South Orange does not have any formal permit application for installing a fence. They request that you come into the zoning office with a two copies of your property survey with the desired fence location marked in red. They also request that you have the desired height and fence style ready. Upon approval the zoning official will stamp your paperwork. Call the Zoning office with any specific questions, whether it is for a deer fence, pool fence or any other type of fence to see if your fence project meets the fence codes(shown below). Academy Fence Company, a fence service contractor, has been installing all types of fencing in South Orange since the 1960’s. See job reference pictures of our work below.
To acquire a Fence Permit Application, Zoning office visit required*
Village of South Orange Fence Codes (check with town to verify current accuracy)
Fences and walls. No fence, wall, fence-like or wall-like structure of any kind shall be constructed or erected on any lot, except as hereafter provided:
(1) No such fence or wall shall be more than six feet in height above the finished grade at the base of such fence or wall, except in business zones when permitted by the Planning Board in accordance with this chapter and in the University Zone where perimeter fences may be of a height of eight feet with a three-foot roll, exclusive of the University Zone perimeter abutting South Orange Avenue and Ward Place.
[Amended 1-25-1988 by Ord. No. 88-1]
(2) Barbed wire or makeshift fences are prohibited.
(3) No fence or wall shall be nearer to the street line in front of a building than the setback line of the building on the lot. If there is no building on the lot, the setback requirements for the zone in which the lot is situated shall apply for fences.
[Amended 6-12-2000 by Ord. No. 00-10]
(4) Solid fences erected on or adjacent to a boundary line separating a residential use from a business or industrial use shall not be located nearer to the street line than the front wall, nearest to the said street, of any business or commercial building erected on said lot or adjacent lot.
(5) Retaining walls erected or maintained for the support of the finished grade of a lot shall be excepted from the above-mentioned provisions; provided, however, that no such wall shall extend more than 18 inches above the finished grade of that portion of the lot which it supports and, in no case, shall any such wall encroach upon any public street or right-of-way.
(6) All solid fences and picket fences shall be constructed with the finished side facing outward from the property on which it is constructed and toward adjacent properties or the street. For purposes of this section, the “finished side” shall be defined as the side opposite the posts, rails, supporting boards or piers.
[Added 5-24-1999 by Ord. No. 99-8]
(7) An ornamental perimeter fence can be erected in business zones to screen parking areas from public streets and municipal parking lots, subject to the approval of the Director of Code Enforcement pursuant to the requirements of § 92-126O.
[Added 9-26-2005 by Ord. No. 17-2005]
I. Corner lots shall comply with § 92-200F(3) with respect to the front yard. On the side yard, fences and walls may be constructed in accordance with the following:
[Added 4-27-1993 by Ord. No. 93-9; amended 6-12-2000 by Ord. No. 00-10]
(1) A fence may run parallel to any other contiguous street from the front setback line of the building on the lot to the end of the property.
(2) The fence shall not be constructed in the municipal right-of-way.
(3) The fence shall be at least one foot from the sidewalk.
(4) No solid fence may be constructed. All fences shall be semitransparent (e.g., 1 by 2 wood screen contemporary picket or wrought iron) or transparent (e.g., hedge or split rail).
(5) No fence shall exceed 42 inches in height.
(6) Property owners are requested but not required to buffer the fences with shrubs or flowers on the street side. Such buffer shall not impede pedestrians walking on the sidewalk.
(7) In those cases where a property owner on a side lot has a fence on the front and side of the property, the fence on the front and side shall be identical in composition and height.
(8) If an issue arises as to what constitutes the front or side of a corner lot, a determination shall be made by the Zoning Officer, who shall take into consideration appropriate factors, including but not limited to the following: any definitions contained in § 92-3; where the front door of the house is located; whether the property is on a main street or side street; whether there are other houses fronting on the street; and the post office address for the property. Any appeal from the Zoning Officer’s decision shall be made to the Board of Adjustment, which may only overturn the decision of the Zoning Officer if it finds that there is no basis for the decision made by the Zoning Officer.
§ 92-132. Traffic visibility across corner lots.
A. Except for buildings which may be erected in accordance with allowable setback distances, no planting, fence or other structure shall be erected on a corner lot which would obstruct vision from vehicles within a triangular area formed by the right-of-way lines and a straight line connecting sight points on street center lines which are measured from the intersection of the street center lines.
B. The distance of the sight points from the point of intersection of the street center lines shall be according to the type of street, as so determined and approved by the Municipal Engineer. The distances are as follows:
(1) Seventy-five feet on a minor stop street.
(2) Ninety feet on a minor through street.
(3) Two hundred feet on a major through street.
Engineering and Zoning
Township of South Orange Village
76 South Orange Avenue, 3rd Floor
South Orange, New Jersey 07079
Phone: 973-378-7715 x 2266
Fax: 973-761-4357