How tall can my fence be in Sterling Heights?

Between 3 and 6 feet, and the minimum is real: Chapter 19 says a fence must be "not less than three feet nor more than six feet above grade level at any location" (19-8.A). A fence, including a fully sight-obscuring privacy fence, may run along side and rear lot lines and along the front setback line of an interior lot, but it may not extend into the front yard (19-8.A).

On a corner lot, a sight-obscuring fence may project up to 10 feet into the street-side front yard, and a shorter 3 to 4 foot open-style fence may stand in that street-side yard (19-8.B). Within 25 feet of an intersection, nothing over 30 inches is allowed in the sight triangle (Section 28.03 of the zoning ordinance).

Every fence needs a permit from the Building Department before you build (19-3). Barbed wire, spikes, pointed toppers, and electrified fences are prohibited (19-9, 19-10). If you need relief, fence variances go to the Board of Ordinance Appeals, a different body than the Zoning Board of Appeals (19-11).