Rockland County, NY Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Rockland residential fence materials are regulated through zoning codes and, in historic districts, by Historic District Commissions. Clarkstown Town Code §290-19 permits wood, vinyl, aluminum, ornamental iron, and chain link, with chain-link prohibited in front yards of most residential districts. Ramapo Town Code §376-95 has comparable material rules. Orangetown §4.12 permits standard materials but requires HDC approval in historic districts. Historic districts with strict material rules: Village of Nyack's Upper Nyack and Nyack Historic Districts, Village of Piermont Historic District, Hamlet of Tappan Historic District (Orangetown), and the Village of Haverstraw Historic District — these typically require wood (picket, board, or split-rail) or traditional wrought iron, and prohibit vinyl and chain link. Barbed wire and electric fences are prohibited in residential zones countywide (allowed only on agricultural or specific commercial/industrial parcels). Pool safety fences must meet NYS Residential Code Appendix G — minimum 48-inch height, openings not allowing passage of a 4-inch sphere, self-closing/self-latching gates. Rockland towns also regulate maximum post size and buffer plantings along commercial-residential boundaries.