Oneida County, Wisconsin

Town of Woodruff fence permit

Do you need a fence permit in the Town of Woodruff? Yes. The Town of Woodruff 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 Woodruff (site plan, aerial photo and filled-in details) in a few minutes. Start with your address.

Quick facts

Permit required: Yes source
Fee: $100.00 source
Side and rear yards: 6 feet; 8 feet allowed as a screen between residential districts and a land use that requires a conditional use permit source
Front (street) yard: 6 feet (no fence, wall or hedge shall exceed a height of six (6) feet) source
Distance from lot line: No lot-line setback is stated; Sec. 9.74 regulates fences 'erected, placed or maintained on a lot line or adjacent thereto'. No fence may be erected in the waterfront setback that would parallel the waterfront. Fences bordering highways (Sec. 9.74(H)) must be no taller than 15 feet, at least 2 feet landward of the ordinary high water mark, entirely outside the highway right-of-way, no less than 10 feet from the edge of a roadway and no more than 40 feet from the edge of a roadway or highway right-of-way (whichever is greater), and generally perpendicular to the shoreline. source
Good side faces: Fences shall have a smooth surface on the side facing the adjacent property. source
Not allowed: Barbed wire fences, except to fence livestock, protect crops, industrial junk yards, utility or municipal property; any fence, wall or hedge that would be a nuisance under s. 844.10, Wis. Stats.; snow fencing except temporarily October through March (removed within 3 weeks after town road limits are lifted) and never within 200 feet of the ordinary high water mark (except as in 9.74(H)). source
How to apply: Online portal, mail, in person source

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 you can send to Town of Woodruff.

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

Steps based on oneidacountywi.gov — Chapter 9 Article 3 1

Decide what kind of fence: an open fence (at least 80% see-through) does not need a County zoning permit; a solid or privacy fence does.
Keep it to 6 feet tall, with the smooth side facing the neighbor. No barbed wire, and no fence along the waterfront in the waterfront setback.
Fill out the Oneida County Zoning Permit Application (County Planning & Zoning Public Documents page).
Submit it with the $100.00 fee through the County's Ascent permit portal, by mail, or at the Rhinelander Courthouse or Minocqua branch office (call 715-369-6130 with questions).
The County reviews a complete application within 15 working days. Post the permit on site while you build.
Call Diggers Hotline (811) at least 3 business days before digging.

Paying: $100.00, paid with the application; after-the-fact applications are triple the fee
Review time: Completeness checked within 15 working days; decision within 15 working days after the application is complete
Permit good for: Two years from issuance; may not be renewed

Who to contact

Phone: 715-369-6130
Email: [email protected]
Hours: Rhinelander: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM; Minocqua branch: Monday and Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM (closed 12-1)
Address: Oneida County Planning & Zoning, Courthouse, 1 S. Oneida Ave., P.O. Box 400, Rhinelander, WI 54501; Minocqua Branch, 415 Menominee St., P.O. Box 624, Minocqua, WI 54548

Contact from oneidacountywi.gov — pz

What to submit

Oneida County Zoning Permit Application (County Planning & Zoning Public Documents page)
Fee paid with the application

Official application form or packet

Town of Woodruff online permit portal

Other rules to know

The Town of Woodruff follows the Oneida County zoning ordinance, so fence permits come from the county zoning office, not the town.
Open fences are exempt: Sec. 9.33(E) says 'A zoning permit shall not be required for the construction of open fences', and the County Information Handout says permits are not required for 'open fences'. An open fence is defined (Art. 10) as one in which at least 80% of the total vertical area permits visibility. Solid/privacy fences fall under Sec. 9.74(G): 'Anyone erecting a fence or wall must have a zoning permit, pursuant to Article 3.'
Fence height limits do not apply to fences protecting playgrounds, baseball backstops, tennis courts and similar activities. Open fences used for livestock, crops, industrial, utility or municipal property may be in the highway and waterfront setback areas and may exceed the height limits.
Fences may be wood, wire, plastic, composite or similar materials and must be kept neat and in good repair.
Any activity within 75 ft of the ordinary high water mark: the County asks you to contact the department first.
After-the-fact applications cost triple the original application fee. Fee schedule effective 1/1/2026 (Resolution #6-2026).
Town clerks (Oneida County 2026-2027 Directory): Cassian - Stacey Plamann, 715-499-0132, [email protected]; Crescent - Tracy Hartman, 715-499-0500, [email protected]; Enterprise - Jonathan Sommer, 715-360-0336, [email protected]; Hazelhurst - Christy Myshchyshyn, 715-356-5800, [email protected]; Lake Tomahawk - Sharon Lintereur, 715-277-2257, [email protected]; Little Rice - Christine Sully, 715-224-2591, [email protected]; Lynne - Molly Lehman, 715-564-2650, [email protected]; Minocqua - Roben Haggart, 715-356-5296, [email protected]; Monico - Barbara M. Henderson, 715-499-4981, [email protected]; Newbold - Kim Gauthier, 715-362-1092, [email protected]; Nokomis - Wendy Smith, 715-612-4103, [email protected]; Pelican - Mike Ring, 715-550-3373, [email protected]; Piehl - Kristianna Wright, 920-794-4540, [email protected]; Pine Lake - Cindy Skinner, 715-362-6071, [email protected]; Schoepke - Julie Taylor, 715-487-6155, [email protected]; Stella - Stacy Schickert, 715-369-2292, [email protected]; Sugar Camp - Lauren Sowinski, 715-272-1525, [email protected]; Three Lakes - Sue Harris, 715-546-3316, [email protected]; Woodboro - Judith A. May, 715-282-5607 Ext. 1, [email protected]; Woodruff - Julie Huotari, 715-356-9421, [email protected].
Same-name trap: ecode360 results for 'Oneida' lake/zoning codes in New York and the Oneida Nation (oneida-nsn.gov, Outagamie/Brown counties) are not this county and were not used.
The Article 7 PDF used (Chapter-9-Article-7-3.pdf, Sec. 9.74 amended #6-2022) was found by search; the County's Chapter 9 page that lists the current articles could not be opened to confirm it is the current version. The 'Open Fence' definition is quoted from the energyzoning.org archive of Chapter 9 (dated 2023-07-24). The Zoning Permit Application linked from the County's Public Documents page (Zoning-Permit-App-web-site-form.pdf) could not be opened, so its required attachments are not listed here.
No recent incorporations or renamings found; Oneida County has one city (Rhinelander), no villages and 20 towns.

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 Woodruff, WI?

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

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

Side and rear yards: 6 feet; 8 feet allowed as a screen between residential districts and a land use that requires a conditional use permit. Front (street) yard: 6 feet (no fence, wall or hedge shall exceed a height of six (6) feet).

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

No lot-line setback is stated; Sec. 9.74 regulates fences 'erected, placed or maintained on a lot line or adjacent thereto'. No fence may be erected in the waterfront setback that would parallel the waterfront. Fences bordering highways (Sec. 9.74(H)) must be no taller than 15 feet, at least 2 feet landward of the ordinary high water mark, entirely outside the highway right-of-way, no less than 10 feet from the edge of a roadway and no more than 40 feet from the edge of a roadway or highway right-of-way (whichever is greater), and generally perpendicular to the shoreline.

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

Fences shall have a smooth surface on the side facing the adjacent property.

How much is a fence permit in the Town of Woodruff?

$100.00.

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

Decide what kind of fence: an open fence (at least 80% see-through) does not need a County zoning permit; a solid or privacy fence does. Keep it to 6 feet tall, with the smooth side facing the neighbor. No barbed wire, and no fence along the waterfront in the waterfront setback. Fill out the Oneida County Zoning Permit Application (County Planning & Zoning Public Documents page). Submit it with the $100.00 fee through the County's Ascent permit portal, by mail, or at the Rhinelander Courthouse or Minocqua branch office (call 715-369-6130 with questions). The County reviews a complete application within 15 working days. Post the permit on site while you build. buildit.dog can turn a fence drawn on an aerial photo of your lot into a complete permit application package for the Town of Woodruff (site plan, aerial photo and filled-in details) in a few minutes.

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

Oneida County Planning & Zoning Department (Director Karl Jennrich, 715-369-6176). Phone 715-369-6130, email [email protected].

Sources

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

Ordinance: Oneida County Zoning & Shoreland Protection Ordinance Ch. 9, Sec. 9.74 Fences, Walls and Hedges; Sec. 9.33(E) open-fence exemption

Work for the Town of Woodruff? 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.