Fence & Gate Installation in Jamaica Beach, TX

What we install in Jamaica Beach

Jamaica Beach sits in the middle of Galveston Island’s West End, but it isn’t part of the City of Galveston. It began in the late 1950s as a 2,000-lot resort subdivision near a marina and incorporated on May 12, 1975. The city covers 0.77 square miles, about a quarter of it water, and had 1,078 residents at the 2020 Census. New homes must meet FEMA and state windstorm requirements, so many stand on pilings, on canal lots on the bay side or on the Gulf beachfront. We install new fences and gates here for full-time homes and weekend houses:

• Vinyl picket and privacy fences.
• Metal fences: aluminum and ornamental iron in open picket or flat-top styles, where you want to keep the view of the water.
• Wood privacy and picket fences, and chain link for dog runs and storage areas.
• Gates: walk gates and driveway gates, with openers and access control if you want them.
• Pool fences built to the barrier rules that apply to the pool permit.

Salt air, wind and flood water are the same on either side of the city limit. What changes at the line is the paperwork, and on a Jamaica Beach lot two rules shape a fence plan more than any other: the 20 ft driveway-gate setback and what’s allowed under a raised house.

Where Jamaica Beach’s fence rules come from

The City publishes 308 ordinances, and none of them is a stand-alone fence ordinance. The fence rules are spread across five documents:

• The building permit application. The City’s Building & Zoning Permit Application has a fence line: height 6 ft maximum. Any portion of a fence in a utility easement is subject to removal if needed for work on City utilities, with the expenses borne by the applicant. Vehicular access gates must allow at least 20 feet between the gate and the street line or pavement. The form also asks for a copy of the HOA’s approval letter.
• The zoning ordinance (Ord. 2019-7). Sec. 8-501 allows fences and nonstructural walls in all required yards, but “in no case” may a fence be of a height or location that causes danger to traffic by obstructing the view. Sec. 175 defines a “screening device” as at least 6 ft tall with a solid area of at least 65 percent, gates included.
• The Dune Protection and Beach Access Plan (Ord. 93-5, still in force as amended in 2019, 2021 and 2022). Its fence text is about sand fencing, which is required when a damaged dune is revegetated.
• The Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance (Ord. 2020-6 as amended by 2022-10). It sets what can enclose the space under a raised house, and it prohibits man-made alteration of sand dunes that increases potential flood damage.
• The 2018 International Residential Code, adopted by Ord. 2019-8. The pool permit points to it.

The Building Department lists fences among the work that needs a permit, and applications are now made online. The City of Galveston’s fence permit and height table don’t apply here. Neither do the rules of the Village of Tiki Island, another separate town with its own fence ordinance.

Driveway gates: the 20 ft rule

This is the rule that most often changes a Jamaica Beach gate plan. The City’s permit form says vehicular access gates must allow at least 20 feet between the gate and the street line or pavement. Where the parking is under a raised house close to the street, a gate across the driveway at the front lot line won’t pass. It has to sit at least 20 ft back.

The practical effect is room for a car to pull fully off the street while the gate opens. It also affects the gate itself:

• Where the posts go. Measure from the street line on the survey. If the gate is 20 ft or more from the street line, it’s also at least that far from the pavement. If it’s only 20 ft from the pavement, ask the Building Department which line it measures from before the posts are set.
• Swing or slide. A gate set further back may run into the stairs, pilings or parking under the house. Check the swing arc, or the run-back space for a sliding gate, against what’s actually there.
• Openers. An automatic gate on a raised-home lot often means an operator near flood level. See gate openers in flood zones for the choices.

Beachfront lots and the dune

On the Gulf side, the fence plan has to fit around the dune. The City’s Dune Protection and Beach Access Plan (Ord. 93-5) is still in force, and the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance prohibits man-made alteration of sand dunes that increases potential flood damage. So the yard fence stays on the landward side, off the dune.

The City has two extra permit applications for these lots. The Beachfront Construction Permit Application asks for the property lines, the structures, grading, dune walkovers, photographs of the vegetation line and existing dunes, and the effects of the work on the dune system. There is also a Dune Protection Permit Application. Which of them a fence needs depends on where it runs, so ask the Building Department before any work near the dune.

The only fence the dune plan asks for is sand fencing, which is required when a damaged dune is revegetated. That’s a dune-restoration fence, not a yard fence. For the rest of the West End beachfront, which falls under the City of Galveston, see Pirates Beach.

Lattice, walls and gates under a raised house

If you also want to close in the space under the house for parking and storage, the flood ordinance sets firm limits. It isn’t a fence, but it’s often planned at the same time.

In a VE (coastal high hazard) zone, the space below the lowest floor must be either free of obstruction or built with non-supporting breakaway walls, open wood latticework or insect screening meant to collapse under wind and water loads without damaging the house or its foundation. A breakaway wall has a design safe loading resistance of 10 to 20 pounds per square foot. An enclosure may not exceed 299 square feet, may be used only for parking, building access or storage, and needs a non-conversion agreement filed with the deed.

In an AE zone, enclosure walls must let flood water in and out: at least two openings on separate walls, with a total net area of at least one square inch for every square foot of enclosed area, and the bottom of each opening no higher than one foot above grade. The City’s permit form includes the certification letters for both zones.

Your flood zone is on the survey or elevation certificate. If you want open lattice with a gate for the parking area, we’ll plan it with the flood zone in mind, and keep the yard fence and driveway gate as separate runs. No fence is hurricane-proof; see hurricane-ready fencing for the choices and their limits.

From estimate to finished fence

1. Free on-site estimate. The fence line is measured against your survey, and the driveway gate position, the easements, the bulkhead or dune, the stairs and pilings, and the grade are noted.

2. Design to the City’s rules. Six feet at most, a driveway gate at least 20 ft back, open sections where drivers need to see, and any under-house enclosure planned to your flood zone. You get a written estimate after the visit.

3. Approvals and permit. The Jamaica Beach Improvement Committee has its own approval process, and the City asks for a copy of its approval letter with the permit. Its deed restrictions are available to property owners, so check them early. Then the City permit, applied for online.

4. Installation. Underground utilities are located before digging, posts are set, the fence is built and gates are adjusted to swing and latch.

What affects cost and timing: the length and height of the run, material and hardware, the number and width of gates, access around pilings, stairs and the bulkhead, removing an old fence, and how long the HOA approval and City permit take. Financing is available through the providers on our financing page, subject to credit approval.

Questions we get about this