ZoningVerdict

Fences in Birmingham, MI

What the Birmingham zoning ordinance says about fences, district by district. Section numbers link to the official ordinance.

All districts

In all districts, fences may contain no barbed wire and no electrical current or charge of electricity (§ 4.10 FN-01). Playground fences may reach 7 feet and may be at most 25 percent sight-obscuring. Fences must be maintained.

In R1 through R8 and TZ1 (§ 4.11 FN-02):

  • Up to 6 feet in required side or rear open space.
  • Up to 3 feet in the front open space, with two exceptions: behind the front of the principal building, and immediately adjacent to the rear lot line of a corner lot, where 6 feet is allowed.

At corners, nothing may be maintained at a height that obscures drivers' vision (§ 4.89 VC-01). The ordinance states this qualitatively; it sets no numeric sight triangle.

§ 4.10 FN-01; § 4.11 FN-02; § 4.89 VC-01

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