Bellevue, NE Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Barbed wire
- Banned citywide except listed institutional uses
- Institutional exception
- Max 3 strands, angled 60 degrees, 6 ft min height
- Electric fences
- Banned except agricultural-zoned livestock control
- Governing section
- Bellevue Code § 8-29 (Ord. 2619, 1991)
- Penalty
- Up to $500 fine or 6 months jail (§ 1-11)
Summary
In the City of Bellevue, Nebraska, the city limits and jurisdictional area ban barbed wire fences and electrified fence wire outright under § 8-29. A narrow exception lets cemeteries, playgrounds, public institutions, utilities, factories, storage yards, and airports string up to three strands of angled barbed wire at least six feet up, and agricultural-zoned land may use electric fences to control livestock.
(A) Barbed wire fences. It shall be unlawful for any person to erect or cause to be erected or to maintain any barbed wire fence or any barbed wire strung along or upon any fence as a barrier within the city limits and the jurisdictional area of the city; provided that on fences surrounding cemeteries, public playgrounds or other places used for public recreation or amusement public institutions, public utilities, factories, storage yards, or airports it shall be permissible to string not more than three strands of barbed wire ... and the bottom strand of such barbed wire is not less than six feet above the surface of the ground measured from the outer face of such fence. (B) Electric fences. It shall be unlawful for any person to erect or cause to be erected or to maintain any fence, the wire or wires of which are electrified at any location within the jurisdictional control of the city. Provided, however, that in any area zoned agricultural electric fences may be used to control the ranging of livestock.
Full Breakdown
Bellevue Code of Ordinances § 8-29, enacted by Ordinance 2619 in 1991, makes two separate fence-material prohibitions absolute within the city limits and the city's jurisdictional area. Subsection (A) bans erecting or maintaining any barbed wire fence, or stringing barbed wire along or upon any fence as a barrier, anywhere in the city, but carves out an exception for fences around cemeteries, public playgrounds or other public recreation and amusement sites, public institutions, public utilities, factories, storage yards, and airports: those may carry up to three strands of barbed wire on supports angled no more than 60 degrees from horizontal, strung above and within the property line, with the lowest strand at least six feet off the ground.
Subsection (B) separately bans any fence with electrified wire anywhere in the city's jurisdictional control, with a single carve-out for land zoned agricultural, where electric fencing may be used to control livestock ranging. Because § 8-29 does not set its own fine, a violation falls under the Code's general penalty at § 1-11. The material ban applies regardless of the separate building-permit process for fences under § 8-18.5(A)(2); a fence built entirely of permitted materials still needs a permit, and a barbed wire or electric fence built outside the listed exceptions is unlawful even if a permit was somehow obtained for it.
Violations & Fines
Erecting or maintaining a barbed wire or electric fence outside the § 8-29 exceptions is a misdemeanor under the Code's general penalty at § 1-11: a fine of up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both, at the court's discretion, and the violator may be held in the city or county jail until the fine and prosecution costs are paid. Because § 1-11(B) treats a continuing violation as a separate offense each day, an unlawful fence left standing can accumulate additional exposure for every day it remains.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put barbed wire on my fence in Bellevue, Nebraska?
Are electric fences legal in Bellevue?
What's the penalty for an illegal barbed wire or electric fence?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bellevue
Compare Bellevue to another location·View the Nebraska fence regulations overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.