Sampson County, NC Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Sec. 2-28-12 addresses electric fences specifically: on a residential property, an electric fence must be protected by a privacy fence if it sits within 3 feet of the property line, so a neighbor or passerby encounters the privacy fence rather than the live wire at the boundary. The ordinance carves out bona fide farms from this requirement entirely, recognizing that agricultural electric fencing along field boundaries serves a different purpose than a residential yard fence. The rule sits in the same Sec. 2-28 group of accessory-use standards as the pool, lighting, and shed provisions, so it applies to the same unincorporated-county properties.

Separately, Sec. 2-18-02(B) lists fences among the improvements that do not require a Zoning Permit at all, alongside roof-mounted solar panels, driveways and sidewalks, because the ordinance's Accessory Structure definition excludes them; that exemption covers ordinary residential fences and is not limited to electric fences. The ordinance does not set a maximum residential fence height or ban any other fence material, such as chain-link or barbed wire, outside of the electric-fence privacy-screening requirement and the separate buffer and screening standards that apply to specific land uses like Solar Farms under Sec. 2-27-17.