Porter County, IN Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Section 5.16(E) of the Unified Development Ordinance lists six materials a residential fence or wall may not incorporate: barbed wire, razor wire, refuse or nuisance materials (the ordinance names old garage door panels and wood pallets as examples), security wire, sharpened top spikes or similarly sharp materials, and electrified wire. The barbed-wire and electrified-wire bans carry a carve-out for agricultural and livestock purposes, so a farm fence enclosing pasture or livestock can still use them; a subdivision lot fence cannot.

The same section dictates what a residential fence must be built from. A front-yard fence has to be masonry, stone, wood such as split-rail or picket, wrought iron or decorative metal, PVC, or woven wire limited to agricultural and livestock use, while a side- or rear-yard fence adds chain link to that approved list (Section 5.16(D)). Section 5.16(F) requires the finished, non-structural face of the fence to point outward, toward the neighboring property or street, rather than inward toward the fence owner's own yard, so a shadowbox-style privacy fence has to show its smooth side to the neighbor.