Corner Lot Fence Sight Rules by City, GA

How far back from a street corner does a fence have to stay? It depends on the city, and some codes give no number. Where one does, the clear zone usually reaches 15 to 25 feet from the corner. Dawsonville uses 50 feet, and Gainesville uses 25 to 150 feet by street type. Inside it, a solid fence generally has to stay low, roughly 2 to 4 feet at most. Confirm your city's rule before you set the fence line.

Last updated: November 2026.

What a sight triangle is

A sight triangle is a patch of a corner lot the city wants kept clear so drivers and pedestrians can see each other. Codes may call it vision clearance or corner visibility. Some codes draw the triangle in words. Others only say “within 20 feet of the intersection” and do not give the shape, so ask your city how it measures it. Where a code does draw one, it works like this:

Find the corner point where the two street lines meet. If the corner is rounded, extend the lines to where they would meet.
Measure the city's distance along each street line, away from that point.
Join the two marks with a straight line. The triangle between that line and the corner is the clear zone.

Most codes measure from the right-of-way line, the edge of the land set aside for the street. It commonly sits back from the pavement, and your survey or plat shows it. Sugar Hill and Buford measure from the lot lines on the street sides instead, and a few codes add distances from the curb or pavement. At a square corner, a triangle with 20-foot legs covers about 200 square feet of your corner. One with 50-foot legs covers about 1,250.

What it means for a solid fence

A 6-foot wood privacy fence blocks the view in both directions, which is what the sight rule is written to prevent. The codes we read that give a number use one of two tests, and a few use both:

A height cap. Nothing taller than a set height, usually 3 feet, inside the triangle. In Kennesaw, Acworth, Alpharetta, Sugar Hill, Buford and Suwanee, height decides, not whether the fence is open or solid. Gainesville combines both: its definition keeps the triangle clear between 2.5 and 12 feet, and Sec. 13-6-4 bars fences over 2.5 feet tall that would obstruct clear sight.
A clear-view band. Nothing that blocks sight between two heights, such as 2 and 12 feet above the road. The test is whether the fence blocks sight. Cumming, Dawsonville, Canton, Woodstock and Cherokee County do this.

At a corner you generally have three choices: keep the fence outside the triangle, keep it low inside it, or ask the city whether the code lets it approve something else. Under a band rule, an open style such as aluminum may be treated differently from solid wood. We did not find a city that says so in words, so ask first. Our wood privacy and aluminum fence pages show both styles.

Cities with a height cap at the corner

Kennesaw. UDC Sec. 6.06.04: nothing above 3 feet within 15 feet of where the right-of-way lines of two streets meet, extended if needed.
Acworth. Sec. 73-9.3: nothing above 3 feet within 15 feet of the intersection of the right-of-way, unless the Public Works Director approves it.
Alpharetta. Sec. 2.3.6: no fence, wall, shrub or hedge over 3 feet within 20 feet of where two or more streets meet, or within 10 feet of a driveway's edge. A separate rule, Sec. 2.5.6, keeps the band from 2.5 to 10 feet above the street grade clear within 20 feet of where the right-of-way lines meet. Ask which one the city applies.
Sugar Hill. Development Regulations Sec. 9.6.8, which the zoning ordinance points to: inside the area formed by the street-side lot lines and a line joining points 20 feet from where they meet, no fence, wall or hedge over 3 feet, and no obstruction to vision between 3 and 15 feet above grade.
Buford. The same Sec. 9.6.8 wording in its Development Regulations: 20 feet, nothing over 3 feet, no obstruction between 3 and 15 feet.
Suwanee. Two rules. Sec. 605: no fence, wall, structure, shrubbery or other obstruction to vision between 3 and 15 feet within 20 feet of where the right-of-way lines meet. Sec. 610: no fence or wall over 4 feet within 15 feet of the back of the curb (or the edge of pavement where there is no curb), or within 20 feet of the intersection of two or more public roads. Both rules are in the same ordinance, so plan on the stricter of each (the 3-foot height and the 20-foot distance) and ask the city how it applies them.
Gainesville. Chapter 13-6 sets a sight visibility triangle at every public or private street intersection with another street or a private driveway. Sec. 13-6-4 prohibits fences, walls or signs over 2.5 feet tall that would obstruct clear sight across it. Its definition of the sight visibility triangle (Chapter 2-2) keeps it free of fences between 2.5 and 12 feet. Table 13-16 sets distances by street type, from 25 feet for a private drive to 150 feet along an arterial street. By our reading, the legs are 30 feet each where two local streets meet. The fence section, Sec. 13-1-9, also says a fence may not obstruct visibility at street intersections.

Cities with a clear-view band

Cumming. Sec. 113-210: nothing that obstructs sight lines between 2 and 12 feet above any roadway inside the triangle measured 25 feet from the intersection. Where a street has no right-of-way line, the code falls back to a distance from the road's centerline or the pavement. The zoning administrator may approve a fence there where it will not cause a sight problem and the rule would cause an unnecessary or unreasonable hardship.
Dawsonville. Sec. 608: no fence, wall, sign, hedge or planting that obstructs sight lines between 2 and 12 feet above any roadway inside the triangle formed by the right-of-way lines and a line joining points 50 feet from where they meet. That is the longest single distance we found, apart from Gainesville's street-type table.
Canton. UDC Sec. 103.02.03: nothing between 2.5 and 10 feet above street grade within 20 feet of the intersection of the right-of-way lines.
Woodstock. Land Development Code Sec. 7.304, item 8: the same 2.5 to 10 foot band within 20 feet. Unincorporated Cherokee County, Zoning Ordinance Sec. 5.7: 3 to 15 feet within 25 feet.

Cities where we did not find a number

In most of these cities, the codes or city documents we read say to keep corners clear but gave no triangle distance or height for fences. In Roswell's fence section we found no sight wording at all. A number may sit in a section we did not read, so ask the city.

Marietta. Sec. 710.12 says all corner visibility regulations shall be met, and Sec. 710.04 points to Sec. 716.04, which we did not read.
Roswell. We found no sight wording at all in Sec. 10.2.10, the fence and screening section.
Duluth. Sec. 304.02, in its front-yard fence standards, notes that no fence may obstruct sight distance, and a fence that does is pushed back toward the main building. The only numbered triangle we found, 30 feet in Sec. 603.08, sits in the sign rules.
Flowery Branch. Sec. 11.6: no fence or freestanding wall may obstruct visibility at street intersections or driveways. No distance is given.
Sandy Springs. Sec. 8.3.10: a fence must not obstruct the minimum sight distance or block a driver's vision. We found no distance in the fence section.
Milton. Sec. 2.3.2: fences may not block the code's minimum sight distance standards. We found no fence-specific triangle.
Johns Creek. The city's permit checklist says fences, walls and the plants used with them must not block the minimum sight distance, and a gate or a vehicle waiting at it cannot either. We found no triangle number.

Other corner rules to know

A corner lot has two street sides, and several codes treat the street side much like a front yard.

Buford treats a corner lot as two front yards and sets a 20-foot setback from the right-of-way. In a residential district its ordinance calls for black picket-style metal fencing and says no wood.
Sugar Hill limits a front-yard fence to 4 feet, subject to the visibility rules, and lets the City Manager decide which yard is the front on a corner lot.
Alpharetta defines a front yard as a yard along any public street right-of-way, so the street side of a corner may count. Privacy and chain-link fences are generally not allowed in a front yard.
Suwanee keeps a fence in a yard that abuts a street to 4 feet, with exceptions that include up to 6 feet in one street-side yard of a residential corner lot.
Setbacks from the street vary. Examples are 2 feet in Marietta and Acworth, 5 feet in Cumming and Dawsonville, and 20 feet in Buford.

We covered city limits plus unincorporated Cherokee County. We did not find or read corner sight rules for unincorporated Forsyth, Dawson, Hall, Gwinnett or Cobb County, so ask the county. A mailing address with a city's name does not always mean you are inside its limits, so confirm which office covers your parcel. The numbers above come from each code as we read it in October and November 2026, and codes change.

How we plan a corner lot fence

We look at your fence line, your survey and your HOA's guidelines before we give you a written estimate, and we tell you honestly if a style is likely to run into a rule. We verify your property lines with you, and on a corner we look at where the fence would sit against the sight triangle. If a solid fence would land inside it, we talk through pulling the line back, a low section at the corner, or an open style where the code allows it.

Your HOA may add its own limits. We assist with HOA approval forms, and approval is always the HOA's decision. Before we dig, we call 811 for you, and crews mark the buried gas and power lines.

Before you order, ask your city:

Is the triangle measured from the right-of-way line or the lot line?
What is the distance on each street, and what height is allowed inside it?
Does an open style count differently?
Is there a written way to approve a different fence?
Does the same rule apply at my driveway?

Rules change and every lot is different. Our permit and HOA checklist can help you prepare, and you can request a free written estimate when you are ready.

Common questions

What is a sight triangle on a corner lot?

It is the triangle formed by the two street lines at a corner and a straight line joining points a set distance from the corner along each one. The city keeps it clear so drivers can see. Some codes only give a distance from the intersection and do not draw the shape. Inside the clear zone, fences, hedges and signs are capped in height or kept out of a clear-view band.

Can I have a 6-foot privacy fence on a corner lot?

Maybe. A 6-foot solid fence usually cannot stand inside the triangle, since the caps we found run from about 2 to 4 feet. Outside it, the street-side yard may have its own limits. Suwanee allows 6 feet in one street-side yard of a residential corner lot but keeps it back from the corner, and Buford treats a corner lot as two front yards.

Which North Georgia city has the largest sight triangle?

Of the cities where we found a number, Gainesville's table runs up to 150 feet along an arterial street, and Dawsonville uses 50 feet on each street. Cumming and unincorporated Cherokee County use 25 feet. Alpharetta, Canton, Woodstock, Sugar Hill, Buford and Suwanee use 20 feet, and Kennesaw and Acworth use 15.

Do I measure the triangle from the road or from the property line?

Usually not from the pavement. Most codes measure from the street right-of-way lines, which commonly sit back from the road. Sugar Hill and Buford measure from the lot lines on the street sides. A few add pavement-based distances: Suwanee's Sec. 610 uses 15 feet from the back of the curb or the edge of pavement, and Cumming falls back to the road's centerline or the pavement where there is no right-of-way line. Your survey or plat shows the lines, and the city can confirm which applies.

Does an open aluminum fence get around the sight rule?

Not always. Where the rule is a height cap, as in Kennesaw, Acworth, Alpharetta, Sugar Hill, Buford and Suwanee, height decides, not style. Where the rule is about blocking sight, as in the band cities and Gainesville, an open style may be treated differently, but we did not find a city that says so. Ask before you plan around it.

Which cities did you not find a sight triangle number for?

Marietta, Roswell, Duluth, Flowery Branch, Sandy Springs, Milton and Johns Creek. Most of them say a fence must not obstruct sight distance or visibility, but the fence numbers were not in the sections we read, and for Roswell we found no sight wording at all in its fence section. Ask the city for the distance and height.

Can I get an exception to the corner rule?

Some codes allow it. Cumming's zoning administrator may approve a fence in the triangle where it will not cause a sight problem and the rule would cause an unnecessary or unreasonable hardship, and Acworth's Public Works Director may approve a fence there. For other cities we did not find a written exception to the sight rule itself. Gainesville lets its Governing Body or Planning and Appeals Board approve taller screening fences between different uses by agreement of the affected parties, but not where that reduces required sight visibility. Buford's Director may reduce the 20-foot street setback to as little as 10 feet where the right-of-way is under 40 feet and an engineer's sealed line-of-sight documentation is provided. Ask the planning office.

Corner Lot Fence Rules: Sight Triangles in North Georgia Cities