Pontiac, MI Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited materials
- Barbed wire and electrical fencing, citywide
- Narrow exception
- Barbed wire on extension arms, 6+ ft high
- Removal window
- 10 days after notice from Building & Safety
- Enforcer
- Building and Safety Engineering Division
- Cost recovery
- Removal cost billed as a tax lien
Summary
Barbed wire and electrified fencing are outright banned within the City of Pontiac under City Code Section 86-254, with a narrow exception for barbed wire strung on extension arms atop a fence at least six feet off the ground. The Building and Safety Engineering Division can order noncompliant fencing removed within ten days of notice, and unremoved fencing gets torn out at the owner's expense, billed as a tax lien.
(a) No person shall build, construct, erect or maintain any electrical or barbed wire fencing within the city. (b) Any such barbed wire or electrical fencing shall be removed within ten days after notice by the building and safety engineering division has been given to the owners or occupants of lots on which such fences are constructed or maintained. If the fencing is not removed, the building and safety engineering division shall cause such fencing to be removed and the costs to be charged as taxes and become a lien against the property. (c) This section shall not apply to barbed wire when strung on extension arms at the top of a fence; provided that such barbed wire be at least six feet from the ground and not extend beyond the property line upon which such fence is situated.
Full Breakdown
Section 86-254(a) prohibits any person from building, constructing, erecting or maintaining electrical or barbed wire fencing anywhere in the City of Pontiac; the ban is not limited to residential lots and reaches any fence on any property in the city. Enforcement runs through the Building and Safety Engineering Division: subsection (b) gives an owner or occupant ten days from notice to remove the prohibited fencing, and if it is not removed in that window, the division removes it itself and charges the cost as taxes, becoming a lien against the property.
Subsection (c) carves out one exception: barbed wire strung on extension arms at the top of an otherwise conforming fence, provided the wire sits at least six feet above the ground and does not extend past the property line the fence sits on. Pontiac's Zoning Ordinance separately governs fence height, placement and setback by district, but the material ban on barbed wire and electrified fencing in Section 86-254 is a City Code prohibition that applies citywide regardless of zoning district. A homeowner in a residential district who puts up an electric fence to keep pets in, for example, is in violation the moment it is energized, not just when a neighbor complains.
Violations & Fines
Section 86-254 sets its own removal remedy rather than a fine schedule: the City's default is a ten-day notice from the Building and Safety Engineering Division, followed by the division removing noncompliant fencing itself and charging the cost as taxes that become a lien on the property. A person who ignores the notice also risks prosecution under the Code's general penalty, Section 1-25, up to $500.00 or 90 days imprisonment, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put up a barbed wire fence around my Pontiac property?
Are electric fences legal for containing pets in Pontiac?
What happens if I do not remove a barbed wire fence after notice?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pontiac
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