Oxnard, CA Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Section 16-312, titled 'Fence Types, Prohibited and Exemptions,' states the ban in a single sentence covering every zone: barbed wire, broken glass, or any protruding sharp and dangerous object cannot be incorporated into a fence or wall. The only exception written into the section allows barbed wire or chain-link fencing to protect commercial agricultural fields that are actively being cultivated, and separately allows such fencing generally in any industrial zone. This section works alongside the zone-specific fence rules nearby: Section 16-310 already bars chain-link fencing from serving as a front fence running parallel to the street in commercial, commercial manufacturing, and commercial office zones, and Section 16-311 sets an eight-foot height cap and setback rule for industrial zone fencing, both of which top out below any special use permit or planned development approval.

Section 16-313 backstops the material rule by declaring that fences and walls which are not properly constructed or maintained, including any fence deviating more than ten degrees from a 90-degree angle with level grade, or missing boards, blocks, or bricks, are unlawful public nuisances subject to abatement, and requires their paint to be properly maintained. Taken together, the code treats sharp-edged fencing materials as incompatible with residential and most commercial and institutional settings, reserving them for active farmland and industrially zoned parcels only.