Owensboro, KY Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Zoning Ordinance Section 3-7(g) governs walls and fences in required yards citywide, and item (4) sets the material bans for residential and MHP zones specifically. Subsection (a) prohibits barbed wire on walls and fences in residential or MHP zones, while permitting it in every other zone; it carves out an exception allowing barbed wire on walls or fences accessory to legally nonconforming commercial or industrial uses in any zone, and requires that any barbed wire along a boundary adjoining residential or MHP zones sit at least six feet above ground level.

Subsection (b) separately prohibits electrical fences in residential or MHP zones and also bans them in the Downtown Overlay District. These material bans sit alongside the height limits in the same section: residential-zone fences top out at three feet in front yards, six feet in interior side yards, and eight feet in interior rear yards or rear yards adjoining an alley, with a variance from the Owensboro Metropolitan Board of Adjustment (OMBA) required to exceed those limits along an arterial, collector or local street. Separately, Article XVII, Section 17.41 requires fences outside industrial zones to be built of wood, vinyl, or other solid approved material, and lets chain link stand only if covered with wood strips, vinyl strips, or plant material, with a minimum 80 percent opacity for all walls and fences.