Akron, OH Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Sec. D, Design and Installation, sets the material rules that apply to every wall, fence and screen built in the city, regardless of zoning district or yard location. The first requirement is a general durability standard: walls, fences and screens must be constructed of durable, low maintenance materials that have a long life expectancy, which planning staff use to reject flimsy, short-lived materials at permit review even when no specific ban applies. Two categories are prohibited outright rather than left to case-by-case judgment. First, no wall, fence or screen may be constructed of tires, junk, or other discarded materials, a rule aimed at scrap-built barriers assembled from salvaged tires, pallets or debris rather than manufactured fencing products.

Second, barbed wire or concertina wire is not allowed anywhere on a site, a flat citywide ban that applies to residential, commercial and industrial parcels alike, unlike some cities that only restrict barbed wire on residential lots while permitting it for industrial security fencing. These material bans sit alongside the section's height standards (chain-link limited to 4 feet in Akron residential front yards) and its location rules, which require every fence to be set back consistent with the applicable wall/fence and screening standards, kept out of drainage and utility easements, located entirely on-site including footings, and maintained in good repair, kept vertical and structurally sound and protected from deterioration under Sec. 3.