Fence permit rules in Bowling Green

Bowling Green requires a zoning certificate before you put up a fence, and the fee is $25. The city’s own fence handout and its FAQ both say so, and the FAQ adds that replacing an existing fence needs the permit too. The one exception in the code: replacing less than half the length of a fence that is already there does not need a permit.

Apply through the city’s online permit portal at permits.bgohio.gov, or at the Planning Department, 305 North Main Street, on (419) 354-6218. The FAQ says processing takes about five to seven days.

Height limits

The handout and the code, Section 150.79, agree on the main numbers:

• 4 feet in the required front yard. A corner lot has two front yards.
• 6 feet in the required side and rear yards.

There is a side yard catch. A side fence over 4 feet may not run closer to the street than the front wall of a house on your lot or the lot next door. The handout puts it plainly: a 6 foot side fence that would go past the front of a neighboring house drops to 4 feet. On a street where the houses sit at different depths, that line is set by your neighbor’s house, not yours.

Height is measured from base grade, meaning the original ground before anyone mounds dirt under the fence. Along a retaining wall it is measured from the higher side. Industrial IE lots get 10 feet at the rear; nobody else does.

The corner triangle

On a corner lot, measure 25 feet down each lot line from the corner and connect the two points. Nothing over 2 feet tall may stand inside that triangle. A privacy fence that wraps a corner has to stop short of it.

What to submit

A scale drawing of your lot showing the house, the fence line, its height, and the measurements from every property line. The Planning Department may already have a drawing of your lot on file that you can mark up. The good side of the fence must face outward, and the city expects the fence to be maintained once it is up.

The FAQ says some projects also need a permit from the Wood County Building Inspector, who is given a copy of the approved zoning permit. The fence handout does not mention one, so ask when you apply.

Outside the city: Wood County townships

Step over the city line and the rules change, because each township writes its own zoning. The Wood County Planning Commission on 419-354-9128 can tell you which township and zoning district a parcel sits in, and it keeps the list of township zoning inspectors. Wood County Building Inspection on 419-354-9190 is clear that a zoning permit from the local authority comes before any building permit.

Perrysburg Township shows how different a township can be. Its zoning resolution allows 4 feet in the front yard, 4 feet in the side yard next to the house, 6 feet in the side yard behind the house in the R-3, R-4 and R-4A districts, and 7 feet elsewhere on the lot. Posts may stand 4 inches over the limit, height is measured from the original ground, and a fence on the property line needs a written agreement with the neighbor filed with the permit. Fences stay 3 feet from utility boxes and 6 feet from a hydrant. The township office is at 26609 Lime City Road, 419-872-8863. One caution: the article we read carries 2011 and 2013 dates, and the resolution was amended in October 2023, so confirm the numbers.

Rossford

Rossford’s code says every fence needs a permit, whatever its type or height, and the city’s application lists a $25 fee. The limits:

• 42 inches in the front yard, counting posts and finials
• 6 feet at the side and rear, with posts and finials up to 82 inches
• The fence sits 4 inches inside your property line unless both neighbors sign a written agreement
• A front yard fence stays 1 foot back from the right-of-way or sidewalk
• Board-on-board, stockade, louver, security and chain link fences are not allowed in a residential front yard

Permits go through the city’s online portal; the city offices are at 133 Osborn Street, 419-666-0210.

Northwood

Northwood’s zoning inspector issues a permit for each fence before construction, and the fee is $25. Limits: 42 inches in the required front yard and on corner lots, 4 feet in the required side yard next to the main building, and 6 feet in the rear yard, measured from the original ground. The good side faces out, and barbed wire, razor wire and spikes are prohibited. Zoning is on 419-693-9329 at the Municipal Complex, 6000 Wales Road.

Call 811 before anyone digs

Ohio law requires notice to the Ohio Utility Protection Service at least two working days before digging. Call 811 or 1-800-362-2764, or file online. Bowling Green’s handout repeats the same instruction. A paid contractor has to make that call on every job. There is more on our 811 page.

What a fence costs here

Bowling Green is in Wood County, where the combined sales tax is 6.75 percent, rising to 7.25 percent in the part of the county inside the TARTA transit area. Under Ohio rules the contractor pays that tax on materials and quotes you a lump sum, because a fence is an improvement to real property, so there is no tax line on your invoice.

See your price range

Put your fence runs into the estimator and see the installed range for your yard, then request a quote. If you are on a corner or your neighbor’s house sits forward of yours, say so when the installer calls, because in Bowling Green those two things decide how tall the side fence can be.