Iron County, Wisconsin

Town of Mercer fence permit

Do you need a fence permit in the Town of Mercer? Yes. The Town of Mercer requires a permit before you build a fence.

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

Quick facts

Permit required: Yes source
Side and rear yards: 6 ft; 8 ft allowed as a screen between residential districts and a land use that requires a Conditional Use Permit source
Front (street) yard: 6 ft (no fence, wall or hedge shall exceed a height of six (6) feet) source
Corner lots: Where the lot is bound by intersecting roads or streets: no fence, wall, hedge or shrubbery over three (3) feet above the nearest road or street grade within twenty (20) feet of the intersection source
Distance from lot line: No lot-line setback is stated in the fence section. Fences in shoreland areas must keep the setbacks required by the Iron County shoreland rules. 'Minor, readily removable structures such as open fences' may be placed within setback lines (Sec. 9.5.2(E)). source
Good side faces: Decorative fences of wood or wire with a smooth surface on either side, kept neat and in good repair. source
Not allowed: Barbed wire and solid board fences, except to fence livestock, protect crops, industrial junkyards, utility or municipal property; any fence, wall or hedge that would be a nuisance under ch. 844.10, Wis. Stats. source
How to apply: Call 715-561-5414 source

Still being confirmed with Mercer: Does a fence in the Town of Mercer also need a Town Land Use Permit, and what is the County 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 Mercer

Steps based on co.iron.wi.gov — Title 9 Land Use Ordinance PDF

Ask the Town of Mercer Clerk's Office (715-476-2403) whether a fence also needs a Town Land Use Permit.
Get the Iron County Land Use Application from the Iron County Land & Zoning office (715-561-5414) or the County's Land & Zoning Info page.
Draw a scale map showing your lot, the fence location and its distance to roads and any lake or stream.
Submit the application and fee to the Iron County Zoning Administrator, 300 Taconite St, Suite 115, Hurley, before building.
Call Diggers Hotline (811) at least 3 business days before digging.

Paying: Land use permit fee set by the County Zoning Committee (Zoning fee schedule revised March 19, 2024; amount not reviewed)
Review time: Issued by the County Zoning Administrator
Permit good for: Expires 12 months from issuance if no building activity has begun

Who to contact

Erika Roeder
Land and Zoning Administrator, Iron County

Phone: 715-561-5414
Email: [email protected]
Hours: Mon-Thu 7:30 am-4:30 pm; Fri 7:30 am-11:30 am
Address: Iron County Comprehensive Planning / Land & Zoning, 300 Taconite St, Suite 115, Hurley, WI 54534

Contact from co.iron.wi.gov — Zoning Department

What to submit

Iron County Land Use Application with a scale map showing the lot, the fence and its relation to roads and water
Town of Mercer Land Use Permit (ask the Town whether it applies to fences)

Official application form or packet

Other rules to know

Fence rules are Sec. 9.7.13 'Fences, Walls and Hedges' of the Iron County Title 9 Land Use (zoning) Ordinance, read from the copy linked on the County's current Ordinances page (it matches the energyzoning.org archive dated 2023-02-20). Sec. 9.7.13(6): 'Anyone erecting a fence or wall except as described in Subsection (4) must have an Iron County Land Use Permit.' Subsection (4) covers barbed wire/solid board fences for livestock, crops, junkyards and utility or municipal property.
Solid board fences are forbidden in general (Sec. 9.7.13(3)), so a solid privacy fence is not allowed under the fence section; ask the Zoning office before planning one.
No height limit for fences protecting playgrounds, baseball backstops, tennis courts and like activities. Open fences that do not obstruct vision and are used for livestock, crops, junkyards or utility/municipal property may be in highway and waterfront setback areas and may exceed the height limits.
Corner-lot vision triangle (Sec. 9.5.3): nothing that obstructs vision between 2 1/2 and 10 ft high may be placed in the clearance triangle; open fences are excluded from that rule.
Land use permit applications need scale maps showing lot size, proposed structures and their relation to roads and water (Sec. 9.2.2(B)). The County's Land & Zoning Info page links a Land Use Application (dated 201812) and a 'Fee Schedule - Zoning - Revised March 19, 2024'; the research tool could not open either PDF, so the fee and the form's fine print were not reviewed.
Shorelands are lands within 1,000 ft of a navigable lake or 300 ft of a navigable river or stream (Sec. 9.4.16). The County also posts a Title 13 Shoreland Zoning Ordinance (March 2, 2021) and a Shoreland Development Guide (not reviewed).
Mercer is under Iron County zoning (Title 9 Sec. 9.1.4 lists Mercer; the Town's Planning Commission 'is supported by staff of the Iron County Planning and Zoning Department'; an Oct. 2021 Daily Globe report says the Town is in an advisory position to County zoning).
The Town also has its own Land Use Permit Ordinance (2009-04, amended 2021-8) and a 'Land Use Permit (with Driveway Permit)' form (April 2022) on its Forms & Permits page. The research tool could not open either PDF, so it is not known whether a fence needs the Town permit too.
Town of Mercer Clerk's Office: 715-476-2403, Mon-Fri 8am-3pm, P.O. Box 149, 2657 W. Railroad St., Mercer, WI 54547 (email hidden on the Town site).

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 Mercer, WI?

Yes. The Town of Mercer requires a permit before you build a fence.

How tall can a fence be in the Town of Mercer?

Side and rear yards: 6 ft; 8 ft allowed as a screen between residential districts and a land use that requires a Conditional Use Permit. Front (street) yard: 6 ft (no fence, wall or hedge shall exceed a height of six (6) feet). Corner lots: Where the lot is bound by intersecting roads or streets: no fence, wall, hedge or shrubbery over three (3) feet above the nearest road or street grade within twenty (20) feet of the intersection.

How close to the property line can I put a fence in the Town of Mercer?

No lot-line setback is stated in the fence section. Fences in shoreland areas must keep the setbacks required by the Iron County shoreland rules. 'Minor, readily removable structures such as open fences' may be placed within setback lines (Sec. 9.5.2(E)).

Which side of the fence has to face the neighbor in the Town of Mercer?

Decorative fences of wood or wire with a smooth surface on either side, kept neat and in good repair.

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

Ask the Town of Mercer Clerk's Office (715-476-2403) whether a fence also needs a Town Land Use Permit. Get the Iron County Land Use Application from the Iron County Land & Zoning office (715-561-5414) or the County's Land & Zoning Info page. Draw a scale map showing your lot, the fence location and its distance to roads and any lake or stream. Submit the application and fee to the Iron County Zoning Administrator, 300 Taconite St, Suite 115, Hurley, before building. 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 Mercer (site plan, aerial photo and filled-in details) in a few minutes.

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

Erika Roeder, Land and Zoning Administrator, Iron County. Phone 715-561-5414, email [email protected].

Sources

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

Ordinance: Iron County Title 9 Land Use Ordinance Sec. 9.7.13 Fences, Walls and Hedges

Work for the Town of Mercer? 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.