Florence County, Wisconsin

Town of Commonwealth fence permit

Do you need a fence permit in the Town of Commonwealth? Not confirmed. Contact the Town of Commonwealth before you build; the rules below are what we found in the ordinance.

buildit.dog can turn a fence drawn on an aerial photo of your lot into a complete permit application package for the Town of Commonwealth (site plan, aerial photo and filled-in details) in a few minutes. Start with your address.

Quick facts

Permit required: Not confirmed source
How to apply: Call 715-528-3206 source

Still being confirmed with Commonwealth: Does a typical residential fence need a Florence County land use permit, and what are the height and lot-line setback limits and the fee?

Plan your fence and build the applicationLook up your address, draw the fence on an aerial photo of your lot, and get a site plan and filled-in application.

How to file for a fence permit in the Town of Commonwealth

Steps based on energyzoning.org — Zoning ordinance (archived copy)

Call Florence County Zoning (715-528-3206) to confirm whether a fence needs a land use permit and what the fence setback and height limits are.
If a permit is needed, submit a land use permit application with a site plan to the County Zoning and Planning Administrator (Ordinance 2.3.1).
Pay the permit fee, which is set by the County Board (amount not found online).
Call Diggers Hotline (811) at least 3 business days before digging.

Paying: Fee set by the Florence County Board; accompanies the application (Ordinance 2.3.2)

Who to contact

Kelly Sleeter
Zoning Administrator and Land Use Planner

Phone: 715-528-3206
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Address: Florence County Zoning, 501 Lake Avenue, Florence, WI 54121 (mail: PO Box 410, Florence, WI 54121)

Contact from florencecountywi.com — contact us

What to submit

Land use permit application to the County Zoning and Planning Administrator (Ordinance 2.3.1); it asks for owner name and address, owner/agent signature, parcel identifier, statement of proposed use and a site plan (2.3)

Other rules to know

The Town of Commonwealth follows the Florence County zoning ordinance, so fence permits come from the county zoning office, not the town.
The County zoning ordinance (Chapter 10, Subchapter 1) says 'No structure shall be built, moved or structurally altered, until a land use permit has been issued' (2.2.2) and lists 'fences' among accessory structures in its definitions (Sec. 17.0). The ordinance has no fence-specific section, so whether a plain residential fence needs a land use permit was not stated in a source read.
Ordinance 5.4.2: accessory structures generally cannot be placed in a required front or side yard; rear-yard accessory structures must be at least 7.5 feet from any property line. The ordinance does not say whether this applies to fences (5.5 lists arbors, trellises, trees and shrubs as not yard obstructions, but not fences).
Ordinance 7.1 (visual clearance): 'Posts or open fences are excluded from this provision' (sight-triangle height limit at corners).
Ordinance 2.3.2 and 2.9.1: permit fees are set by separate ordinance of the County Board; no dollar amount was found. County Zoning Committee minutes (5/2025) list 'Fee structure' as a future agenda item.
County zoning status: County Zoning Committee minutes of 5/7/2025 say the Town of Fern voted to join the Comprehensive Ordinance and 'Long Lake is now the only township that is not on our zoning'. The ordinance text (1.8.2(A)) takes effect in a town on town board approval. The ordinance copy read is an archived copy on energyzoning.org with pages footed 'Amendment September 18, 2018'; the county ordinance page lists a 2024 public hearing on a revised Subchapter 1, so the current text may differ.
Town clerk contacts (Florence County clerk's municipal directory): Aurora - Stacy Hedmark 715-589-2282, [email protected]; Commonwealth - Dorothy Vayda 715-528-3068, [email protected]; Fence - Theresa Smith 715-336-2407, [email protected]; Fern - Pam Batte 715-336-2284, [email protected]; Florence - Jessica Klumpp 715-528-3595, [email protected] (749 Central Ave); Homestead - Linda McLain 715-589-2619, [email protected]; Tipler - Amanda Harvat 715-674-2320 (town site: 11102 Dream Lake Road).
The Town of Tipler staff directory lists the Florence County Zoning Administrator as its zoning and permit contact.
Same-name trap: this is Florence County, Wisconsin (ZIP 54121 / 54120 / 54542), not Florence County, South Carolina, or Florence, Wisconsin addresses in other counties.

Before you dig

Call Diggers Hotline at 811 (or file online at diggershotline.com) at least 3 business days before digging post holes. Find your lot corner markers and keep the fence on your side of the line. County parcel maps can be off by several feet; if you're not sure where the line is, a licensed land surveyor can stake it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to build a fence in the Town of Commonwealth, WI?

Not confirmed. Contact the Town of Commonwealth before you build; the rules below are what we found in the ordinance.

How do I apply for a fence permit in the Town of Commonwealth?

Call Florence County Zoning (715-528-3206) to confirm whether a fence needs a land use permit and what the fence setback and height limits are. If a permit is needed, submit a land use permit application with a site plan to the County Zoning and Planning Administrator (Ordinance 2.3.1). Pay the permit fee, which is set by the County Board (amount not found online). Call Diggers Hotline (811) at least 3 business days before digging. buildit.dog can turn a fence drawn on an aerial photo of your lot into a complete permit application package for the Town of Commonwealth (site plan, aerial photo and filled-in details) in a few minutes.

Who do I contact about a fence permit in the Town of Commonwealth?

Kelly Sleeter, Zoning Administrator and Land Use Planner. Phone 715-528-3206.

Sources

Summarized from the Town of Commonwealth's own ordinances, forms and permit pages. Each link opens the original.

Ordinance: Florence County Code Chapter 10, Subchapter 1 (Comprehensive Zoning), Sec. 2.2.2, 5.4, 17.0

Work for the Town of Commonwealth? Help us keep this right

If anything on this page is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll fix it. Municipal staff reports are reviewed first. Please include a link to the current ordinance, form or fee schedule if you can.