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Fence Regulations in Irvington, NJ (2026)

4 verified fence regulations for Irvington, New Jersey, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.

Verified from official government sources

Height Limits

Irvington caps residential fences at four feet within the front setback line and six feet behind it, with an eight-foot allowance for large apartment complexes. Commercial B-1/B-2 fences may reach eight feet and industrial M-1/M-2/O-1 fences ten feet. A separate corner-lot visibility rule limits fences to three feet near street intersections.

Irvington Fence Height Limits

Some Restrictions

Irvington Township Code § 294-5A

No fence hereinafter erected, altered or reconstructed in a residential district shall exceed four feet in height above ground level when located at a distance closer to any street line than the front setback line prescribed for said district, nor shall any fence exceed six feet in height above ground level when located at a distance equal to or greater than the front setback line prescribed fo...

Fence Permit Requirements

No fence may go up anywhere in Irvington without a permit from the Division of Building Inspection first, except for fences the Township itself builds. Property owners must also be current on all property taxes and assessments before a permit will issue, and the written application must include a sketch plan showing the fence's location relative to the lot lines.

Irvington Fence Permit Requirement

Some Restrictions

Irvington Township Code § 294-2

No fence shall be erected within the Township unless the owner of the premises, or his representative authorized in writing to make such application, shall first have obtained a permit from the Division of Building Inspection, except that no permit shall be required for any fence constructed by the Township or any of its boards, authorities, commissions or agencies. ... No permit shall be issue...

Retaining Walls

Irvington Township Code § 560-57 requires retaining walls built as part of a subdivision or site plan to be 'designed and constructed to meet the requirements of the Building Inspector.' The Code sets no numeric height cap of its own, leaving engineering sufficiency and design approval to the Building Inspector's case-by-case review.

Irvington Retaining Wall Building Inspector Approval

Light Restrictions

Irvington Township Code § 560-57

Retaining walls shall be designed and constructed to meet the requirements of the Building Inspector.

Material Restrictions

Irvington bans barbed wire, electrically charged fencing, poultry netting, canvas or cloth fencing, sharp-pointed cyclone fences and fences topped with broken glass or metal spikes everywhere in the Township. The one carve-out: in the M-1 and M-2 industrial districts, up to four strands of barbed wire may top a fence at least eight feet high.

Irvington Prohibited Fence Materials

Significant Restrictions

Irvington Township Code § 294-6

Except as otherwise provided herein, the following fences and fencing materials are specially prohibited in any location: barbed-wire fences, homemade fences made from pipe, sharp pointed fences (including but not limited to cyclone fences, with sharp points extending above the upper protective bar), canvas, cloth or electrically charged fences, poultry netting, temporary fences, expandable fen...

Looking for Essex County county-wide rules?

County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Irvington city rules.

Fence Regulations in Essex County