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Fence / Retaining Wall Permit (Planning Clearance) in Fruita, Colorado

A City of Fruita Planning Clearance is required before erecting, moving, or altering any fence, per Fruita Municipal Code Chapter 17.11 (General Development Standards). Height limits vary by yard location and zone district.

Verified 2026-07-06 · Source

When you need this permit

  • A Planning Clearance is required before erecting, moving, or altering a fence in Fruita, regardless of height, per Fruita Municipal Code Chapter 17.11
  • Fences/walls may not exceed 6 feet in height as measured from natural grade in most zones; fences in Industrial (I) zones may exceed 6 feet
  • Fences within a required front yard setback are capped at 36 inches in height, though this may be increased to 48 inches
  • On corner lots, a solid fence up to 6 feet in height within a front yard setback may be permitted on one street frontage, provided it conforms to the required clear-sight triangle
  • Fences exceeding 6 feet must comply with applicable building codes in addition to zoning setbacks

Required documents

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Not ready yet0 of 2 required documents checked.

This checker covers one permit. A full project usually triggers several — our paid checklist will assemble all of them, from $29

Fee schedule

Planning Clearance Fee — Fence2025 Fees and Charges Schedule, Section III, Planning Clearance Fees
$15.00

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Fence / Retaining Wall Permit (Planning Clearance) permit actually take in Fruita?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Final Inspection

    Height, location relative to setback/clear-sight triangle verified

See the full Fruita inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • Fruita's fence process runs through a Planning Clearance (a zoning-compliance check), not a building permit — the $15 fee is far lower than a valuation-based building permit fee, but the clearance is still mandatory regardless of fence height.
  • Corner-lot fences get a specific carve-out (a 6-foot solid fence allowed on ONE street frontage) that other front-yard fences don't — confirm your lot qualifies before assuming the 36/48-inch front-yard cap applies.

Frequently asked questions

You need a City of Fruita Planning Clearance ($15 fee) before erecting, moving, or altering any fence, regardless of height, per Fruita Municipal Code Chapter 17.11.

In Fruita, the published Planning Clearance Fee — Fence is: $15.00. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Fruita does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Fruita Building Division (Community Development Department) at 970-639-9919 (Building Division main line); Community Development Department (970) 858-0786 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Planning Clearance Application (Cloudpermit portal); Site Plan. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Fruita requires 1 inspection(s) for a fence / retaining wall permit (planning clearance), in order: Final Inspection. Schedule each through City of Fruita Building Division (Community Development Department) (970-639-9919 (Building Division main line); Community Development Department (970) 858-0786).

Apply through City of Fruita Building Division (Community Development Department) at 325 E Aspen Avenue, Suite 155, Fruita, CO 81521. Phone: 970-639-9919 (Building Division main line); Community Development Department (970) 858-0786, email: kmclean@fruita.org (Building Permit Tech/Planning Specialist Kelli McLean); general fruita@fruita.org. Office hours: Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (closed Fridays and Municipal Holidays), per the City of Fruita Building Division page. Official information: https://www.fruita.org/610/Building-Division.

Fruita, Colorado has adopted: AUTHORITY MODEL NOTE: Colorado has no statewide building code (home-rule-adjacent for statutory cities via Title 31, Article 16, C.R.S., which authorizes municipalities to adopt codes by reference); each city or county adopts and amends its own. Colorado does set a statutory statewide energy-code floor via HB22-1362 (requiring jurisdictions that adopt a building code to also adopt the most current or immediately preceding edition of the IECC) and a Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code mandate under Section 24-38.5-401(5) C.R.S. Fruita adopts and administers its OWN codes independently of Mesa County — confirmed by Ordinance No. 2025-12 (adopted July 15, 2025, effective ~August 14, 2025), which repeals, re-adopts, and amends Fruita's building-related codes under Title 15 of the Fruita Municipal Code.; 2024 International Building Code (IBC) — City of Fruita, adopted by Ordinance 2025-12, Part 3; Appendix Chapter C (Group U — Agriculture Building), Chapter I (Patio Covers), and Chapter P (Sleeping Lofts) are adopted; no other IBC appendix chapters are adopted; 2024 International Residential Code (IRC) — City of Fruita, adopted by Ordinance 2025-12, Part 7; Appendix BB (Tiny Houses), Appendix BF (Patio Covers), Appendix BO (Existing Buildings and Structures), Appendix CB (Sizing of Venting Systems), and Appendix CC (Recommended Procedure for Safety Inspection of an Existing Appliance Installation) are adopted; no other IRC appendix chapters are adopted; 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC) — City of Fruita, adopted by Ordinance 2025-12, Part 5; 2024 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) — City of Fruita, adopted by Ordinance 2025-12, Part 6; 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — City of Fruita, adopted by Ordinance 2025-12, Part 8, with locally amended Table R402.1.3 insulation minimum R-values/fenestration requirements pulled forward from the 2024 IECC edition (see localAmendments); Colorado Plumbing and Fuel Gas Code (incorporating the International Plumbing Code and International Fuel Gas Code as amended/adopted by the Colorado State Plumbing Board pursuant to Title 12, Article 155, C.R.S.) — City of Fruita, adopted by Ordinance 2025-12, Part 4; National Electrical Code (NEC), as amended/adopted by the Colorado State Electrical Board pursuant to Title 12, Article 115, C.R.S. — City of Fruita, adopted by Ordinance 2025-12, Part 10; per Fruita's Adopted Codes and Regulations page the current edition in force is the 2023 NEC; Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code, adopted pursuant to Section 24-38.5-401(5) C.R.S. as required by HB22-1362 — City of Fruita, adopted by Ordinance 2025-12, Part 9, 'as written at the time of this code adoption'; Ordinance No. 2025-12 (City of Fruita) — introduced June 3, 2025, public notice published June 18 and July 2, 2025, adopted on second reading July 15, 2025 (6-0 vote), effective 30 days after adoption; the ordinance's own Exhibit A is the 'City of Fruita Building Department Fee Schedule,' re-adopted annually by City Council resolution (currently the 2025 Fees and Charges Schedule under Resolution 2024-39); 2018 International Residential Code — cited specifically as the applicable edition for solar PV system design/installation on Fruita's own Solar PV System Checklist form (325 E Aspen Suite 155, Community Development 970-858-0786), which predates the City's later Ordinance 2025-12 move to the 2024 IRC cycle for general construction; applicants should confirm with the Building Division which edition governs a given solar submittal, since the standalone solar checklist has not been visibly reissued since the general code-cycle update. Local amendments apply — see the Fruita overview page for the full list.

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-07-06.

Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Fruita building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.