Fence permit rules in Waterville, Whitehouse and Monclova Township

The City of Waterville does not require a fence permit, but on a residential lot nothing taller than 36 inches may stand within 25 feet of a street corner. The Village of Whitehouse charges $10 for a fence zoning permit and allows 6 feet at the side and rear, with no fence at all in the required front yard. Monclova Township charges $50 for a zoning certificate and allows 48 inches between the house and the street and 6 feet at the side and rear.

Check which office covers your lot

A Waterville or Whitehouse mailing address can sit in a township. In Lucas County’s 911 address records, about 3 in 10 Waterville addresses are outside the city, in Monclova, Waterville or Providence township. Nearly 4 in 10 Whitehouse addresses are outside the village, in Providence, Swanton, Waterville or Monclova township. Most Monclova Township addresses say Maumee, but Maumee’s rules apply only inside that city.

Township zoning covers only land outside a city or village, so check where your lot sits. Look up your address on AREIS Online, the Lucas County Auditor’s free property search, where your parcel’s record shows its taxing district. Or call the city or village office and give them your address. For a lot in another township, call that township’s office or see our permits by town page.

City of Waterville

The city’s FAQ says fence permits are not required, and it names one limit, at street corners. Section 1145.03 says that in any residence district no fence, structure or planting higher than 36 inches may stand within 25 feet of the point where two street lot lines meet.

We found no other fence height limit in the zoning code for the front, side or rear yard, and nothing on the distance from the property line, materials or the finished side. We read the code through a copy online, so confirm with the zoning inspector before you build. Zoning is at the Municipal Building, 25 North Second Street, 419-878-8100, Monday to Friday 08:00 to 16:30.

In the Historic Overlay District, a new or changed fence first needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic District Commission (Section 1157.06), so ask the zoning inspector whether your house is in it.

A home pool needs a permit, $55 plus 10 cents a square foot. Section 1145.13 calls for a barrier at least 4 feet high, with no opening a 4 inch ball could pass and a gate that locks. Pools sit at least 5 feet from every lot line.

Village of Whitehouse

Whitehouse charges $10 for a fence zoning permit. Section 1257.07 sets the rules for homes:

• No fence in the required front yard, meaning the strip along the street that a house must stay back from. It is 35 feet deep in the R-1 to R-4 districts and 50 feet in S-1.
• 6 feet in the side and rear yards, measured from natural grade.
• On a corner lot your address decides the front yard, and the other street side counts as a side yard. Every fence stays 30 feet from a road intersection, measured from where the right-of-way lines cross.
• The fence goes inside your property line unless your neighbor gives written permission, which the zoning inspector must see first.
• The finished side faces outward, and a painted fence is one color per side.
• No chain link in any front yard, and no barbed wire or spikes on a home lot.

In older neighborhoods the village decides each fence case by case. The application needs a plot plan, and Village Hall may already have yours. Your contractor must register with the village before any permit is issued.

A pool takes a $25 zoning permit. One more than 12 feet across and 2 feet deep needs a fence at least 48 inches high with locking gates. Pools sit 10 feet from every property line and stay out of the front and side yards.

Village Hall is at 6925 Providence Street, 419-877-5383 (zoning is extension 224), Monday to Friday 08:30 to 16:30.

Monclova Township

Monclova Township’s zoning resolution, Section 9.9, requires a zoning certificate to build, alter or replace any fence. The residential fee is $50. In the residential districts:

• 48 inches between the house and the street, and between the house and both streets on a corner lot.
• 6 feet at the side and rear of the house.
• A fence may run along the property line but not over it or into the road right-of-way, and it stays at least 1 foot from a public sidewalk.
• No barbed wire, razor wire or electric fence except on farms, and no fence that blocks drivers’ view.

Finding the property line is your job, and the resolution suggests a surveyor. It sets no measured corner triangle and no finished-side rule.

Send the application, a plot plan and a check payable to Monclova Township to the Zoning Office, 4335 Albon Road, 419-865-7857, or apply online. The office calls when the permit is ready.

A pool takes a $75 certificate, stays out of the front and side yards and sits 10 feet from every property line. Section 9.9 asks for a pool fence of 48 inches to 6 feet with a lockable, self-latching gate, while the pool section says 42 inches, so a 48 inch fence meets both.

Call 811 before anyone digs

Ohio law requires notice to Ohio811, on 811 or 1-800-362-2764, at least two working days before digging. Our 811 page has the details.

What a fence costs here

All three are in Lucas County, where the combined sales tax is 7.75 percent. In Ohio the fence contractor pays that tax on the materials and quotes you one lump sum, so there is no tax line on your invoice.

Treated pine privacy fence runs $25 to $35 a foot installed, and vinyl privacy $45 to $75. For a 48 inch front fence in Monclova, wood picket runs $20 to $40 a foot and 4 foot aluminum $40 to $55. Every style is on our Toledo fence cost page.

See your price range

Put your fence runs into the estimator and see the installed range for your yard, then request a quote. Tell the installer whether your lot is in the city, the village or Monclova Township, because the front yard rule is different in each one.