Oakland, CA Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

140(B), which governs every property in a Residential Zone and any property elsewhere in the city that contains Residential Facilities. 3 bars three materials outright: barbed wire, razor wire, and electrified wire cannot be used in any fence, whether newly built or rebuilt. The only carve-out is for active construction sites, where the Director of City Planning, or a designee, may approve barbed, razor, or electrified wire for the duration of permitted construction if it will increase site security or if trespassing poses a public safety hazard; the Director sets the standards that implementation of that exception must follow.

Chain-link fencing gets a numeric limit rather than an outright ban: it cannot exceed forty-two inches in street-fronting yards, or in interior side yards that sit closer to the front lot line than the front wall of the primary Residential Facility. Plain, uncapped concrete block is also restricted, it may only be used as fencing material if it is capped and finished with stucco or another material the Director of City Planning approves. These material rules apply alongside the section's height limits: a residential yard fence is generally capped at forty-two inches in front and street-side yards, with a six-foot allowance in some rear portions, six feet in a rear yard within ten feet of a street line, and eight feet in any other yard or court. 140(C).