You can place your fence anywhere on your property, as long as you’re not on a corner property. If you live on the corner of a street, there is a triangle of land known as the “clear view triangle” that has building restrictions to ensure motorists can see properly.

You do not need to notify your neighbors when building a fence unless you are building on a shared property line, in which case you must get permission from them first. We recommend giving your neighbors a courtesy heads-up before fence installation to keep good relations between you and them.

You do not need a permit to build a fence in Cottage Grove.

It’s the responsibility of the installer to make sure utilities are properly contacted before working on putting a fence in. If you decide to do the job yourself, that means you must contact the utility company. If you work with Northland Fence, we’ll take care of all of that and even mark out utility lines on your property.

There are a few height restrictions in Cottage Grove. In the rear and side of your property, you can build up to 6 feet tall. In the front yard, it can reach a max height of 4 feet unless it is within 15 feet of the front property line, then it can’t be taller than 30 inches in height and must be at least 50% see-through. There are additional restrictions if you have a corner property to make sure that the view for traffic isn’t obstructed.

While you can build in drainage and utility easements, if any construction or work needs to be done there and your fence is damaged or must be removed entirely, it will come at a cost to you directly. In addition, you cannot build fences or walls that extend into the public rights-of-way.

In Minnesota as a whole, residents cannot have barbed wire or electric fences. In addition, In Cottage Grove you cannot use fabric, tarp, sheet metal, plastic slats (for chain link), cardboard, pallets, sticks, or plywood.