of the surface it retains, that additional height counts toward the height allowed for a fence placed on that wall. The board of zoning adjustment may grant a special exception for greater height, on findings about security or privacy, light and air to adjoining property, topography, or compatibility with the neighborhood. No part of any fence may contain barbed wire or razor wire along the public right-of-way or along any private drive that services pedestrians.

2.5 ft max within 20 ft of any street intersection, for any fence or wall, measured from the grade at the intersecting street right-of-way lines. This applies in any dwelling district and overrides the front, side and rear yard limits. 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, inside the triangle bounded by the first 20 ft along the intersecting right-of-way edges and a line connecting the ends of those lines. Driveways: the same 20 ft by 20 ft visibility triangle applies where a driveway meets a street, measured along the driving surfaces. A corner lot also has a half-depth front yard along the second street, so the front yard fence rules apply there as well.

Front yard and the yard along a second street: brick, stone, ornamental iron, or wood. Side and rear yards: no material list. The district chapter sets none, and Atlanta's citywide fence section sets none. Screening for mechanical and communication equipment visible from a public street may use appropriate plant material or fencing.

Chain link: not permitted in the front yard or the yard along a second street. Walls other than retaining walls: not permitted in the front yard or the yard along a second street. Barbed wire and razor wire: no part of any fence may contain them along the public right-of-way or along any private drive that services pedestrians. Barbed wire fences, electric fences, and any other character of fence or object that would endanger the persons or clothing of passersby: unlawful along the sidewalks on the portion of any lot adjacent to a public right-of-way, unless the fence is amply protected by a barrier approved by the commissioner of transportation, or the fence is placed at least 3 ft from the inside edge of the sidewalk and located entirely on the abutting private property.

You are in the Oakland City Historic District. These rules apply on top of Atlanta's citywide code. The district is an Overlay Historic District zoning district shown on the official zoning map. The existing zoning map and regulations stay in full force. The district regulations are overlaid on them and imposed in addition to them, and the district regulations govern any conflict.

No fence setback. The district chapter sets none, and Atlanta's zoning code allows fences and walls in any yard, subject to the height and sight distance requirements above. The district's own development control setbacks apply to buildings, not to fences: front yard by the previously existing contributing building of like use or by the compatibility rule, side yard by one of four listed tests or at least 7 ft, rear yard 7 ft. A fence that would endanger the persons or clothing of passersby, such as barbed wire or an electric fence, must sit at least 3 ft from the inside edge of the sidewalk and entirely on private property, unless it is amply protected by a barrier approved by the commissioner of transportation.

A Type II Certificate of Appropriateness is required to build a fence or a wall. The compatibility rule applies to the design of every fence in the front yard or the yard along a second street. The rule has two branches. For elements that are not quantifiable, which is the branch that governs design, the element must be compatible with what predominates among the like contributing structures on that block face and must be internally consistent with the historic design of the structure. For quantifiable elements the rule sets a range: no less than the smallest and no greater than the greatest such element among the like contributing buildings on that block face, and internally consistent with the historic design of the structure. Mechanical and communication equipment must sit to the side or rear of the principal structure, in the location least visible from a public street. Screening with appropriate plant material or fencing is required if that equipment is visible from a public street. Variance requests from the district's provisions are heard by the Atlanta Urban Design Commission, which may grant relief where special conditions make literal enforcement an unnecessary hardship.

Not addressed. The district chapter sets no gate rule, and Atlanta's citywide fence section sets none. The height, material, visibility and certificate rules above are written for fences and walls, with no gate exception.

Fences are named as ancillary structures in Atlanta's floodplain rules. Permit: construction of any structure within any floodplain, including a special flood hazard area, requires review and approval of a permit by the commissioner of the department of watershed management. Traditional floodplain areas: an ancillary structure may be allowed if it is designed and constructed to minimize and mitigate impact on the floodplain, to let stormwater enter the floodway by sheet flow rather than channelized flow, and to result in no net loss in flood storage volume. Floodway: ancillary structures are not allowed. The city's adopted FEMA flood maps are for general reference only. A flood study or a field run survey may be required to determine the location and extent of the floodplain on a specific parcel.

No color rule. The district chapter sets no fence color restriction. Painting or repainting any structure, or any portion of one, does not require a certificate of appropriateness.

Fence rules here come from Atlanta Code Chapter 20M, the Oakland City Historic District overlay, which is imposed in addition to the citywide zoning that already governs the property. A fence or wall needs a Type II Certificate of Appropriateness from the director of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission, but only when the work would otherwise need a building permit. The district's height limits are expressly subject to Atlanta's citywide fence section, so the citywide 2.5 ft cap within 20 ft of a street intersection applies inside the district too. The repair exemption under 2,500 dollars comes from Atlanta's building code amendments, not from Chapter 20M.