Clearwater, FL Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Section 28.06 states plainly that it is unlawful to build or repair, within the city, any barbed wire fence adjacent to a street, alley or sidewalk. The prohibition dates to Code 1980 § 110.06 and sits in Chapter 28's Article I, alongside other public-right-of-way rules such as the ban on playing ball in the streets (§ 28.07) and on posting handbills, signs or structures on sidewalks and street fixtures (§ 28.08). Because the section is triggered only by adjacency to a street, alley or sidewalk, a barbed wire fence set back from those areas on the interior of a residential lot falls outside § 28.06's reach; it does not create a citywide barbed-wire ban or address electric fencing at all. Broader residential fence standards, such as maximum height, setback and general permitted materials for interior lot lines, are set separately in Clearwater's Community Development Code, which is published apart from the general Code of Ordinances that contains § 28.06.