Pawtucket, RI Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Section 410-47C(1)(a), in the Screening and Fencing article of the Zoning Code, lists the only materials a Pawtucket property owner or agent may use to build a fence: manufactured metal fencing material, wood, masonry or other inert material. A hedge made of plant material is also allowed, but only if it is kept within the same maximum-height rules Section 410-47C(2) sets for solid fencing. Wooden fence posts must be treated with a preservative before they go in the ground, a durability requirement aimed at Pawtucket's older, densely built lots where fences see heavy weather exposure along shared property lines.

Barbed wire gets a single, narrow carve-out: the section allows it only in manufacturing, commercial and public zoning districts, and only on fencing that exceeds eight feet in height. That leaves barbed wire off the table entirely in every residential district in the City, and off the table below eight feet even where it is otherwise allowed. Section 410-47C(1)(b) separately requires every fence, regardless of material, to be maintained in good condition and free of insects and rodents, a standing maintenance duty that runs alongside the materials rule rather than a one-time construction standard.

Because these material and condition rules sit inside the same subsection the City enforces through its general zoning permit process, a fence built from a prohibited material, or fitted with barbed wire in a residential yard, is treated as noncompliant construction subject to the chapter's zoning enforcement provisions.