Privacy Fence Height Rules, Town by Town: Galveston County
Six cities in our service area, six different answers to “how tall can my fence be.” Galveston sets one number, Dickinson sets three, and Santa Fe doesn’t set one at all. Here is each city’s actual rule, in plain language, with the code section it comes from.
There is no single “Galveston County” privacy-fence height. Each city publishes its own rule: Galveston allows 8 ft in the side/rear yard with a 4 ft (or 5 ft if mostly open) front yard; Dickinson splits it three ways by yard; Hitchcock and Kemah set a front-yard number but let the rear yard run taller; League City and Santa Fe don’t publish one general privacy-fence number at all. Use the picker below for your city, then confirm with that city’s Building Department before you order material.
Sources: City of Galveston LDR §2.501; City of League City UDC Ch.125 Art.4; City of Kemah Code of Ordinances Ch.66 & Ch.18; City of Dickinson Code of Ordinances Sec.18-69; City of Santa Fe Code of Ordinances Ch.3; City of Hitchcock Code of Ordinances Sec.150.101 & 150.105.
Why “how tall can my fence be” doesn’t have one answer
Fence height is set city by city in Texas, not countywide and not by the state. We build fences across Galveston County and the Bay Area side of the mainland, and the six cities we have our own local pages for each took a different approach: some set one flat height, some split the lot into front yard vs. side/rear yard with different numbers for each, one bans a material outright in the front yard, and one — Santa Fe — never wrote a general rule at all. The table and picker below pull directly from each city’s own code section, the same ones cited on that city’s own page on this site.
This page covers privacy and residential fences specifically. Pool barriers, HOA deed restrictions and historic-district review can all add stricter rules on top of whatever the city sets — see our pool fence code guide if a pool is involved.
Six cities, side by side
| City | Front yard | Side / rear yard | Something else to know | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galveston | 4 ft solid, or 5 ft if ≥60% open (6 ft townhome/multifamily) | 8 ft | — | LDR §2.501 |
| League City | No general number published | No general number published | Permit required over 7 ft; decorative/wrought iron capped 4–6 ft by lot size; chain link banned from front yards | UDC Ch.125 Art.4 |
| Kemah | 4 ft, open materials, only for the waterfront fence facing the Bay | Not set generally; a separate rule covers a fence between a business and a home | The waterfront rule needs a site-plan permit | Code Ch.66 & Ch.18 |
| Dickinson | 3 ft (or 6 ft if set back, built as an “80% fence”) | 8 ft interior; 6–7 ft with an 80%-open test if it faces a street | 80%-open test applies on any street-facing side/rear yard | Sec.18-69 |
| Santa Fe | No general rule | No general rule | Only pool fences and the mobile-home-park boundary are addressed | Ch.3 |
| Hitchcock | 4 ft; anything above 3 ft must be open/see-through | 7 ft, no open-style restriction | FEMA floodplain permit required if the fence is in a mapped flood zone | Sec.150.101 & 150.105 |
Sources: each city’s own Code of Ordinances / Unified Development Code, linked in full below.
The other variable: how “open” counts as open
Height is only half the picture in three of these six codes. Galveston lets a front-yard fence reach 5 ft instead of 4 ft if it’s at least 60% open (gaps a person can see through). Dickinson’s “80% fence” is a similar idea at a stricter threshold, used both for a deeper front-yard setback and for any side/rear yard that faces a street. Hitchcock takes a third approach: a front-yard fence can be solid up to 3 ft, but anything above that has to be open or see-through. None of these three cities define “open” the same way or at the same percentage, so a design that clears one city’s test does not automatically clear another’s.
Which town’s rule applies to you?
Pick your city for the short version and the exact code section. This is a summary for planning only — the Building Department’s current adopted code always wins, so confirm before you order material.
Source for each city’s number: that city’s own Code of Ordinances / Unified Development Code, cited below and linked on that city’s own page on this site. Summary only — always confirm with the Building Department before you build.
Before you order material
This page summarizes each city’s own published rule as of the review date above; cities amend their codes, and a corner lot, a historic district, a floodplain map or an HOA’s deed restrictions can all add requirements on top of the city’s general fence rule. The table and picker above link to that city’s own page on our site, where we cite the exact code section and show our real local projects. When in doubt, call that city’s Building Department before you order material — we’re glad to help confirm what applies to your specific lot.
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Sources
Checked October 13, 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the City before you build.
- City of Galveston, Land Development Regulations, §2.501 — residential fence heights: 8 ft; front yard 4 ft solid or 5 ft if ≥60% transparent; 6 ft at townhomes/multifamily.
- City of League City, Unified Development Code, Chapter 125, Article 4: Site Development Standards — building permit required once a fence passes 7 ft; decorative/wrought-iron height caps by lot size; chain link banned from front yards.
- City of Kemah, Code of Ordinances, Chapter 66: Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions — front-yard waterfront fence rule facing Galveston Bay: 4 ft, open materials, site-plan permit.
- City of Kemah, Code of Ordinances, Chapter 18: Buildings and Building Regulations — separate rule for a fence between a business and a home.
- City of Dickinson, Code of Ordinances, Chapter 18, Article VI: Supplemental Regulations, Sec.18-69 — front yard 3 ft (or 6 ft as an “80% fence”); interior side/rear 8 ft; street-facing side/rear 6–7 ft with an 80%-open test.
- City of Santa Fe, Code of Ordinances, Ch. 3 — no general residential fence height/setback rule; only pool fences and mobile-home-park boundary addressed.
- City of Hitchcock, Code of Ordinances, Title XV, Ch.150, Art. IX, Sec.150.101 & 150.105 — front-yard 4 ft cap, open/see-through above 3 ft; side/rear 7 ft; FEMA floodplain permit in a mapped flood zone.
Not sure which rule applies to your lot?
Tell us the city and we’ll confirm the current rule before you order material. Free on-site estimates across Galveston Island and Galveston County.
Questions we get about this
Is there one privacy-fence height limit for all of Galveston County?
No. Height is set city by city, not countywide. Galveston, League City, Kemah, Dickinson, Santa Fe and Hitchcock each publish their own rule, and one of them (Santa Fe) doesn’t set a general residential fence height at all. Use the picker above for your city.
Which of these cities allows the tallest fence?
Galveston’s side/rear yard and Dickinson’s interior side/rear yard (no street frontage) both allow up to 8 ft — check each city’s own conditions in the table above before assuming it applies to your lot.
Does Hitchcock require anything besides a height limit?
Yes. Sec.150.105 requires a separate FEMA floodplain permit if the fence is built in a mapped flood zone, which is worth checking in Hitchcock since roughly a third of the city’s own area is water.
What if my property is in a Galveston County city not listed here?
Contact that city’s Building Department directly before you order material — fence rules are set locally and we only publish the rule once we’ve confirmed it against that city’s own current code.