Fence permit rules in Dundee, Adrian, Tecumseh and Blissfield

Head west out of Toledo on the Michigan side and you reach Dundee first, then Blissfield, Adrian and Tecumseh. Dundee sits in Monroe County, not Lenawee, but it gets asked about in the same breath, so it is here.

Each village and city sets its own rules and issues its own permit. Statewide: MISS DIG 811 wants 3 business days notice, sales tax is 6 percent and the installer pays it, and the state code exempts a fence up to 7 feet from a building permit. The zoning permit is local. The Michigan rules page has the rest.

Village of Dundee

Dundee’s zoning ordinance was approved by the Village Council on November 1, 2022. Section 3.03 and Section 11.12.D carry the fence rules.

• A permit is required. The village’s own page says new fences and extensions need a fence permit, and Section 3.03 lists fences, walls and protective barriers among the things that need a zoning compliance permit. The Zoning Enforcement Officer approves it.
• The fee is listed as $100 for zoning compliance on the village’s planning and zoning fee schedule. The $200 line is for a new house.
• Side and rear yards: 6 feet, and the fence may sit on the property line.
• Front yard: 3 feet, decorative, set back at least 4 feet from the property line.
• Street side of a corner lot: 3 feet at 4 feet back; 4 feet at 10 feet back; 5 feet at 15 feet back; a 6-foot privacy fence only behind the district’s front setback.
• Decorative fences and landscape features under 30 inches need no permit.
• Chain link is fine anywhere except the front yard. Materials must be all-weather or treated wood. Finished side faces out.
• Height is measured from the ground beside the fence, not from a berm.

Village Manager, 350 West Monroe Street, Dundee. 734-529-3430.

City of Adrian

Adrian adopted a new zoning code on September 2, 2025, effective September 15, 2025. Section 106-91 is the fence section.

• All new fencing needs a permit. So does a repair that replaces more than a quarter of an existing fence. The Planning and Zoning Administrator reviews it.
• The fee is $50 for a fence zoning compliance permit on the Community Development fee schedule.
• Maximum 6 feet in a residential district, along any lot line.
• Front yard: 48 inches, and no more than 40 percent opaque.
• Finished side faces the neighbor. No barbed or razor wire. Nothing in a right-of-way or easement.
• Clear vision at the driveway: a 15-foot by 15-foot area each side.

The city’s older handout quotes the same 6-foot and 4-foot limits, so the numbers have not moved. The city also links an “August 2026 updates” copy of the code that returned an error for us, so ask whether anything changed.

Community Development Department, first floor of City Hall, 135 East Maumee Street, Adrian. 517-264-4814.

City of Tecumseh

Here we have to be straight with you. Tecumseh publishes a Fence Permit Information sheet under its building services forms, which tells you a permit process exists. The file returned an error on the city site and on its file host, and the city’s online code library blocked us. We could not read Tecumseh’s own rules.

A third-party zoning database’s copy of Section 98-195, amended August 4, 2025, says:

• Rear and side yards: 6 feet, along the property line.
• Front yard: decorative fences up to 3 feet, set 1 foot inside the front property line.
• The fence must be entirely inside your lot. Proof is a recent survey, permanent pins, a notarized letter from the neighbor, or keeping the fence 3 feet inside the approximate line.
• Finished side faces out. No barbed wire in a residential district.
• Nothing over 2 feet in the sight triangles at corners and driveways.

Treat those as a guide. Building Services, 309 East Chicago Boulevard, Tecumseh. 517-423-2107, option 4, or buildingservices@tecumsehmi.gov. Ask for the fence sheet and the fee.

Village of Blissfield

Blissfield replaced its zoning ordinance in 2026. The village site lists the new Chapter 216 as effective May 20, 2026. Section 216.5.6 is the fence section.

• Side and rear yards: 3 feet minimum, 8 feet maximum, measured from the surrounding grade.
• Front yard: 3 feet minimum, 4 feet maximum, and open-style only, such as picket or split rail. Solid fences belong in side and rear yards.
• Sight areas at intersections: nothing over 30 inches.
• No barbed wire, spikes or electric current outside the industrial districts. No corrugated metal or livestock fencing except on a farm.

Section 216.6.5 requires a zoning compliance permit before any structure is erected, and the ordinance defines a structure as anything built that needs a permanent place on the ground. The village’s fee schedule for 2025-26, effective May 2026, lists a zoning permit at $75. Neither line says “fence” by name, so ask.

Village Hall, 130 South Lane Street, Blissfield. 517-486-4347.

What to ask when you call

1. Is a zoning permit needed for my fence, and what is the fee this year
2. Maximum height in the front, side and rear yards, and on the street side of a corner lot
3. How far off the property line, and do you want a survey or the neighbor’s signature
4. Which way does the finished side face
5. Is there an inspection, and does the permit need a site plan

Before anyone digs

MISS DIG 811 needs notice at least 3 business days before digging, for any size of job, free. Dial 811 or file online. The utilities mark their own lines; the run to your shed, sprinklers and an invisible dog fence are not marked. If a contractor digs, the contractor calls.

What a fence costs here

Michigan sales tax is 6 percent with no local add-on, and you will not see it on the invoice: the contractor pays it on the materials and builds it into his price. The estimator’s range is your starting point. Get a firm quote.

See your price range

Put your fence runs into the estimator, see the installed range, and request a quote. Then ring the village or city office before anything is ordered.