Madison County Fence Zoning laws (HOA, new house, buying) - Huntsville-Madison-Decatur area - Alabama (AL) - City-Data Forum

NoleFanHSV · 09-04-2014, 01:07 PM

Anyone know if there are county/city zoning laws for putting up fences? I understand that HOAs will have rules, but I'm wondering if there are any county zoning laws.

Thanks.

FatTails · 09-04-2014, 04:19 PM

A few guys in IP have put fences in as high as 8ft with HOA permission, if that means anything to you. Do you have a specific question?

LCTMadison · 09-05-2014, 03:35 AM

As far as the county goes, you can take it to your property line and they really don't get into the business of dictating fences other than that. As far as type of fence, that is going to be determined by your HOA. If you are going to build yourself, check with the county to make sure you don't need a permit. Madison city at one time did not require a permit for fences but now they do.

CoreLysium · 09-05-2014, 06:57 AM

The only fence related law I know that is county wide is that if you have a pool, you must have a fence around it. Now, that can be a fence that encloses 4 acres including the pool, but the pool must be separated from the population in general, as it is a menace of some sort.

NoleFanHSV · 09-05-2014, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nerdtron

A few guys in IP have put fences in as high as 8ft with HOA permission, if that means anything to you. Do you have a specific question?

How'd they manage that? The By-laws state 6ft. Thats interesting.

The reason I ask is because Breland on a new house just put up a fence two inches from the property line all the way around, and this includes my yard. I don't have a fence up yet. My neighbor on the other side of this house is upset because he put his fence about 9 inches off the property line and there is only about a 11 inch gap between the two fences, no room for a push mower and barely enough room for a weed eater.

In my case I could possibly tie in on that side, but I don't think I'd want to do that. If I put a fence up and put it almost to the property line, it would leave such a narrow gap that the fence couldn't be painted or stained on that side nor could any growth between the fence really be dealt with besides round up.

If I'd like to have a large enough gap so that a weed eater or mower could go down, I'd have to come in significantly into my property to put a fence so the yard can be maintained and so I could paint it.

I'm also concerned since the fence does not quite hit the property line, that they won't maintain the two inches of grass/growth on their property at the fence.

CoreLysium · 09-05-2014, 07:19 AM

If it's only 9 inches, I'd get your neighbor's permission and tie onto it. It's not like there's some huge legal mess because the parcels are slightly off of real life.

Example 1:
My parents had a house where the corner of the driveway, 0.007 acres if I remember correctly, was inside the neighbor's yard. Both my father and the neighbor decided they wanted to get it resolved in paperwork so they did the paperwork up and now that little triangle is actually in limbo (or dad still owns it?) because it actually didn't get included when the house sold later. Whatever. Wasted time and money.

Example 2:
My neighbor at our old house put up a fence "one the line" and I tied onto it. When we went to sell the house, it was found that one of the stakes had been moved and there was a 140 ft by 2 ft triangle that was actually his yard, but had been assumed to be my yard. We didn't care. Life goes on.

NoleFanHSV · 09-05-2014, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoreLysium

If it's only 9 inches, I'd get your neighbor's permission and tie onto it. It's not like there's some huge legal mess because the parcels are slightly off of real life.

Example 1:
My parents had a house where the corner of the driveway, 0.007 acres if I remember correctly, was inside the neighbor's yard. Both my father and the neighbor decided they wanted to get it resolved in paperwork so they did the paperwork up and now that little triangle is actually in limbo (or dad still owns it?) because it actually didn't get included when the house sold later. Whatever. Wasted time and money.

Example 2:
My neighbor at our old house put up a fence "one the line" and I tied onto it. When we went to sell the house, it was found that one of the stakes had been moved and there was a 140 ft by 2 ft triangle that was actually his yard, but had been assumed to be my yard. We didn't care. Life goes on.

On my yard, its only 2 inches. If I put a fence up, I don't want to tie in. It becomes a "who repairs the fence" issue.

FatTails · 09-05-2014, 07:56 AM

I know one guy who did 8ft got HOA permission and convinced them that because his lot was elevated relative to the other houses on the street, a 6ft fence would not provide privacy. If you're curious he's the guy on northlake who just finished a detached garage.

I would just move your fence in a couple of feet if you want some sort of "walkway" between the two fences. Otherwise I'd tie in. I don't think you have any other options.

NoleFanHSV · 09-05-2014, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nerdtron

I know one guy who did 8ft got HOA permission and convinced them that because his lot was elevated relative to the other houses on the street, a 6ft fence would not provide privacy. If you're curious he's the guy on northlake who just finished a detached garage.

I would just move your fence in a couple of feet if you want some sort of "walkway" between the two fences. Otherwise I'd tie in. I don't think you have any other options.

Why should I have to move in that far into my property? That is the point I'm making. This is really a Breland/fence company thing because even the new neighbors were even surprised that they put it that close to the line. If they would have put it up after buying the house, they might would have come into their own property some to allow a gap for maintenance. I have a much smaller yard than they do, and especially my back yard, I don't want to lose a foot or more if I decide to fence just because they got their fence up first. From a painting issue, I'm not sure it matters much since that side of the fence wouldn't be seen being so close to the neighbors fence. I also noticed several other homes have put fences up right on or close to the property back in lakeshore meadows. Some have come off their properties to allow a gap. None are consistent.

One of the reasons we didn't put a fence up was simply because a 6 foot fence would not provide any privacy from the neighbors behind us. Their homes sit up 4-5 feet higher than ours. With a 6ft fence on the back of the yard, those neighbors can see right over. An 8 foot fence might work.

LCTMadison · 09-05-2014, 12:07 PM

Regardless of who the owner is, they have the right to put their fence wherever they please on their property, as long as they are not encumbering another property. Nothing you can do about it. You have the same right as well. Put it wherever you want on your property up to your property line.

Why wouldn't you tie in? Most do this. You could just simply set your post on your property line, and if he is only a couple of inches off, you probably wouldn't even have to physically tie in, just don't fence that side. I have had a client do that to a neighbor who would not let them tie in. Technically they didn't, yet they still got the benefit of the neighbor's fence.