Buford, GA Fence Rules: Black Ornamental Metal, Height and Setbacks

Last updated: November 2026.

Is your address in the city?

Buford sits in both Gwinnett and Hall counties, and a Buford address does not always mean the home is inside the city limits. These rules are for the City of Buford's Zoning Ordinance. If your home is outside the city, the county that covers it sets the rules, so check before you design anything. The city's Contact Us page lists 770-945-6761 and office hours of Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you are not sure whether your address is inside the city limits, ask them first, because the city and each county set different rules and different offices handle the permits.

Do you need a permit?

Section 700 of the ordinance, "Walls and Fences," says walls or fences are permitted in any zoning district and are not subject to the ordinance's setback requirements, except in a Residential Zoning District. In a residential district it says front yard fences are required to be permitted by the Director of Planning and Development. The sections we read do not say whether a fence in a side or rear yard needs a permit, and the city's building permit application does not mention fences, so call before you build.

The city's Planning and Zoning page lists an Application for Building Permit and a Homeowner's Affidavit. Ask whether your project needs either one. A city permit is also not the same thing as HOA approval. Your HOA decides that one.

Height, setbacks and corner lots

For residential zoning districts, Section 700 sets these rules:

• Setback: fences must be set back at least 20 feet from the public right-of-way. The Director can reduce that to as little as 10 feet if the existing right-of-way is less than 40 feet wide and you provide documentation sealed by a Georgia-registered professional engineer showing the line of sight for the road is still achieved.
• Height: no wall or fence may exceed six feet in a front yard or side yard, and fences have a minimum height of four feet. The section does not give a separate number for rear yards, so ask the city.
• Corner lots: a corner lot is treated as having two front yards, so the front-yard rules apply along both streets.

Corner lots also have a sight rule in the city's Development Regulations (Section 9.6.8). Within the area formed by the lot lines on the street sides and a line joining points 20 feet from where they meet, there can be no fence, wall or hedge higher than three feet, and no obstruction to vision between three and 15 feet above the street grade, other than a post, column or tree not more than one foot across.

Materials, color, columns and upkeep

This is the part that surprises people. In a residential zoning district:

• Style and color: fences shall be constructed of ornamental or decorative aluminized metal of wrought iron picket style and be black in color. No wood, woven wire or metal fabric is allowed.
• Screening: screening shall only be accomplished by landscaping, which points away from solid privacy fences.
• Wire: barbed wire and electric fences are not allowed.
• Columns: columns are allowed but not required. They must be rock, brick, stacked stone or a similar material that matches the home and is approved by the Director, square and at least 20 inches wide, and match the fence height, between four and six feet. Any lighting on columns needs the Director's approval.
• Upkeep: a fence must be well maintained and structurally sound. That means removing loose or rotting material, bracing it properly, replacing damaged parts with similar materials, and keeping gates, hardware and latches working.

What the key words mean

A few terms in Section 700 trip people up, so here is how we read them. Always confirm with the city, because the city's definitions control.

• Public right-of-way. This is the strip of land along a road that the city or state controls. It usually reaches past the pavement, and your survey or plat shows where it ends. The 20-foot setback is measured from that line, not from the curb.
• Front yard and side yard. The 6-foot limit applies to both. Because a corner lot counts as two front yards, the street-facing side of a corner lot follows the same rules as the front.
• Wrought iron picket style. This describes an open fence made of vertical pickets with space between them, the way ornamental aluminum and iron fences are built. It is the opposite of a solid board fence.
• Director of Planning and Development. This is the city official who permits front-yard fences, approves columns and can reduce the setback in the cases listed above.

Subdivision entrances, commercial lots and pond fences

A subdivision entrance wall or fence cannot exceed ten feet in height and needs the Director's approval after a landscape plan, site plan and architectural elevations go to Development Review. A fence around an approved stormwater facility is not covered by the fence section and is black chain link four feet tall under the city's Development Regulations.

For non-residential zoning districts, no wall or fence may exceed eight feet in a side or rear yard, and none may extend into a front yard as the section defines it. A variance may be applied for and comes with landscape requirements.

What this means for a typical Buford fence

Put the pieces together and a typical Buford home looks like this:

• A black aluminum picket fence, four to six feet tall, set back 20 feet from the right-of-way, is the style the ordinance describes. Black aluminum is a good fit, and it is also what many neighborhoods and HOAs prefer.
• A wood or solid privacy fence does not fit the residential materials rule, so we would not quote one for a home inside the city without a written answer from the city.
• On a corner lot, plan for the front-yard rules on both streets and keep the corner clear.
• Get the Director's permit for any front-yard fence before work starts.

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.

The variance route

If your lot does not fit the code, ask about a variance before you build. The city's Zoning Board of Appeals can authorize a variance where a literal enforcement of the ordinance would cause an unnecessary hardship. The board must find extraordinary and exceptional conditions tied to the property's size, shape or topography, that the ordinance would create an unnecessary hardship, that the conditions are peculiar to the property and were not caused by the owner, and that relief would not cause substantial detriment to the public good. A variance cannot be granted for something the ordinance prohibits as a use. The city's Planning and Zoning page lists an Application for Variance to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

• HOA approval. It is separate from any city permit, and you may need both. We assist with HOA approval forms, and approval itself is always your HOA's decision. See our HOA fence approval guide.
• Georgia 811. Before we dig, we call 811 for you, and crews mark the buried gas and power lines.

Rules change and every lot is different. The version of Section 700 we read is dated January 2025 on the city's website, so confirm the current text with the city before you order materials.

Common questions

Sources

• City of Buford Zoning Ordinance, Article VII, Sec. 700, Walls and Fences (PDF, Jan. 2025)
• City of Buford Zoning Ordinance, Article XVI, Zoning Board of Appeals (PDF)
• City of Buford Development Regulations, Article 9, Sec. 9.6.8, Obstructing Visibility at Intersections (PDF)
• City of Buford: Planning and Zoning, Applications, Forms, Regulations

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