Short answer
In Ambler Borough, fences and walls can be up to 4 ft in front yards and up to 6 ft in side and rear yards. Outside the front yard, a fence can go above 6 ft only if at least half of the area above 4 ft is open. On corner lots, nothing over 3 ft may stand between the curb and the building line on either street. The borough’s permit requirement and fee aren’t confirmed, so we check them for each job.
| Rule | What the code says |
|---|---|
| Front yard | Up to 4 ft. |
| Side and rear yards | Up to 6 ft. |
| Over 6 ft | Allowed outside front yards if openings equal at least 50% of the area above 4 ft. |
| Corner lots | Between the curb and the building line facing either street, no fence or wall over 3 ft, and no plantings between 3 and 9 ft above curb level. |
| Sidewalks | Walls, fences and hedges may not obstruct sidewalks. |
| Floodplain | In the FP Floodplain District, fences of materials that won’t impede floodwater are listed as special-exception uses. |
| Pools | No borough pool-barrier rule found; the old Swimming Pools chapter is reserved. |
| Prohibited | No material, barbed-wire or electric-fence rules found. |
| Permit | Not confirmed. |
From Ambler Zoning § 382-14, § 382-15 and § 382-106, and § 315-22.
Fencing a lot in a former company town
Ambler grew as a company town. Keasbey and Mattison built about 400 homes for workers and managers, from rowhouses to Victorian executive houses, and the borough is still compact: 0.85 square miles with about 6,800 people. Behind the rowhouses and twins, a 6 ft side or rear fence often runs along a shared line, so settle which side of the line it sits on with your neighbor before the posts go in.
Out front, 4 ft is the limit everywhere in the borough. Open aluminum or a spaced picket both fit under it; see our aluminum fence page for styles.
How the corner-lot rule works in Ambler
The corner-lot rule, from a 2013 amendment, is stricter than the general front-yard limit. On a corner lot, the area between the curb and the building line facing either street is held to 3 ft for fences and walls. Plantings there can’t sit between 3 ft and 9 ft above curb level, so a tall hedge behind a low fence doesn’t get around it. In practice, a corner lot gets a 3 ft fence along both street sides until the fence passes the building line.
Going above 6 ft
Section 382-15 lets a side or rear fence go above 6 ft if the part above 4 ft is at least half open. The wording is awkward, and the borough is the final word on how it reads. The practical version: a fence with a solid lower section and an open lattice or picket upper section, with openings covering at least half of everything above 4 ft. We confirm the design with the borough before ordering it.
Floodplain and the old asbestos sites
The borough sits beside Wissahickon Creek, which rose to 17.74 ft at the Fort Washington State Park gauge during Ida in 2021, nearly the top of the gauge’s 18 ft measuring range. In Ambler’s FP Floodplain District, fences of materials that won’t impede floodwater are listed among special-exception uses, which means a Zoning Hearing Board approval, not a simple permit. That points toward open designs, such as split rail, rather than solid board.
Ambler’s industrial past also left two EPA Superfund sites: the Ambler Asbestos Piles, about 25 acres beside the Wissahickon that were cleaned up by 1993, and BoRit, listed in 2009 with a 2017 Record of Decision. If you live near either and are wondering about digging post holes, see our answer on digging post holes in Ambler.
Borough or township?
The 19002 Ambler ZIP covers far more than the borough: large parts of Upper Dublin, Lower Gwynedd and Whitpain, plus pieces of Horsham, Montgomery, Upper Gwynedd and Whitemarsh. Those townships have different rules, such as Upper Dublin’s front-yard gate requirement. If you aren’t sure, your tax bill names the municipality. Our Ambler service area page links them all.
What we haven’t confirmed
- Whether a residential fence needs a borough permit, and the fee and process. The borough website wasn’t reachable when we checked.
- Any finished-side, setback, material or barbed and electric fence rule.
- A borough pool-barrier rule beyond the state code.
- The exact reading of the over-6-ft openness rule.
These rules were read from Ambler’s zoning code in October 2026. Codes change, so we confirm with the zoning office before every install. See PA fence permits for neighboring municipalities, and ask us to measure the building line on a corner lot when we come out.
Common questions
How tall can my front fence be in Ambler?
Up to 4 ft. On a corner lot, the limit is 3 ft between the curb and the building line on both streets.
Can I build a fence in the floodplain in Ambler?
Only as a special exception from the Zoning Hearing Board, and only with materials that won’t impede floodwater.