Bridle Trails, Bellevue WA
Bridle Trails Community Club Fence Guide: Equestrian-Friendly Fencing in Bellevue
This guide explains how to plan a fence in Bridle Trails using the Bridle Trails Community Club's public pages, Bellevue's Bridle Trails Subarea Plan, and the City of Bellevue's fence rules. SeattleFence is an independent contractor. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an approved vendor of the club.
One thing to know up front: the Bridle Trails Community Club is a voluntary community club, not a homeowners association. Its bylaws make membership something residents choose by paying dues, and its public pages do not describe a fence review. The published guidelines that do apply to a Bridle Trails fence come from the city, plus any covenants recorded against your own lot.
What the Bridle Trails Community Club is, and is not
The club's home page says its mission is to protect, enhance, and preserve the existing residential and equestrian character of the Bridle Trails area near Bridle Trails State Park, in Bellevue and Kirkland. It says it has been the area's voice and advocate since 1978 and that it is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit. Its published contact is PO Box 112, Bellevue, WA 98009, and board@bridletrailscommunity.org. The City of Bellevue's neighborhood associations page lists the Bridle Trails Community Club as the registered association for the Bridle Trails neighborhood area.
The club's bylaws say residents of its area may become members by paying annual dues, and the Join Us page lists dues of $35 per household per year. That is a voluntary community club. It is not a homeowners association with mandatory membership, assessments, or recorded covenants that it enforces, and none of its public pages describe an architectural review committee, a fence application, or a list of approved fence styles, colors, heights, or vendors. The club's work, as it describes it, is advocacy with the city, neighborhood planning, and community events such as Bridle Trails Night Out.
That does not mean your lot has no private rules. Some Bridle Trails plats may have their own recorded covenants or a separate HOA. Read the covenants recorded against your property. If your plat has an architectural or covenant review committee, check with it before you build. If you are unsure, the club's board email is a reasonable place to ask which neighborhood groups cover your street.
The published guideline that shapes Bridle Trails: the subarea plan
Bellevue's Bridle Trails Subarea Plan sets the goal "to protect and preserve the rural, equestrian, and residential character of Bridle Trails." The plan describes an area of about three square miles bounded by SR 520 on the south, I-405 on the west, the Bellevue city limit on the north, and 148th Avenue NE on the east. It says single-family lots range from 10,000 square feet to several acres, and that Bridle Trails has by far the most large lots in Bellevue, many zoned R-1 (one unit per acre).
The plan calls Bridle Trails State Park, with 481 acres and more than 53 miles of trails, the hub of equestrian activity. Policy S-BT-3 says the city should preserve the wooded, natural, rural, and equestrian character of the subarea and encourage horse-keeping in low-density residential areas. Policy S-BT-19 says the city should acquire equestrian and pedestrian easements through development review on new development and redevelopment. On the Kirkland side, the city's Bridle Trails neighborhood plan aims to preserve residents' ability to keep horses and other large animals.
The subarea plan is policy, not a fence code. It does not set a fence height, color, or style. What it does tell you is what the neighborhood is trying to protect: open, wooded, horse-friendly lots. A fence plan that respects that character tends to sit well with neighbors, and if a trail easement crosses or borders your property, the fence has to leave it usable.
Fence styles that usually fit Bridle Trails lots
These are styles SeattleFence builds on large, wooded, and horse-keeping lots. They are not a club-approved list, and the club does not publish one. If your plat has covenants, check them first.
5' Galvanized Hogwire Fence
Open wire-panel fencing keeps sightlines and the wooded feel while containing dogs or marking a pasture edge. Ask us about panel spacing and post layout for the animals you keep.
View this style →3 Rail Picture Frame Fence
A three-rail framed cedar design suits a long frontage or driveway edge where a full privacy wall would feel out of place. Open post-and-rail layouts for paddocks can be quoted to the site.
View this style →Picture Frame Fence
Where privacy is needed close to the house, such as a patio, pool, or neighbor's deck, picture frame cedar gives both sides a finished face.
View this style →Horse fencing has its own safety questions, such as visibility, rail spacing, and what an animal can lean on or catch a hoof in. SeattleFence will talk through those with you on site. That is planning advice from us, not a requirement we are attributing to the club, the subarea plan, or the city.
Approval process: your covenants, then the city
Plan on two checks. Neither one replaces the other, and SeattleFence does not issue either approval.
1. Private covenants for your lot
The Bridle Trails Community Club does not publish a fence review, so there is no club form to file. Your lot may still be covered by recorded covenants or a plat-level HOA. Find the covenants recorded against your property (your title report is a good start) and check with any architectural or covenant review committee they name before construction.
If you are not sure which group covers your street, the club lists board@bridletrailscommunity.org as its contact. Do not treat a contractor's quote as covenant approval.
2. City of Bellevue
Bellevue publishes residential fence rules on its Fences page, based on Land Use Code 20.20.400. The city's permit guidance says a permit is not required for a fence unless it is over eight feet tall.
Fences in a required front-yard setback generally may not exceed 4 feet 6 inches, with limited exceptions such as a fence perpendicular to the right-of-way for screening, a fence on an arterial, or one side of a corner lot. Height is measured from finished grade on the outside of the fence, and a berm under the fence counts toward the height. The city notes that fences may be limited or not allowed near a stream or other critical area, which matters on wooded lots with wetlands or creeks.
For horse owners: LUC 20.20.400 does not permit electric fences in a residential land use district except where additional fencing or other barriers keep small children on the adjacent property away from it, and it sets voltage, current, and signage limits. Barbed wire may not be used along a property boundary except on top of a solid or chain link fence six feet or taller. Kirkland addresses follow City of Kirkland rules instead.
When the rules disagree
A city allowance is not covenant approval, and a covenant approval is not a city permit. If your recorded covenants are stricter than Bellevue's fence rules, plan to meet both. SeattleFence can help you put together a design, a sketch, and a build plan to take into those reviews. We do not decide them.
Bridle Trails fence-guide questions
Is the Bridle Trails Community Club a homeowners association?
No. The club describes itself as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that has served as the Bridle Trails area's voice and advocate since 1978. Its bylaws say residents of its area may become members by paying annual dues, and its Join Us page lists dues of $35 per household per year. That makes it a voluntary community club, not an HOA with mandatory membership or a published architectural review process. The City of Bellevue lists it as the registered neighborhood association for the Bridle Trails area. SeattleFence is not affiliated with the club.
Does the Bridle Trails Community Club approve fences?
Not that we could find. The club's public pages describe advocacy, city planning participation, and community events. They do not describe a fence review, an architectural committee, or a list of approved fence styles or vendors. Some individual plats in Bridle Trails may have their own recorded covenants or a separate HOA. Check the covenants recorded against your lot, and if your plat has an architectural or covenant review committee, ask it before you build.
Do I need a City of Bellevue permit for a fence in Bridle Trails?
Bellevue's permit guidance says a permit is not required for a fence unless it is over 8 feet tall. Fences in a required front-yard setback generally may not exceed 4 feet 6 inches, with limited exceptions, and the city notes that fences may be limited or not allowed near a stream or other critical area. Confirm the current rule for your address with Bellevue Development Services.
Can I use an electric or barbed-wire fence for horses in Bridle Trails?
Bellevue Land Use Code 20.20.400 limits both. Electric fences are not permitted in a residential land use district except where additional fencing or other barriers prevent access by small children on the adjacent property, and the code sets voltage, current, and signage requirements. Barbed wire may not be used along a property boundary except on top of a solid or chain link fence six feet or more in height. Read the code section for your situation before planning a paddock.
What fence styles fit a Bridle Trails lot?
Bellevue's Bridle Trails Subarea Plan aims to preserve the area's wooded, rural, and equestrian character and encourages horse-keeping in low-density residential areas. Open styles such as wire-panel or post-and-rail fencing often suit paddocks and pasture edges, and picture frame cedar works where a privacy screen is needed near the house. These are SeattleFence planning suggestions, not rules from the club or the city.
Get a quote for your Bridle Trails lot
Tell us the address, approximate length, the animals or uses the fence needs to handle, and anything you know about the covenants on your lot. We will price the fence and help you prepare a clear plan for any covenant review and, when needed, the city.
Request your Bridle Trails fence quote
Same-day estimates are available when scheduling allows. This form reaches SeattleFence, not the Bridle Trails Community Club.
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Sources
Every club and city claim on this page comes from one of these public pages. Rules change. Read the current covenants for your lot and confirm city rules before you build.
- Bridle Trails Community Club — Home
The club's name, its mission to protect, enhance, and preserve the residential and equestrian character of the Bridle Trails area near Bridle Trails State Park in Bellevue and Kirkland, that it has served the area since 1978, that it is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, and its contact: PO Box 112, Bellevue, WA 98009, board@bridletrailscommunity.org.
- Bridle Trails Community Club — Join Us
Membership dues of $35 per household per year, the 501(c)(4) status, and the club's list of past work, including participation in Bridle Trails neighborhood planning and a 2006 tree retention plan for R-1 lots.
- Bridle Trails Community Club — Bylaws
Residents of the club's area may become members by paying annual dues, which is why this page calls it a voluntary community club. The bylaws' purpose statement is to protect and enhance the residential character of the Bridle Trails area and to represent residents to government bodies.
- City of Bellevue — Neighborhood Associations
Lists the Bridle Trails Community Club as the registered neighborhood association for the Bridle Trails neighborhood area.
- City of Bellevue — Bridle Trails Subarea Plan
The plan's goal to protect and preserve the rural, equestrian, and residential character of Bridle Trails; its boundaries (SR 520, I-405, the north city limit, and 148th Avenue NE); single-family lots from 10,000 square feet to several acres; the large number of R-1 (one unit per acre) lots; Bridle Trails State Park's 481 acres and more than 53 miles of trails; Policy S-BT-3 (encourage horse-keeping in low-density residential areas); and Policy S-BT-19 (equestrian and pedestrian easements through development review).
- City of Kirkland — Bridle Trails Neighborhood Plan (Kirkland 2044)
Kirkland's plan for its side of Bridle Trails aims to preserve residents' ability to keep horses and other large animals.
- City of Bellevue — Fences
The 4-foot-6-inch limit in a required front-yard setback and its exceptions, the 8-foot building-permit threshold, how height is measured on slopes and berms, and that fences may be limited near streams or other critical areas.
- City of Bellevue — Work Requiring Permits
A permit is not required for a fence unless it is over eight feet tall, and fences over 4½ feet often cannot be in front-yard setbacks.
- Bellevue Land Use Code 20.20.400 — Fences
Front-setback height, the 8-foot building-permit threshold, height measured from finished grade, the barbed-wire limit, and the electric-fence restriction in residential land use districts.