Perth Amboy, NJ Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Perth Amboy City Code § 430-60(F)(13) is the material rule for fences. No fence can be constructed of any material or in any manner that is dangerous to persons or animals. The code then names the prohibited items: barbed wire, constine wire and razor ribbon, including open barbs on chain link fences. The wording is printed in the code as "constine wire", and the prohibition was added to the fence section by Ordinance No. 1041-2000 in August 2000. It applies to residential, commercial and industrial fences alike, because the fence section carries no zone exception for barbed products. The only wire allowance in the section is for open wire fencing up to eight feet inside a public park, public playground or school premises, which remains subject to the dangerous-material ban.

Two neighboring rules govern how a permitted fence is built and kept. Under § 430-60(F)(10), when a fence as constructed has a finished side as compared to an unfinished or inside surface, the finished or public side must face outward, toward the street or the neighbor. Under (F)(6), all fences, walls and hedges must be maintained in a safe, sound and upright condition and present a uniform appearance, so a sagging, patched or mismatched fence is a maintenance violation even if its materials are lawful.

Subsection (F)(5) requires every fence, wall and hedge to be erected within the property lines, and none can encroach on a public right-of-way. The Zoning Officer issues the zoning permit that § 430-5 requires before a structure is erected, and the Construction Official enforces the building side of the work. The height limits for the same fences are covered in § 430-60(F)(2), (3) and (14).