Fence and Screening Rules for Commercial Yards, Junkyards and Service Lots

When a business owner calls about a yard fence, the first question is usually material and length. The more useful question is what the lot is used for. Zoning in this area attaches fence and screening requirements to specific uses, and they differ from one use to the next.

This guide works through the cases written into the Jackson and Madison County zoning text. Where a rule is not online or I could not confirm it, I say who to call. For the work itself, see our commercial fencing services.

The Baseline in the City of Jackson

Every fence in Jackson needs a permit, commercial ones included, and the city's commercial building permit lists fences among the items that require one. Planning has to approve the fence before the permit is issued.

Barbed wire is prohibited, with one exception. In industrial areas it may be added on top of chain link, at least six feet above the sidewalk or street, on forty-five degree brackets projecting over private property. Electric fences are prohibited in every zoning district. The barbed wire and electric fence guide covers both rules in full.

I found no published cap on commercial fence height in Jackson, so I will not give you one. What the code does give you are use-by-use requirements, which follow.

Gas Stations Next to Homes

For gasoline service stations, the Jackson zoning text calls for a solid fence or wall four feet high along all property lines that separate the site from residentially zoned lots, and along alley lines opposite residential property. If your lot backs up to houses, that is the screening the code expects.

Auto and Equipment Recycling Yards

Under Jackson's section on automobile and equipment part recycling, short-term outside storage has to be screened from public view by a fence at least six feet high, and storage is not allowed in a required yard. A chain link fence alone does not hide anything, so in general a yard like this ends up as a solid or slatted design. The code says only that the fence must be site proof and at least six feet high. The same section says the operation is conducted mainly inside an enclosed building and keeps outside storage temporary.

Parking Lots and Transitional Yards

This one is narrower than it sounds. Jackson's section on off-street parking lots in RG-2 and RG-3 residential districts covers existing commercial or industrial uses that expand their parking into an adjoining general residential district. For those lots, the Planning Commission approves the height, type and amount of screening. A paved area with more than five spaces within fifty feet of an adjoining residential lot or dwelling needs a transitional protective yard at least twenty feet wide. That strip can be natural plantings, "closed fences, walls, berms, or any combination." So a fence can be part of the answer but is not the only option. Parking lots elsewhere may have other requirements that I did not find, so ask Planning.

Cell Towers

Where a tower site abuts residentially developed land or zoning, Jackson's text calls for rows of deciduous trees and evergreen trees or shrubs around the site perimeter. It adds that "alternatives such as walls or fences may be permitted based on security or other reasons." Separately, security fencing is required around the base and the guy anchors of any tower. The text I read gives no security fence height, so ask Planning.

What Madison County Writes Down

The unincorporated county has its own zoning resolution, and it has more detail in some places.

• Automobile junk and storage yards. In the M-1 light industrial district these are a special exception, which the Board of Appeals can grant after public notice and a hearing. The area used for junk vehicles has to be entirely enclosed by a metal chain fence at least six feet high. No part of the fenced storage area may be closer than 100 feet to a residential district, 75 feet to a street right-of-way, or 20 feet to other property lines. Three staggered rows of pine trees go between the chain fence and the property line, except that an evergreen edge at least four feet high goes next to the chain fence along the front property line.
• Mini-warehouses. A seven-foot sight-proof fence of wood, metal or masonry goes on the property line where it abuts a residential zone. The Board of Zoning Appeals approves the design and type.
• Planned Commercial Developments. Where one abuts a residential district, the Planning Commission may require a wall, fence or evergreen hedge, or another suitable enclosure, to a maximum height of seven feet.

The junk yard rule also tells you something about intent. The fence is a requirement, but so are the setbacks and the planted screen. Meeting only one of those leaves you short.

A commercial lot with a screening requirement is a zoning matter, not just a building one. The county's residential permit exemption for fences up to seven feet says nothing about a zoning requirement, so confirm with Madison County planning how your project is classified before you order anything.

Other Towns Have Their Own Rules

Humboldt, Trenton and Milan each set a junkyard rule in their municipal codes: close-fitting plank or metal solid fences, touching the ground, at least six feet high. Humboldt also requires a security fence or wall system around a telecommunications structure of at least eight feet or the height of the accessory structures, whichever is greater. Medina's and Henderson's municipal codes adopt their zoning ordinances by reference, and Medina's code says its ordinance is a separate document of record in the city recorder's office. I did not find either ordinance's fence text online, so call the city recorder or building official.

The same call works whether you are on a Humboldt lot or one of the other service areas. Ask what screening applies to your use and which district you are in.

Where I Stop and You Make a Call

There are things I could not verify and will not guess at:

• Wire gauge, coating class, or industry standard numbers for commercial chain link. Ask the bidder to put the spec in writing.
• Post spacing limits for any of these uses.
• Any Jackson cap on commercial fence height.
• Which zoning district your lot falls in. The code names uses by section. Planning can tell you the district for your parcel and which sections apply.

Getting the Fence Priced Right

A good commercial bid names the use, the screening or security requirement, the footage, the material spec, gate sizes and hardware, and who pulls the permit. Our guide to reading a fence estimate walks through what each line should say, and security fencing covers the protection side. For dumpster areas, see dumpster enclosure fencing.

How to Read a Use-Based Rule

Zoning text for these uses is written in sections, and the section title tells you the use. When you read one, check four things in order: what the use is called, which districts allow it, what the screening or fence requirement is, and whether anything else is required with it. The junk yard rule, for example, is not just a fence. It also sets a distance from residential districts and a planted screen.

I have cited section titles for the Jackson gas station and recycling items, not district names, on purpose. I did not trace which districts allow those uses, and a district name guessed wrong sends you to the wrong office with the wrong question.

Questions to Ask Planning Before You Bid the Fence

• Which zoning district is my parcel in?
• Which section covers my use, and does it set a fence or screening requirement?
• Is any of the screening required to be planted, or can a fence meet it alone?
• Does the Planning Commission or another board have to approve the screening plan?
• Are there rules about where the fence can sit relative to a required yard?

Gates and Truck Access

A commercial yard fence is only as useful as its gate. Delivery trucks, trailers and equipment need openings wide enough to turn into, and heavy gates need serious posts. Sliding and swing gates both work, and which is better depends on the room in front of the gate and the traffic. See gate installation and automatic gates for how those are built. Put gate widths in the bid by name, and make sure the screening rule still works with a gate in it. A solid fence with an open gate is not hiding much.

Common Questions About Commercial Yard Fences

The Honest Bottom Line

Commercial fence rules here are tied to what you do on the lot. Figure out which section applies, confirm the district with the right office, and then design the fence. Ask Greg for a walk-through of your lot, or look at commercial fencing in Jackson to see what we install.

More plain-English answers on cost, permits, materials, and repairs are in all of our fence guides.