The first question on rural land is not what to build
On an in-town lot, the rules are settled before the conversation starts: if the property is inside Pocatello, Chapter 15.28 of the municipal code applies. On acreage that is no longer a given, and getting it wrong is expensive.
Three different regimes are in play across Southeast Idaho:
- Inside Pocatello city limits, the city’s fence chapter governs, and a permit is required for every fence.
- Chubbuck is a separate municipality with its own code. Being nearby is not the same as being covered by Pocatello’s rules.
- Unincorporated parcels fall under county requirements, which are their own thing again.
We are not publishing county figures on this page, because we do not yet have them confirmed from a primary source. A wrong number about footing depth or setback, stated confidently on a contractor’s website, is worse than no number — and this site’s whole approach is to cite what it can verify and say plainly where it cannot.
Fort Hall
The Fort Hall Reservation lies north and west of Pocatello and is under Shoshone-Bannock Tribes jurisdiction, with land use administered by tribal authorities rather than by a city or county.
The ownership pattern across that area is genuinely complex, and which authority governs a particular parcel is not something any website can resolve — this one included. We will not guess at it. If your property is on or adjoining the reservation, establishing which jurisdiction applies is the first item in the project rather than something to sort out once posts are in the ground, and the answer comes from the relevant authority directly.
What long runs do to a fence
Acreage fencing fails differently from backyard fencing, and almost all of it comes back to scale.
Corners are the structure. On a wire fence, every foot of line between two corners is held in tension against the corner assemblies. A corner is therefore a braced assembly designed to resist that pull, not a post with wire wrapped around it. Under-built corners are the most common reason a ranch fence goes slack across an entire run within a few seasons, and correcting it later means taking the whole line off tension.
Wind has an uninterrupted approach. Pocatello publishes a design wind speed of 115 MPH per 3 second gusts. On open ground there is nothing upwind to break it, which is a good argument for open fence construction — wire and rail let it through rather than standing in front of it.
Snow drifts, then stacks. Against a published 45-pound ground snow load, open ground moves snow until something interrupts it, and a fence line is an interruption. Where a run sits relative to prevailing drift is a design decision with real consequences, and it is far cheaper to think about at layout than to fix by rebuilding.
Frost still governs the posts. Pocatello publishes a three-foot frost level in its design criteria for building construction. Whether that figure is applied to fence post holes specifically rather than to structural footings is a question for the Building Department at 208-234-6158, and on a long run the cost of getting depth wrong multiplies by every post in the line. We confirm it before quoting rather than assuming it.
Inside the city: what the ordinance actually says about stock fencing
If the property is inside Pocatello, three provisions matter more to agricultural fencing than to anything else:
No fence shall be electrified — 15.28.030(B). That is unqualified, with no livestock exception. An electric fence is not an option inside city limits.
Barbed wire is prohibited, except along the top and bottom of approved security fences in light industrial, commercial general and industrial zones, and then only where the applicant demonstrates good cause and shows the use will not constitute a hazard to public safety. A denial has to be given in writing with reasons (15.28.030(D)). For a residential property in the city, this is simply not available.
Split rail is on the acceptable materials list. Section 15.28.030(J)(1) requires that materials be architecturally compatible with the neighbourhood and lists split rail directly, alongside chainlink, wood fabricated primarily as fencing material, vegetation and hedges, masonry, brick or cinder block, and ornamental iron. Materials not on that list run into 15.28.030(J)(2) and the minor exception procedure in 15.28.040, which requires written consent from every adjacent property owner. Split rail avoids that entirely.
Height rules apply the same as to any fence: seven feet maximum, four feet in a designated front setback, four feet in the side setback of certain corner lots, and three feet inside the street and alley sight triangles.
Matching the fence to the animal
A fence that contains one species reliably can fail completely at another, and the specification follows from the animal rather than from a catalogue:
- Horses need visibility and no gaps that can trap a hoof. No-climb woven wire, smooth high-tensile wire, or post and rail. Barbed wire is a poor choice around horses whatever the rules allow.
- Cattle push and lean, so strength and bracing carry more weight than visibility.
- Sheep and goats exploit any gap, so mesh sizing decides the outcome. Goats in particular will test every weakness in a line.
- Boundary marking with no containment duty is a much lighter specification, and split rail or two-rail post and rail is usually the honest answer.
Sources
- City of Pocatello — General Building Information (frost level, ground snow load, design wind speed, adopted codes)
- Pocatello, ID Code of Ordinances — Chapter 15.28 Fence Construction (permit requirement, electrified fence prohibition, barbed wire rule, acceptable materials, height limits)
Pocatello Building Department: 208-234-6158. For property outside city limits, confirm requirements with the jurisdiction the parcel actually falls under.