Petaluma, CA Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Section 13.04.010 of the Petaluma Municipal Code flatly bans barbed wire fencing along any public street citywide; the section traces to Ordinance 20 CS, one of the oldest surviving provisions in the streets and public places title, and applies regardless of the zoning district the property sits in. The Implementing Zoning Ordinance, the city's separate zoning instrument, layers on a narrow exception rather than repealing the ban: Section 13.040(C) allows a maximum of one foot of vertical barbed wire installed on top of a fence or wall, but only in the AG (Agricultural) or I (Industrial) zoning districts, only with the Community Development Director's approval of a fence permit under Section 13.060, and only where the property's use includes outdoor storage of goods or vehicles or the keeping of livestock.

Outside those two districts, and for any fence not tied to outdoor storage or livestock keeping, barbed wire is not permitted at any height. Any fence or wall in Petaluma, barbed wire or not, first needs a fence permit issued by the Community Development Department under Section 13.060, supported by a scaled plot plan showing property lines, adjacent streets and rights-of-way, plus a dimensional detail of the proposed materials and height. The fence chapter of the zoning ordinance is current only through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025, while the general Municipal Code barbed wire ban is current through Ordinance 2916 NCS, passed December 1, 2025.