Short answer
If your yard backs onto the Colebrookdale Railroad, Norfolk Southern's Harrisburg Line or a pipeline such as Mariner East II, start with a survey and your deed's easement terms. The railroad's or pipeline's land and rights may reach well into what looks like your yard. Several townships also ban fences in drainage easements: North Coventry, Upper Hanover and Upper Salford among them. Elverson allows them in easements only where the easement agreement says so. Build on your own land, outside the easement, unless you have written permission.
Easements are the invisible part of a fence project. A deed can give a railroad, a pipeline company, a utility or the township the right to use a strip of your land. A fence across that strip can be ordered removed, damaged during maintenance, or simply not allowed. Our area has more of these corridors than most suburbs because of its industrial and rail history.
Living along the Colebrookdale Railroad
The Colebrookdale Railroad, the "Secret Valley Line," runs 8.6 miles from Pottstown to Boyertown. It opened in 1869, Berks County bought it in 2001, and tourist trains started in October 2014. The line follows the Manatawny and Ironstone creeks past Pine Forge and carries more than 30,000 passengers a year. A $40 million federal loan approved in 2022 is meant to rebuild the line and extend it to Bechtelsville. The railroad also plans a hiking and biking trail between Pottstown and Boyertown.
For neighbors, that means more trains, more visitors and possibly a trail along the corridor. Some practical points:
- The railroad's land can run wider than the ballast and ties. Don't assume your lot ends where the mowing stops. A survey will show the line.
- If you want privacy from passing trains or a future trail, a 6 ft privacy fence on your side of the line is the usual answer. Check your township's height limit first. In the Boyertown-Colebrookdale-Pike joint ordinance it's 6.5 ft outside the front yard.
- The corridor follows the creeks, so many of these yards are also low and wet. Our flood-country guide covers fence choices for creek lots.
- The proposed extension to Bechtelsville could bring work to the corridor. Ask the railroad or the township what's planned behind you before building a long fence right at the line.
Norfolk Southern through Pottstown
Norfolk Southern's Harrisburg Line runs through Pottstown. Freight railroads guard their rights-of-way closely, and their property lines don't always match what neighbors have mowed for years. We set rear fences along any active freight line from a survey and keep every post on your side of the line. We never go onto railroad property to install or maintain a fence without the railroad's written OK. Pottstown Borough's zoning code also bars fences, hedges and walls in any right-of-way (§27-317.3), and the borough requires the finished side to face out, toward the tracks in this case.
Pipelines: Mariner East and others
The Mariner East II pipeline crosses six Berks County townships, including Robeson and New Morgan, next to Birdsboro, and Cumru. A pipeline easement is a recorded right, and its terms, not the zoning code, decide what you can build over it.
- Find the easement. It should be in your deed or in a separate recorded agreement. Your title papers from closing usually include it.
- Read what it allows. Some easements bar any structure, some allow fences with conditions, and some say nothing specific.
- Contact the operator before you build. Get any permission in writing. If you're unsure who operates a line, the warning markers along the corridor usually name the company and an emergency number.
- Plan for access. If a fence must cross the corridor, a wide gate at the crossing lets crews in without cutting your fence.
Pennsylvania's One Call law requires three business days' notice before excavation, and the PUC names fence posts as a project that may need a ticket. When you hire a contractor, the contractor must place the call. Utility marks show where lines are. They don't tell you what an easement allows. We do both checks.
Drainage and utility easements in subdivisions
In newer developments around Limerick, Gilbertsville and Douglassville, a common easement is a drainage swale or stormwater easement along the back or side lot line. Townships take these seriously because a fence across a swale can back water into a neighbor's yard.
| Municipality | Easement rule for fences |
|---|---|
| North Coventry Township | No fences or walls in drainage easements or in swales that are part of an approved stormwater plan (§370-74D) |
| Upper Hanover Township | No fence or wall inside a drainage easement, or placed so it affects proper drainage (§500-814) |
| Upper Salford Township | No fence in any utility or drainage easement (township fence permit fact sheet) |
| Elverson Borough | Fences may encroach into utility or drainage easements only where the easement agreement specifically allows it (§290-1111A(2)) |
| West Pottsgrove Township | No fence, wall or hedge may obstruct stormwater flow except as part of an approved stormwater system (§20-1.420.B) |
| Upper Providence Township (pools) | Pools, pool barriers and filters must stay out of easements, floodplains, wetlands and rights-of-way |
Other townships may have similar rules in subdivision approvals or recorded plans even when the zoning code is silent.
Your subdivision's recorded plan usually shows these easements as dashed lines along lot edges. If yours has one, the fence typically goes on the house side of it, and the strip stays open. On some lots that costs you a few feet of yard. That beats having to move the fence later.
Road rights-of-way are easements too
The road right-of-way is the easement people forget. It often extends past the edge of the pavement. New Hanover's code sets ultimate right-of-way widths from 52 ft for local roads to 80–120 ft for arterials and bars fences inside them, so the legal line can be well back from the road. Limerick requires front-yard and street-side fences to sit outside the ultimate roadway right-of-way. Upper Hanover requires a 1 ft setback from the right-of-way line and caps fences at 4 ft within 5 ft of it.
Survey first, then fence
Most of these problems come down to not knowing where the line is. Several local codes back that up. Elverson's and Muhlenberg's Zoning Officers can require a surveyor to mark an uncertain line, and Limerick's can require a plan staked by a surveyor or other competent person. The Boyertown-area joint ordinance recommends setting a fence at least 1 ft inside the lot line, both for maintenance and "to account for possible inaccurate lot lines." On a lot next to a railroad or pipeline, that small setback is cheap insurance.
Bring your survey, deed and subdivision plan to the free estimate if you have them. We'll mark the easements on the layout with you and design the fence to stay off them.
Common questions
Can I put a fence on a pipeline easement?
It depends on the easement's recorded terms and the operator's permission, not on the township fence code. Get the operator's answer in writing before building.
How close to the Colebrookdale Railroad tracks can I build a fence?
On your own land, outside any railroad right-of-way, and within your township's height limits. We haven't found a specific setback rule for fences next to the railroad, so a survey of the line is the first step.
Can a fence go over a drainage easement in my development?
In many townships, no. North Coventry, Upper Hanover and Upper Salford all bar fences in drainage easements, and Elverson allows it only where the easement agreement does. Check your recorded plan. See pool fences in easements for the pool version of this question.