Walworth County, Wisconsin

Town of Spring Prairie fence rules

Do you need a fence permit in the Town of Spring Prairie? No. The Town of Spring Prairie 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 Spring Prairie's rules before you build. Start with your address.

Quick facts

Permit required: No (typical residential fence) source
Side and rear yards: 6 ft source
Front (street) yard: 6 ft (Sec. 74-38: fences "shall not exceed a height of six feet in the street yard") source
Corner lots: No fence above 2 1/2 ft within the vision triangle at an intersection source
Distance from lot line: Fences are permitted on side and rear property lines. Street-yard fences must be at least 2 ft from any existing right-of-way. At least 75 ft from a waterbody (County FAQ). source
Not allowed: Open-type security fences (woven wire, wrought iron and the like, up to 10 ft) are allowed in all districts except residential and conservation districts; closed-type screening fences are for business, industrial and park districts. source
How to apply: Mail, in person source

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 Spring Prairie

Steps based on co.walworth.wi.us — Faq

Fence 6 ft tall or less? Walworth County does not require a zoning permit.
Keep it at least 2 ft from the road right-of-way, at least 75 ft from a lake or stream, and no taller than 2 1/2 ft in an intersection vision triangle.
Ask your town clerk whether your town requires its own permit for a fence.
Unsure (taller fence, shoreland lot, ETZ area)? Call Walworth County LURM at 262-741-4972 or your area's Code Enforcement Officer.
Call Diggers Hotline (811) at least 3 business days before digging.

Paying: Only if a county permit is needed: cash, check or credit card
Permit good for: County zoning permits expire 24 months after issuance

Who to contact

Phone: 262-741-4972
Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Address: Walworth County Land Use & Resource Management, 100 W. Walworth Street, P.O. Box 1001, Elkhorn, WI 53121

Contact from co.walworth.wi.us — Zoning

What to submit

None from Walworth County for a fence 6 ft or less.

Official application form or packet

Other rules to know

The Town of Spring Prairie follows the Walworth County zoning ordinance, so fence permits come from the county zoning office, not the town.
Walworth County FAQ: "No, a zoning permit is not required from Walworth County, provided the fence does not exceed 6 feet in height."
Agricultural fences in agricultural and conservation districts are regulated under Wis. Stats. ch. 90, not the county height/setback rules.
In the shore yard, residential fences 4 ft or less are allowed on the property line, but not on the shoreline and not running across the 75-ft shore yard setback between property lines (Williams Bay ETZ ordinance text, which incorporates the county shoreland rule).
County zoning does NOT apply in the non-shoreland extraterritorial zoning (ETZ) areas around the City of Elkhorn and the Villages of Williams Bay and Fontana-on-Geneva Lake; contact that municipality instead. The Town of Bloomfield is under county shoreland zoning only (see its own entry).
Your town may still run its own building-permit program (town building inspector). Ask your town clerk whether the town wants a permit for a fence.
Beware of scam emails asking for wire transfers for zoning permits; the County never requests wire transfers and its email addresses end in @co.walworth.wi.us.

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 Spring Prairie, WI?

No. The Town of Spring Prairie 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 Spring Prairie?

Side and rear yards: 6 ft. Front (street) yard: 6 ft (Sec. 74-38: fences "shall not exceed a height of six feet in the street yard"). Corner lots: No fence above 2 1/2 ft within the vision triangle at an intersection.

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

Fences are permitted on side and rear property lines. Street-yard fences must be at least 2 ft from any existing right-of-way. At least 75 ft from a waterbody (County FAQ).

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

Walworth County Land Use & Resource Management, Zoning Division (Code Enforcement Officers by town: Darien/Delavan/Sharon/Walworth - Samantha Stawarz 262-741-7907; East Troy/LaGrange/Spring Prairie/Troy - Darrin Schwanke 262-741-7905; Geneva/LaFayette/Linn - Carol Lima 262-741-7906; Richmond/Sugar Creek/Whitewater - Jacob Kincade 262-741-7917; Lyons - Nick Sigmund 262-741-7918). Phone 262-741-4972.

Sources

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

Ordinance: Walworth County Code Ch. 74 (Zoning), Sec. 74-38 fences

Work for the Town of Spring Prairie? 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.