FENCE RULES – SMITHFIELD (TOWN), VIRGINIA

OVERVIEW

Residential fences are permitted on private property within Town of Smithfield, subject to local regulations. For properties located outside Town of Smithfield town limits, Isle of Wight County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.

Local fence rules appear primarily in the Smithfield Zoning Ordinance, including Article 2.R, Walls and Fences. Additional review layers appear in the Town zoning-permit materials, the Historic Preservation Overlay, the Floodplain Overlay, the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Overlay, right-of-way and easement materials, and related Town and County permit-administration materials.

This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s adopted materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the code does not specify one.

Compiled From the Town of Smithfield Community Development and Planning Department materials, Town Applications page, Zoning Permit Application, Smithfield Zoning Ordinance Article 2.R Walls and Fences, Article 3.M HP-O Historic Preservation Areas Overlay District, Article 3.O FP-O Floodplain Overlay District, Article 3.P CB-O Chesapeake Bay Preservation Overlay District, Article 3.R ECO Entrance Corridor Overlay District, the 2025 Historic District Design Guidelines, the BHAR Review Application, the Right-of-Way / Easement Permit Application, the Water Quality Impact Assessment Application, the Agreement in Lieu of an Erosion and Sediment Control Plan for a Single Family Home, the Smithfield Town Code, Isle of Wight County Building Inspections materials, and Virginia utility-safety requirements as of July 2026.

GOVERNANCE

The Town of Smithfield regulates residential fence issues through the Smithfield Zoning Ordinance, Town zoning-permit administration, overlay-district review, right-of-way and easement review, environmental review, and code enforcement.

The Community Development and Planning Department administers and enforces the Town zoning ordinance, subdivision ordinance, zoning maps, and certain land-based sections of the Town Code. The Department reviews administrative zoning permit applications, including projects as simple as a new fence, and coordinates matters that require review by the Board of Historic and Architectural Review, Board of Zoning Appeals, Planning Commission, or Town Council.

The Department's jurisdiction lies within the Town of Smithfield corporate limits for planning, subdivision, code enforcement, single-family residential erosion and sediment control, and zoning matters. Isle of Wight County is identified by the Town as the contact for building permits and inspections, wetlands permitting, stormwater management, building-code property maintenance, land conservation, and erosion and sediment control matters beyond single-family residential development.

The Isle of Wight County Department of Community Development – Inspections administers the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code and County building-permit and inspection functions. The Town zoning permit remains a separate local zoning approval when the Town requires it for a fence.

The Town does not publish one consolidated residential fence code. Standard residential fence review is structured through Article 2.R, Walls and Fences, the Town fence-zoning-permit process, and any site-specific overlay, right-of-way, easement, floodplain, Chesapeake Bay, historic, pool-barrier, utility, drainage, or private-restriction layer that applies to the property.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Town Zoning Permit: The Town publishes a fence-specific zoning-permit requirement. The Community Development and Planning FAQ states that a fence requires a completed zoning permit application, the $30 permit fee, and a recent survey or plat of the property with the fence drawn on it. The Applications page identifies the zoning permit application for residential accessory buildings, structures, and additions as the application for single-family accessory improvements, including fences.

• Building Permit Baseline And County Routing: Under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code baseline, application for a building permit and related inspections are not required for fences of any height unless the fence is required for pedestrian safety during construction or is used as the barrier for a swimming pool. The Town zoning permit application also states that residential fences do not require a building permit. A separate Town FAQ directs fence applicants to Isle of Wight County for building-permit handling; Isle of Wight County Department of Community Development – Inspections administers the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code and County building permits.

• Historic Preservation Overlay: In the Historic Preservation Overlay, the 2025 Historic District Design Guidelines state that a Certificate of Appropriateness must be obtained for exterior alterations, building moves, demolitions, and accessory structures, including fences. The BHAR application includes New Fence as a review category. The zoning ordinance also identifies landscaping involving major grade changes or walls and fences more than three and one-half (3 1/2) feet in height as a major action requiring review in the HP-O district.

• Floodplain Overlay: In the FP-O Floodplain Overlay District, the ordinance applies to lands identified as special flood hazard areas. The ordinance states that no land may be developed and no structure may be located, relocated, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, or structurally altered except in full compliance with the floodplain regulations and other applicable ordinances. The Zoning Administrator serves as the Floodplain Administrator.

• Chesapeake Bay Preservation Overlay / Resource Protection Area: In the CB-O Chesapeake Bay Preservation Overlay District, the ordinance applies to designated Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas, including Resource Protection Areas and Resource Management Areas. The Town publishes CBPA exception and WQIA materials for proposed encroachments, land disturbance, development, or redevelopment within the 100-foot Resource Protection Area buffer. This is a site-condition review layer, not an ordinary fence setback rule.

• Land Disturbance And Erosion Control: The Town administers single-family residential erosion and sediment control inside Town limits. The Applications page and zoning permit materials reference Chesapeake Bay worksheets and an Agreement in Lieu of an Erosion and Sediment Control Plan where single-family residential development involves more than 2,500 square feet of land disturbance. The Agreement in Lieu addresses construction sediment controls such as silt fence before land disturbance; that construction-control use of silt fence does not create a residential yard-fence material standard.

• Right-Of-Way And Easement Permit: The Town publishes a Right-of-Way / Easement Permit Application for private improvements proposed within Town-owned or Town-maintained rights-of-way or easements. Fence work proposed in a Town right-of-way or Town easement is not treated as an ordinary yard fence located entirely on private property.

• Pool Barrier: Permanent swimming pools must comply with the pool-fence and barrier language in the zoning ordinance and applicable building-code pool-barrier requirements. A fence used as a swimming-pool barrier is not treated as an ordinary residential yard fence.

• Contractor / Business License Context: The Town zoning permit application states that the applicant must have a Town of Smithfield business license if the cost of the job exceeds $25,000.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Required Yards: Article 2.R allows walls, fences, berms, and similar items that may restrict passage or vision or enhance private property to be located within required yards as defined by building setbacks, subject to the restrictions in that article.

• Property Lines: Except for the corner-lot rear-yard rule below, the ordinance does not state a setback requirement for standard residential fences from property lines; however, fences must be located entirely on the owner's property and must not encroach into rights-of-way or easements.

• Rear Yard Extension To Front Corners: Rear-yard fences that are taller than forty-two (42) inches may extend to the front corners of the primary structure.

• Corner Lots: Fences in the rear yard on corner lots must meet the side-yard setback adjacent to the right-of-way line in the underlying zoning district.

• Survey / Plat Requirement: The Town fence FAQ requires a recent survey or plat of the property with the fence drawn on it as part of the Town zoning-permit packet.

• Rights-Of-Way And Easements: The Right-of-Way / Easement Permit Application applies where private improvements are proposed within a Town-owned or Town-maintained right-of-way or easement. The Town zoning permit application also warns that if a temporary or permanent structure is placed in an easement and the Town must perform work in that easement, the structure may be moved at the property owner's expense.

• Drainage And Sidewalks: The Smithfield Town Code addresses surface drainage over sidewalks in connection with new construction or reconstruction and requires drainage plans and specifications to be submitted with the building or zoning permit application where the drainage rule applies.

• Floodplain And Chesapeake Bay Overlays: Placement in a mapped Floodplain Overlay, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area, Resource Protection Area, wetland, shoreline, or similar environmental area may trigger separate site-condition review. Those layers do not function as ordinary fence setbacks unless the applicable ordinance or approval says so for the property.

• Historic Preservation Overlay: In the Historic Preservation Overlay, fences and exterior site work visible from the public right-of-way may require Certificate of Appropriateness review by the Board of Historic and Architectural Review.

• Utility Safety: Virginia law requires notice to the notification center / Virginia 811 before excavation or demolition where the Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act applies. For fence projects that involve excavation, including digging, drilling, augering, or other movement of earth, the excavator must submit a locate request and must review the positive-response information before work begins unless an exemption applies. A Virginia locate request is generally valid for 15 working days, and re-marking may be required before that period ends or when markings become illegible. Virginia law includes an important exemption for hand digging performed by an owner or occupant of a property. This statewide utility-notice framework is separate from local fence permitting, zoning, development approval, easement limits, right-of-way approvals, floodplain review, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area review, Resource Protection Area review, stormwater review, wetland or shoreline approvals, HOA restrictions, and other applicable requirements.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

• Front And Side Yards: Walls and fences located within front and side yards may not exceed forty-two (42) inches in height, measured from the grade at the point of placement.

• Rear Yards: Walls, fences, or similar items other than landscaping within rear yards may not exceed six (6) feet in height.

• Rear Yard Extension: Rear-yard fences taller than forty-two (42) inches may extend to the front corners of the primary structure.

• Corner-Lot Visibility: In all use districts, walls, fences, hedgerows, dense landscaping, and similar items on corner lots that exceed three and one-half (3 1/2) feet in height and obstruct vision must be reduced in height or relocated at least twenty (20) feet from the intersection of right-of-way lines.

• Traffic Ingress And Egress: In all use districts, walls, fences, hedgerows, dense landscaping, and similar items that exceed three and one-half (3 1/2) feet in height and obstruct traffic ingress or egress on property must be reduced in height or relocated in a manner that negates the obstruction.

• Safety Or Security Fences: The zoning ordinance states that walls and fences clearly used for safety or security purposes in business, residential, and industrial districts may be superseded by other height regulations.

• Historic District Height Guidance: In the Historic Preservation Overlay, the 2025 Historic District Design Guidelines state that front-yard fences should be under 42 inches in height and that privacy fences in the rear of the building are acceptable up to 72 inches in height.

• Pool Barriers: Pool-barrier height and barrier details are governed separately when a fence is used as part of a regulated swimming-pool enclosure. The ordinary yard-fence height rules do not replace the applicable pool-barrier requirements.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Standard Residential Materials: Outside the historic-district and special-use contexts described below, the code does not publish a general list of permitted standard residential fence materials.

• Electrified, Barbed, Or Dangerous Fences: In residential districts, walls and fences adjoining property lines must not be electrified, barbed, or otherwise secured in a manner inappropriate or dangerous to the neighborhood. The ordinance allows those restrictions to be waived within customary agricultural areas.

• Historic District Materials: In the Historic Preservation Overlay, the 2025 Historic District Design Guidelines state that new fences and walls should be compatible with existing historic-district fences in height, size, transparency, and material composition. The guidelines identify wood picket, cast iron, and brick as the most appropriate materials for new fences and walls.

• Historic District Materials To Avoid: The 2025 Historic District Design Guidelines advise against constructing new fences and walls of vinyl, cement, concrete block, PVC, and chain link materials in the historic district.

• Finished Side / Orientation: The code does not publish a general finished-side or orientation rule for all standard residential fences. In the Historic Preservation Overlay, the 2025 Historic District Design Guidelines state that new fences should have the finished side facing out and should be stained or painted white.

• Pool Enclosures: Permanent swimming pools must follow the zoning ordinance's pool-fence language and applicable pool-barrier standards. The zoning ordinance requires a pedestrian space of at least three (3) feet between pool walls and the protective fences or barrier walls of the pool, and states that permanent swimming pools must be fenced and/or landscaped in a manner satisfactory to the Planning and Zoning Administrator.

• Animal And Livestock Enclosures: The Smithfield Town Code separately regulates dog enclosures and livestock enclosures. Those animal-control provisions do not replace the zoning ordinance's ordinary residential fence height and material rules.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Private covenants, HOA rules, subdivision restrictions, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, conservation easements, and recorded agreements operate independently from Town of Smithfield fence regulations.

A fence that satisfies Town zoning, historic, environmental, right-of-way, easement, pool-barrier, utility, and County building-code administration requirements may still be limited by private restrictions that are more restrictive than the public rules.

REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT

Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:

• Town zoning-permit review for fences, including the required survey or plat showing the proposed fence location.

• County building-code routing where the Town directs an applicant to Isle of Wight County Department of Community Development – Inspections for building-permit handling.

• Fence height review under the forty-two (42) inch front- and side-yard limit and the six (6) foot rear-yard limit.

• Corner-lot and traffic-visibility review where fences, walls, hedges, or dense landscaping over three and one-half (3 1/2) feet obstruct vision.

• Historic-district review where a fence is located in the Historic Preservation Overlay or requires a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Board of Historic and Architectural Review.

• Floodplain, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area, Resource Protection Area, wetland, shoreline, erosion-control, or land-disturbance review where the property or the work falls within those site-condition layers.

• Right-of-way, easement, drainage, and Town infrastructure review where a fence or related site work may affect Town property, a Town-maintained easement, a sidewalk, a drainage path, or public infrastructure.

• Pool-barrier review where the fence is part of a swimming-pool enclosure.

• Utility-safety review and Virginia 811 locate requirements when fence work involves excavation.

• Complaint-based zoning and land-based code enforcement through the Community Development and Planning Department.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Town of Smithfield, based on the referenced published materials as of July 2026.

In addition to local fence rules, certain Virginia laws apply statewide. See Statewide fence laws in Virginia.

It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, zoning approvals, zoning certifications, development approvals, surveys, or professional guidance. Rules and interpretations may change, and application may vary based on zoning district, site conditions, easements, rights-of-way, floodplain status, stormwater requirements, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area status, Resource Protection Area status, wetland or shoreline status, historic district status, design-review status, rural or agricultural context, livestock or division-fence context, pool-barrier use, utility safety requirements, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants, deed restrictions, private agreements, or conservation easements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with Community Development and Planning Department and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Town of Smithfield staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.