How Far From the Sidewalk Does a Fence Need to Be in Wichita?

There's no set number of feet. Your fence can go right up to your property line, and no farther. On most Wichita streets the sidewalk sits in the public right-of-way, so your line is usually a few feet on the house side of the sidewalk, not at its edge. Build to the sidewalk and you're probably building on city land. Near a street corner or a driveway, a solid fence also has to drop to 3 feet.

We build fences. We're not surveyors or lawyers. What's below comes from the code sections we link, read in September 2026. For a close or disputed line, hire a land surveyor.

How far from the sidewalk does a fence need to be in Wichita?

As far as it takes to stay on your own lot. Wichita's zoning code allows "Fences or Screening Walls that do not exceed eight feet in height" inside required setbacks (UZC Sec. III-E.1.e(1)(b)). That means there's no fence setback from your front or side lot line. The line itself is the limit.

The sidewalk isn't the line. Neither is the curb. The city usually owns a strip along the street called the right-of-way, and the sidewalk sits inside it. Your lot starts where that strip ends. How wide it is changes from street to street, so the only real answer is to find your own line.

Can I put a fence in the right-of-way?

Not without the city's written permission. Wichita makes it unlawful "to place or leave any obstruction of any kind upon or over the streets, rights-of-way, or sidewalks of the city," and fences and posts are on the list, "without a written permit from the city engineer" (Wichita Code Sec. 10.04.010).

We don't build in the right-of-way. If the city wants a fence off its land, you'd be paying to move a fence you just paid for. It's cheaper to find the line first.

How do I find my property line?

Start with what you already have. Your closing papers may include a survey or a plat. A plat shows your lot's dimensions and any easements. Many lots also have survey pins, small metal markers set at the corners, often buried a few inches down. Pins get moved or pulled over the years, so treat one you find as a clue, not proof.

Next, look at the county's map. Sedgwick County's Mobile Land Records app shows every parcel with its property lines and measurements. It's a good way to see roughly where your line runs. It isn't precise enough to set posts by. The county says boundaries are "primarily maintained for tax purposes" and "accurate within three feet countywide" (Sedgwick County GIS FAQ).

Three feet is a lot along a street. If you can't find the pins, or the line is close, or a neighbor cares where it is, hire a land surveyor to find and mark it. That's the only answer that holds up if anyone ever argues about it.

Can I build a fence over an easement?

Sometimes. An easement is a recorded right for someone else, usually a utility, to use a strip of your lot. It shows on the plat. Whether a fence can cross it, and who pays if the utility needs it moved later, depends on the easement and who holds it. That varies lot to lot, so we don't guess at it.

If your plat shows an easement where you want a fence, ask the utility or MABCD before you build. Plan on a gate or a removable section if the utility needs to get in.

What about corner lots and driveways?

Two rules stack up here. First, the zoning rule. Inside the City, a fence with "more than 80 percent opacity" can't be taller than three feet along the side lot line "within 20 feet of its intersection with the street right-of-way line," and the same 3 foot cap applies along any lot line within 20 feet of where a driveway meets the street right-of-way (UZC Sec. III-E.1.e(1)(b)). Open fence under 80 percent, like chain link or ornamental iron, isn't cut down by this rule.

Second, the traffic rule. Wichita bans any fence that blocks the view inside the vision triangle at a corner. At an uncontrolled intersection, its sides run "ninety feet measured along the centerlines of the approach streets" (Wichita Code Sec. 11.22.010). Corners with stop signs use a different formula, and the traffic engineer decides. An ornamental fence up to four feet tall is exempt if its solid part to open part doesn't exceed one to four (Wichita Code Sec. 11.22.020).

So on a corner lot, the fence can still reach your line. It just may need to be short, or open, for the first stretch back from the street. Our Wichita fence permit guide walks through both rules and the suburbs that write their own.

Do I have to call 811 before I dig?

Contractors do. Kansas law says an excavator "shall serve notice of intent of excavation at least two full working days" before digging (K.S.A. 66-1804). The law's definition of excavator leaves out an occupant digging at a dwelling they use as their primary residence (K.S.A. 66-1802). So if you're digging your own post holes at home, the statute doesn't make you call.

Call anyway. A fence along the street is exactly where buried lines run. We call 811 on every job, with no exceptions for a run that looks obvious.

How we set a fence near the sidewalk

On every job, our crew locates the pins or the surveyed line before a single post is set. If we can't find them, or they don't agree with the plat, we stop and tell you to get a survey. We'd rather lose a day than set a run of posts on city land.

• We pull the plat and look for easements before we quote
• We locate the pins and flag the line before any post goes in
• We measure the corner and driveway zones on corner lots
• We call 811 before every dig
• We pull the permit on any job that needs one

A front yard fence near the street is usually open style, like ornamental iron or chain link, which also sidesteps the corner cut-down. If you want privacy, a vinyl fence or cedar works too, set back where the rules need it. The rest of how a job runs is on our fence installation in Wichita page.

Fence and sidewalk questions, answered

Want a fence near the street without guessing at the line? We'll find it, flag it, and put the plan in writing before anything goes in the ground.