Berwyn, IL Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Section 1244.04(C)(6)(c) of the Berwyn Code of Ordinances sets the materials standard for every fence and wall in the City of Berwyn, Cook County, Illinois, and it applies to associated gates as well. The allowed list is short and specific: brick, stone, treated wood, simulated wood, PVC, chain link, and metal mesh. The prohibited list is just as specific: barbed wire, exposed cinder block, exposed concrete block, corrugated metal, and razor wire. Above both lists sits a general rule that no fence or wall may incorporate sharp or dangerous components.

The prohibition on exposed block is the one homeowners run into. A block wall is not banned outright, but the block cannot be left exposed, so it needs a facing. Corrugated metal sheet fencing, a cheap yard-enclosure choice, is prohibited outright in the residential districts. The section does not name electric fences, so the sharp-or-dangerous-components sentence is the operative text for anything that could injure a person.

There is one exception, and it is narrow. Chain link or barbed wire fencing is allowed in the Commercial, Industrial, and Public Areas Districts with Zoning Administrator approval. The text gives that approval power only for those districts, so the R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4 residential districts get no barbed wire exception.

Material rules sit next to the other fence standards. Fences and walls are prohibited in the front yard, cannot exceed six feet, and have to sit completely within the lot. Table 1244.04-A requires a building permit for a fence in all ten districts, and § 1444.02 adds a fee when work begins before the permit issues. If a hearing before the Commission is needed for a residential fence in a Residence District, § 290.07(B) sets a $75 filing fee plus the cost of publishing notice.