Medina, OH Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

06 regulates two specific fence materials citywide. Subsection (a) is an absolute ban: no person may erect or maintain any fence charged with electrical current, with no stated exception for interior farm-style installations or livestock enclosures. Subsection (b) targets barbed wire, but its ban is narrower than the electric-fence rule: a barbed wire fence is prohibited only where it abuts or is adjacent to a public street or sidewalk, meaning a barbed wire fence set back from the right-of-way is not itself unlawful under this section.

The subsection carves out one specific exception: not more than three strands of barbed wire may be strung along the top of a fence that is not itself a barbed wire fence, provided those strands sit no lower than seventy-two inches above the ground, roughly six feet, so a wood or chain-link fence topped with a short barbed-wire cap is legal only if it clears that height and is not itself a barbed wire fence along the street frontage. Any violation of either subsection (a) or (b), an electrified fence anywhere in the city or a street-facing barbed wire fence that does not qualify for the three-strand exception, is a minor misdemeanor under subsection (c).

The section sits in Chapter 521, General Offenses, alongside sidewalk and public-nuisance provisions rather than in the zoning code, so it applies regardless of the property's zoning district.