Town of Belmont fence permit

How to file for a fence permit in the Town of Belmont

Steps based on co.portage.wi.gov — Zoning Permit Application Procedures PDF

1. Call Portage County Planning & Zoning (715-346-1334, [email protected]) to ask whether your fence needs a county zoning permit.
2. If it does, fill out the county Zoning Permit Application with a site drawing showing the fence and its distances to lot lines, the road centerline/right-of-way and any water, well or septic, and submit it at least two weeks before you start.
3. Ask your Town Clerk (numbers in the notes) whether the Town has any separate fence rule.
4. Keep fences from blocking the view of drivers and pedestrians at corners and driveways.
5. Call Diggers Hotline (811) at least 3 business days before digging.

Paying

Zoning permit fees per the county Fee Schedule; credit/debit card, check or cash

Review time

Submit at least two weeks before construction starts

What to submit

Official application form or packet

Other rules to know

• The Town of Belmont follows the Portage County zoning ordinance, so fence permits come from the county zoning office, not the town.
• Portage County's Zoning Ordinance (Code Chapter 7) applies in the Towns of Alban, Almond, Amherst, Belmont, Buena Vista, Carson, Dewey, Eau Pleine, Hull, Lanark, Linwood, New Hope, Plover, Sharon and Stockton. In the Towns of Grant and Pine Grove the county requires a zoning permit only in shoreland or floodplain areas (listed separately).
• The county requires a zoning permit for "new accessory buildings or structures of 100 square feet or more" and defines a structure broadly (any man-made object with form, shape and utility attached to or placed on the ground), but neither the Zoning Permit Procedures nor the ordinance names fences, so whether a fence needs a county zoning permit is not stated.
• Vision clearance: the county's vision-clearance rule exempts wire fences only if they are not placed or built so as to substantially obstruct the view of motorists and pedestrians.
• Zoning permit applications are signed by the owner and submitted at least two weeks before construction starts, with a site drawing showing setbacks and distances to the road centerline/right-of-way, water bodies, wells and septic; payment by credit/debit card, check or cash.
• Portage County is rewriting its zoning ordinance with Foth Companies (in progress); rules may change.
• Town building permits (UDC) are separate and issued by each town's building inspector. Town of Hull: inspectors Ethan Meddaugh (715-340-2611) and Eric Krug (715-323-3030); Hull requires building permits for new 1 & 2 family dwellings, detached accessory buildings and electric service changes, with UDC applications emailed to [email protected] (Hull memo, which does not mention fences). Hull's Chapter 20 adopts the Portage County Zoning Ordinance.
• Town clerks and building inspectors (Portage County Official Directory, updated 11-4-2026): Alban - Tracy Glodowski, 715-570-5175, [email protected]; inspector Mike Bembenek, 715-570-8378. Almond - Nancy Seaman, 715-366-7513, [email protected]; inspector Ethan Meddaugh, 715-340-2611. Amherst - Shawn L. Lea, 715-824-3476 or 715-824-2300, [email protected]; inspector David Wright, 608-617-9253. Belmont - Michelle Talley, 715-630-5329, [email protected]; inspector Ethan Meddaugh, 715-340-2611. Buena Vista - Germaine Stuczynski, 715-824-5419, [email protected]; inspector Benjamin Grimm, 715-305-8814. Carson - Annette M. Stashek, 715-457-2170 or 715-498-1055, [email protected]; inspector Bob Christensen, 715-297-6600. Dewey - Angela Lochinger, 715-254-5584, [email protected]; inspector Bob Christensen, 715-297-6600. Eau Pleine - Stacy Martin, 715-457-4672, [email protected]; inspector Bob Christensen, 715-297-6600.
• Town clerks and building inspectors, continued (same directory): Hull - Desiree Redditt, 715-498-6357, [email protected]. Lanark - Kim Beaudoin, 715-256-9801, [email protected]; inspector David Wright, 608-617-9253. Linwood - Denise Hulce, 715-345-9516, [email protected]; inspector Bob Christensen, 715-297-6600. New Hope - Pat Zellmer, 715-677-4784, [email protected]; inspector David Wright, 608-617-9253. Plover - Patricia Weller, 715-344-7684, [email protected]; inspector Ximena Christianson, 715-540-6321. Sharon - Pam Filtz, 715-321-6201 or 715-592-6600, [email protected]; inspector Mike Bembenek, 715-570-8378. Stockton - Jennifer Zurawski, 715-592-4712, [email protected]; inspector Mike Bembenek, 715-570-8378.
• Town of Lanark: building inspections by General Engineering Company (David Wright, 608-617-9253, [email protected]); the Town's Building Inspections page links permit packets (incl. Accessory Structures, May 2025) and an online permit application but does not mention fences.

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

Sources

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

Ordinance: Portage County Code Chapter 7, Zoning Ordinance §7.1 (yard encroachments §7.1.6.1(D)(5)(g); vision clearance §7.1.6.6)

1. co.portage.wi.gov — Zoning Permit Application Procedures PDF
2. co.portage.wi.gov — Planning Zoning
3. co.portage.wi.gov — Permit Application Forms and Procedures
4. energyzoning.org — Zoning ordinance (archived copy)
5. co.portage.wi.gov — Portage County Comprehensive Zoning Code
6. co.portage.wi.gov — Portage County Official Directory
7. tn.hull.wi.gov — building inspectors memo
8. tn.hull.wi.gov — chapter20
9. tn.lanark.wi.gov — building inspections
10. tn.lanark.wi.gov — planning and zoning
11. townofplover.wi.gov — zoning in the town of plover