Council Bluffs, IA Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

CBMC 13.16.485, part of the Electrical Code chapter, governs the construction and use of electrically charged fencing anywhere within Council Bluffs' corporate limits. Installation must conform to International Electro Technical Commission Standard No. 60335-2-76, 2018 3rd Edition, and comply with the city's zoning regulations, meaning the electrical code sets the how while zoning still controls the where. On electrification, the energizer for an electrically charged security fence must be driven by a commercial storage battery not exceeding twelve volts DC, charged primarily by a solar panel that may be supplemented by a commercial trickle charger; the shock delivered on contact cannot exceed the energizer characteristics set in paragraph 22.108, figure 102, of the same IEC standard, and any non-low-voltage components such as controllers or transformers must be listed by an OSHA-recognized testing laboratory.

Warning signage reading Warning-Electric Fence-High Voltage is mandatory at intervals no greater than sixty feet, with at least two signs along the fence's longitudinal length and one within ten feet of any ingress or egress point, and that signage must be posted in both English and Spanish with the required symbolic icon from the IEC standard. The Council Bluffs Fire Department must be given access to the means of disconnection, either by a readily accessible route or an approved Knox Box, with signage marking that location.

The provision traces to Ordinance No. 6256, adopted January 11, 2016, and was amended by Ordinance No. 6514 on July 25, 2022. No other section of the adopted code prohibits barbed wire or other fence materials outright; those material and district-specific standards sit in the separately published Title 15 Zoning Ordinance.