Columbia County, Wisconsin

Town of Newport fence rules

Do you need a fence permit in the Town of Newport? No. The Town of Newport does not require a permit for a typical residential fence, but height and placement rules still apply.

At permit.guide you can draw your fence on an aerial photo of your lot and check it against the Town of Newport's rules before you build. Start with your address.

Quick facts

Permit required: No (typical residential fence) source
Side and rear yards: 6 ft or less as measured from existing grade source
Front (street) yard: 6 ft or less as measured from existing grade (county table lists fences as allowed in front, street side, interior side and rear yards); the table also notes "Open fence 3 and one-half feet or less in height" source
Corner lots: Outside the visual clearance triangle: "no object over 2½ feet in height above the roadbeds shall be allowed, except for open fences" source
Distance from lot line: County Table 12.130.04(1) lists "Fences or walls" as permitted intrusions into the minimum front, street side, interior side and rear yard setbacks (no lot-line distance is stated). All accessory structures must be outside the visual clearance triangle (Sec. 12.140.03(1)). source
How to apply: In person source

Still being confirmed with Newport: Does the county require anything for a residential fence 6 ft or under, and does your town require its own building permit for one?

Plan your fence and build the applicationLook up your address, draw the fence on an aerial photo of your lot, and get a site plan and filled-in application.

How to build within the rules in the Town of Newport

Steps based on co.columbia.wi.us — Zoning Permit Application Fillable

Fence 6 ft tall or less (or a farm fence meeting Wis. Stats. ch. 90)? No county zoning permit is needed.
Keep the fence out of the visual clearance triangle at road intersections unless it is an open fence.
Ask your town clerk whether the town requires its own building permit for a fence.
Planning a fence over 6 ft? Call Columbia County Planning & Zoning at (608) 742-9660 first, then file a Zoning Permit Application with a scaled site plan and the review fee (checks payable to Columbia County Treasurer; credit cards accepted; non-refundable).
Call Diggers Hotline (811) at least 3 business days before digging.

Paying: Only if a county zoning permit is needed: checks payable to Columbia County Treasurer or credit card; fees are non-refundable
Review time: The department may inspect the site (staked) before issuing a permit; inspections Monday-Friday 8:00 am-4:30 pm

Who to contact

Phone: (608) 742-9660
Address: Columbia County Planning & Zoning, 112 E. Edgewater St., Portage, WI 53901

Contact from dekorra-wi.gov — columbia county contact list

What to submit

None for a fence 6 ft or less (exempt from the county zoning permit).
Taller than 6 ft: Columbia County Zoning Permit Application with the General Information cover sheet, a scaled and dated overhead site plan showing lot dimensions, structures and setbacks, and the review fee.

Official application form or packet

Other rules to know

The Town of Newport follows the Columbia County zoning ordinance, so fence permits come from the county zoning office, not the town.
Columbia County Zoning Ordinance Sec. 12.130.03(1)(d): "All accessory structures shall require a zoning permit, except for ... Fences and walls six feet in height or less, as measured from the established grade, and all agricultural fences which meet the requirements of Chapter 90, Wisconsin Statutes."
Your town may still have its own building-permit program. Example: the Town of Dekorra issues town building, driveway and erosion-control permits through its Building Inspector, while the County issues the zoning/land-use permit. Ask your town clerk whether the town wants a permit for a fence.
The county ordinance applies only in towns whose town board has adopted it (Sec. 12.101.07). Towns listed here are the ones that appear in the County's annual zoning-permit reports (2020 and 2021); the Town of Lodi also uses county zoning and has its own entry.
The extracted county setback table is garbled in the source PDF, so the column the "Open fence 3 and one-half feet" note applies to (likely the front yard) is not certain.

Before you dig

Call Diggers Hotline at 811 (or file online at diggershotline.com) at least 3 business days before digging post holes. Find your lot corner markers and keep the fence on your side of the line. County parcel maps can be off by several feet; if you're not sure where the line is, a licensed land surveyor can stake it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to build a fence in the Town of Newport, WI?

No. The Town of Newport does not require a permit for a typical residential fence, but height and placement rules still apply.

How tall can a fence be in the Town of Newport?

Side and rear yards: 6 ft or less as measured from existing grade. Front (street) yard: 6 ft or less as measured from existing grade (county table lists fences as allowed in front, street side, interior side and rear yards); the table also notes "Open fence 3 and one-half feet or less in height". Corner lots: Outside the visual clearance triangle: "no object over 2½ feet in height above the roadbeds shall be allowed, except for open fences".

How close to the property line can I put a fence in the Town of Newport?

County Table 12.130.04(1) lists "Fences or walls" as permitted intrusions into the minimum front, street side, interior side and rear yard setbacks (no lot-line distance is stated). All accessory structures must be outside the visual clearance triangle (Sec. 12.140.03(1)).

Who do I contact about a fence permit in the Town of Newport?

Columbia County Planning & Zoning Department. Phone (608) 742-9660.

Sources

Summarized from the Town of Newport's own ordinances, forms and permit pages. Each link opens the original.

Ordinance: Columbia County Zoning Ordinance Ch. 12, Sec. 12.130.03(1)(d) and Table 12.130.04(1); Sec. 12.140.03(1) vision clearance

Work for the Town of Newport? Help us keep this right

If anything on this page is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll fix it. Municipal staff reports are reviewed first. Please include a link to the current ordinance, form or fee schedule if you can.