Building in La Vergne
La Vergne had 42,146 residents by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, in neighborhoods the city says range from one-acre lots to high density, among them Lake Forest Estates, Morningside Acres, Stones River Cove, Hickory Springs, Walnut Ridge Estates and Plantation Village. Permits for buildings, fences and sheds come from the Codes Department on Murfreesboro Road, and a deck permit costs $50.
Fences and garden walls
In front of the house, a fence or garden wall can be 3 feet tall and no more than two-thirds solid. Behind the building line it can be 6 feet. Standard chain link is allowed in residential areas. On a corner lot, both sides facing a street count as fronts, so both take the 3-foot limit, and beside a driveway nothing between 2 and 10 feet tall can stand within a 15-by-15-foot triangle.
Retaining walls are tiered
A retaining wall can be 6 feet behind the building line and 3 feet in front of it. Anything taller is built in tiers with at least 2 feet between them, which is how a terraced wall on a sloping La Vergne backyard is laid out.
Sheds, pergolas and driveways
La Vergne lowered the size of a detached accessory structure that can skip a building permit to 120 square feet, from the model code’s 200. Accessory structures keep 10 feet from the house. Each lot gets one driveway, applied for through the building inspector, with a culvert at least 18 inches across where it crosses a ditch.
Sources
- City of La Vergne, permits and general rules — Codes Department, fence and shed permits, $50 deck permit
- La Vergne Zoning Ordinance (July 7, 2026) — 5.2.2 accessory structures, 6.3.1(C) fences and walls, 8.5 driveways and sight triangles
- La Vergne Municipal Code — 12-602 permit exemptions, 16-301 to 16-307 driveways
- City of La Vergne, our neighborhoods
- US Census Bureau, city population estimates 2020–2025