Back in May, the Fort Walton Beach City Council voted to amend the Land Development Code to allow for 8-foot fences on residential properties abutting school properties.
- The current allowable fence height in the city is 6-feet.
- The current allowable fence height in the county is 8-feet.
In the Fall of 2021, the Okaloosa County School District began hardening all of the schools within the county through the installation of 8-foot high perimeter fencing.
- For residential homes next to schools, this meant they began seeing 2-feet of chainlink fence above their 6-foot fence.
During that same meeting, it was proposed that the city allow 8-foot fences throughout the city limits for anyone who wishes to have a taller fence. At last night’s council meeting, that became a reality with a unanimous vote.
- Residents will be able to install an 8-foot fence on the sides and rear of the property.
- Fences in the front will still be limited to the 4-foot rule.
“I think it’s a happy day for many here in our city that are property owners,” said Councilman Nic Allegretto. “It clears up a lot of confusion and also makes it a lot easier on staff to identify issues and work through those things as there’s not as many differences in our land development code with this new ordinance.”
- Allegretto, who championed to amend the 8-foot fence rule, went onto say that he personally cannot wait for an 8-foot fence to surround his property.
This was approved on first reading. The final approval will take place on August 23, 2022, which means residents can have a taller fence on August 24th.
