Battle Creek, MI Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Battle Creek Codified Ordinances § 1260.02(g) is titled Prohibited Fencing and has two parts. Under (g)(1), no fence erected within the City limits can be electrically charged in any manner unless the fence is buried beneath the ground, or unless authorized or permitted elsewhere in the chapter.

Under (g)(2), no fence can be constructed of barbed wire, razor wire, concertina strands, single wire, cattle fencing, or similar materials. The code then allows a controlled exception. A fence that includes barbed wire strands can be used to enclose hazardous materials or land uses, or where such additional security is appropriate for land used for commercial or industrial purposes. That call belongs to the Planning and Zoning Administrator or their designee. Only three strands are allowed, and they can total no more than nine inches in height, so the barbed wire sits as a top strip on a regular fence rather than serving as the fence.

Farming gets its own carve-out. Above ground electric fences and barbed wire fences are permitted for agricultural purposes in an agricultural zone, which matches § 1260.02(e)(1), where no restrictions limit the size, type or location of fences in an agricultural district when used for agricultural purposes. Residential lots in Battle Creek do not get that treatment.

Other material limits sit in § 1260.02(f)(3). Fences can be built from wrought iron, vinyl, wood pickets, stone, brick, chain link, or any other generally accepted fencing material, but in no instance can a fence be built from pallets, twigs, pressed board, plywood, scrap lumber or other nontraditional fencing material without the approval of the Planning and Zoning Administrator or their designee. A permit is required before any permanent fence goes up, under § 1260.02(c)(1).