East Brunswick, NJ Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

The material rules for fences in East Brunswick Township sit in § 228-226, Restrictions on fences, which applies to all fences erected in the Township. Subsection D is a flat ban: no fence can be constructed with barbed wire or any other sharp pointed materials. The code does not carve out an exception for any zone or lot size in that subsection, so the ban reaches residential, commercial and industrial lots alike.

Subsection F covers appearance. A fence that is painted can be painted in only one color, and that color has to be harmonious with the surrounding area. Multicolored fences are prohibited outright.

Several neighboring subsections shape how a fence gets built. Subsection H requires fences to be erected so that natural drainage flows and surface water is not blocked or dammed to create ponding. Subsection E requires the face, or finished side, to point away from the property with the structural side toward the interior. Subsection G treats living fences or screening as a separate category: they are planted no closer than three feet to the property line and kept in a neatly trimmed condition. Where subsection C requires a planted buffer in front of a four foot fence, the plant list is compact juniper, forsythia, compact euonymus or approved equal, subject to approval by the Township Landscape Architect.

Every fence except a living fence needs a permit from the Zoning Officer or a designee under subsection A, so the material and paint choices are reviewed at the permit stage. Fences around a swimming pool follow § 195-12 of the Township Code. Fences in Planned Unit Residential Developments are prohibited except under the standards set at P.U.R.D. preliminary approval.