Zoning: Fences and Accessory Structures for Block Walls in Bowling Green

The Warren County/Joint Zoning Ordinance (read October 8, 2026) says accessory buildings and structures, except as otherwise permitted by the ordinance, shall require a building permit and shall be subject to its regulations in all single family districts. Under that item it says that, unless located on a minimum of two acres in the RR zoning district, no accessory building or structure shall extend beyond the front of the principal structure, excluding fences 4 feet or less in height, and that fences are not subject to building or structure setbacks but are subject to the sight distance requirements in its Section 1.14. Elsewhere it says that, for the purpose of determining yard setback, the accessory structure setback shall not apply to fences.

Sight distance and the 2-acre line

Section 1.14 says no structure, fence, or vegetation shall be permitted to obscure the vision of the public at any street, alley or driveway intersection, in accordance with the sight distance regulations of the applicable agency, which it names as KYTC, Bowling Green Public Works or Warren County Public Works. For agriculturally zoned land the ordinance says fences constructed there on 2 acres or greater do not require a permit and are exempt from accessory structure setback requirements, and that fences for residential purposes on lots less than two acres shall follow the single family residential standards. None of this describes a wall, and we do not say a block wall is a fence.

A line about fences is not a line about walls. Whether a block wall counts as a fence, an accessory structure or neither is not something the saved text says; the City-County Planning Commission and the City's building office are the places to ask, and the costs page lists every line we read. This site has not saved the ordinance's district standards, so it states no setback, height or distance for any wall.

What does the ordinance say about fences?

That fences are not subject to building or structure setbacks but are subject to its sight distance requirements, that the accessory structure setback does not apply to fences for determining yard setback, and that fences 4 feet or less in height are excluded from the line keeping accessory structures from extending beyond the front of the principal structure.

Does the 2-acre fence line apply to a block wall?

The ordinance says fences constructed on agriculturally zoned land, 2 acres or greater, do not require a permit. It does not say whether a block wall is a fence, so we do not say the line applies.

Where do the setbacks for accessory structures come from?

This site has not saved the ordinance's district standards, so it states none. The City-County Planning Commission can say.