Rochester, NY Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

City Code § 39-307 sets the material limits for fences, walls and retaining walls citywide, in addition to the height and location rules in the Zoning Code, Chapter 120. Subsection B bans barbed wire from every residential zoning district outright, and in any other district barbed wire may not be used without the Commissioner's prior written permission. Subsection C goes further and bans razor wire, or any electrified, sharp or hazardous point other than the barbed wire addressed in Subsection B, from any location in the City, including the top of a fence or any other portion of it, in any zoning district.

Subsection D adds a street-facing restriction: a fence containing barbed wire may not be built or kept along a street line at all, with one narrow exception, the Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development may permit a barbed-wire fence along a street when it is needed for security during a national emergency. All fences, walls and retaining walls, whether permanent or temporary, must also be constructed and maintained so they are safely self-supporting under § 39-307(A). A related permit rule sits in § 39-207(A)(6): any fence, wall or retaining wall over two feet in height above average grade needs a building permit before it goes up, separate from the material restrictions addressed here.

Property owners planning a fence in a residential district should check both the material ban in § 39-307 and the location and height limits in Chapter 120 before installing anything with barbed wire, since a residential fence with barbed wire violates the code even with the Commissioner's sign-off, which only applies outside residential districts.