General Fence Guidelines

  1. In a residential district, a fence or similar enclosure is allowed without obtaining a building permit as long as the fence is not more than 6 feet in height AND provided it does not interfere with traffic circulation. However, please be advised that even though a building permit may not be required, wetland restrictions still apply if you are in a jurisdictional area. Please call the Conservation Department at 508-699-0125 to confirm that the proposed location of your fence is not within their jurisdiction.

  2. On a corner lot in any district no sign, fence, wall, tree, hedge, or other vegetation and no building or other structure shall exceed 2 1/2 feet in height above the plane established by the intersecting streets within the triangle formed by the lot lines abutting the intersecting streets and a line connecting points on these lot lines at a distance 25 feet from the point of intersection of the lot lines. A fence, hedge, wall, sign or other structure or vegetation may be maintained on any interior lot provided that in the front yard area, no such structure or vegetation shall be over 3 feet in height above the adjacent ground within 5 feet of the front lot line unless it can be shown that such vegetation will not restrict visibility in such a way as to hinder the safe entry of a vehicle from any driveway to the street.

  3. Fences are allowed to abut the property line, HOWEVER, we do not advise this, as maintenance can become a future issue. Additionally, many times people “think” they know where their property line is but this office has seen many instances where a survey of the property is done AFTER a fence is installed (typically by an aggrieved neighbor) only to find out that the fence is not located on their property, which opens you up to possible legal issues with your neighbors. PLEASE be wise when determining your fence location, we recommend protecting your investment by having your property surveyed prior to any fence  installation.