Dothan, AL Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Section 114-183(b) sets Dothan's standards for residential accessory buildings and structures, and paragraph (3) covers fences specifically. Subsection h locks in the acceptable material palette: a permanent, weatherproof material such as wood, vinyl or masonry. It then draws a bright line against add-ons: fabric, plastic sheeting or metal attached to a fence built of an approved material is not permitted, unless that fabric, plastic or metal piece was itself specially designed and created as a fence, for example a manufactured metal picket or ornamental iron fence rather than sheeting draped over a chain-link frame.

Subsection i is the barbed-wire ban: fences in residential, office or commercial districts may not contain barbed wire or a similar product, and the only way around that ban is approval from the board of zoning adjustment, the same body that hears variances under article VI. The ban does not reach agricultural or industrial districts by its own terms, and § 114-183(b)(3)g separately allows a fence required for safety by another public agency, such as a utility fence, to bypass the ordinary height limits without the same barbed-wire restriction being lifted.

Every fence, regardless of material, also needs a permit under § 114-183(b)(3)a and must comply with the building code, so a material violation is typically caught either at permit review or during a field inspection triggered by a complaint to code enforcement.