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Council hears planning proposal to remove hedges from fence code and allow taller backyard fences; commission balked at raising rear fences to 7 feet
Summary
Planning staff presented two related text amendments: remove hedges from the fence ordinance and regulate them under landscaping (no front-yard height limit outside sight-distance triangles), and extend a 6-foot front-yard fence allowance to M1/M1A zones citywide while restricting front fences to 4 feet where abutting residential zones; planning staff recommended 7-foot rear fences but the planning commission recommended keeping rear fences at 6 feet.
Planning staff on Wednesday briefed the City Council on two related text amendments that would change how the city regulates fences, walls and hedges.
The first amendment would remove hedges from the fence and wall ordinance and instead regulate them under the city’s landscaping chapter; under that approach hedges would not have a front-yard height limit outside sight‑distance triangle areas, though landscaping rules would still require maintenance and no interference with pedestrian movement. "This does mean that hedges will have no height limit outside of sight distance triangle areas and park strips," a planning staff presenter said.
The second amendment would extend a 6‑foot front-yard fence allowance — previously limited to M1‑zoned properties within the Salt Lake International Center — to all M1 and newly created M1A zoning districts citywide, with a planning‑commission recommendation that any M1/M1A property abutting or across the street from a residential zone remain limited to a 4‑foot front fence.
Staff noted a separate proposal, initiated by the council, to increase backyard fence height from 6 feet to 7 feet. Planning staff recommended allowing the 7‑foot rear/side fence height, citing consistency with national standards and added privacy in denser areas. The planning commission, however, recommended keeping the existing 6‑foot rear height. Council members discussed the policy tradeoffs, including how to allow higher front fences for institutions or nonprofits without inadvertently creating permanent exceptions when land‑use changes, and asked staff to return with more detailed options on targeted zoning or land‑use‑based approaches.
Planning staff emphasized that site‑distance triangle protections — rules that limit landscaping and fence height where drivers and pedestrians need clear sight lines — would remain unchanged. The council indicated support for staff to return with refined language and implementation recommendations.
No vote was taken during the work session.
