Harker Heights has its own fence code, separate from Killeen's. Here is what the city has published, where the hills change the job, and what to ask before a crew starts digging.

Harker Heights is not Killeen, and the fence rules show it

Harker Heights sits right next to Killeen, and people often assume the same fence rules apply on both sides of the line. They do not. Killeen publishes a one-page residential fence checklist under its own code. Harker Heights regulates fences in Section 155.050 of its own Code of Ordinances, which the city hosts on eCode360. That site refused to load for us, so we have not read the section text directly and we are not going to quote numbers from it. What we can point to is local news coverage and the city's own pages, described below. Before you order materials, confirm every number with the city.

If you are comparing quotes across the two cities, see our Killeen installation page for how that city handles permits and heights. The two are different documents.

What the 2020 council amendment changed

The Killeen Daily Herald reported that the Harker Heights City Council unanimously approved changes to Section 155.050 in April 2020, after the planning director presented the proposal on April 14 (Herald article). According to that report:

Rear and side fences can go up to 8 feet. The planning director's proposal was that all fences be allowed at 8 feet so residents could have privacy in their backyards.
Front-yard fences are capped at 4 feet, a limit the city tied to traffic safety.
Standard wood, masonry, chain-link or iron fences can be built at the allowed height, while other materials need the building official's approval.
Fences already standing were grandfathered, and new homes and significant fence changes have to meet the new code.

That article is from 2020, and the code may have been amended since. Treat it as the starting point for a question to the city, not as the final answer. The practical point is the one the council was addressing: a six-foot fence is not the ceiling in Harker Heights, and a tall fence still has a front-yard limit that surprises people who want to enclose a side yard next to the street.

Hills change how a fence is built

The Herald reported that the amendment was prompted by growth moving residential development into hilly areas, where the elevation differences between lots, streets and sidewalks can be large. For a fence, that matters in plain ways. A fence that follows the ground steps or racks down a slope, and a gate at the bottom of a drive may sit well below the grade of the neighbor's yard. When you walk a quote with the pro, ask three things:

Will the fence follow the slope or step in level sections, and how will the gaps at the bottom be closed?
Where is the height measured from, according to the city, when the neighbor's grade is higher or lower than yours?
How are the posts on the downhill side braced against runoff?

The second question is one we cannot answer from the sources we could read. Ask the Building Official.

Permits and the site plan

The city's Building Official FAQ says permits are not generally required for maintenance and minor repairs, and tells residents to contact the Building Official if they are unsure whether a project needs one. Its list of what an application needs includes a scaled or fully dimensioned site plan showing property lines, existing construction and utility easements, with distances from the property lines. The city's Building Official page lists the department and its staff. Whether a particular fence replacement counts as a minor repair is a judgment call, so a quick question to the office before the work is cheaper than a stop-work notice. We have not verified the city's current fence permit fee; an earlier search summary mentioned one, but we could not open the fee schedule, so we are not repeating it here.

Zoning also matters. The city's zoning page explains that the city is divided into districts with their own rules, and that the Planning and Development Department can tell you how your lot is zoned.

Before the digging starts

Post holes are excavation, so Texas requires a locate request. Texas811 asks for at least two working days of notice, and the locate is free. On a hilly lot with buried lines running along the street, that call is not a formality. Easements shown on your plat or survey can also limit where a fence may sit, and your HOA, if you have one, can be stricter than the city.

Ask for a quote in Harker Heights

Send the form on this page with your street or neighborhood, rough footage and the height you want. A local independent pro will call you back to talk through the job. They answer for their own licensing, permits and insurance, not us.

Related pages: fence company in Killeen, wood privacy fences, fence repair and gates, the cost guide and the service area page.