Taylor, MI Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Section 15.03(a) of Taylor's Zoning Appendix A sets fence rules that apply to all zoning districts, residential and nonresidential alike. Subsection (a)(5) prohibits barbed wire, razor wire, spikes, nails, or any other sharp point or instrument on the top or sides of any fence, and it separately bans fences that carry an electric current or charge that could cause injury, unless the fence falls under an exception elsewhere in the section. Subsection (a)(4) carves out buried electronic fences, the kind used for underground pet containment, which are permitted in every district because they present no exposed sharp point or shock hazard to passersby.

The one carve-out for barbed wire itself sits in the nonresidential rules at Section 15.03(c)(7): during site plan review, the planning commission can approve barbed wire on fences in the I-1 and I-2 industrial districts, provided the bottom strand sits at least six feet above the ground. No such exception reaches residential districts, so a homeowner cannot install barbed wire, razor wire, or an exposed electrified fence anywhere on a residential lot in Taylor. Section 15.03(a) also requires that fences and walls face their structural side toward the interior of the enclosed area, bars fences from the public right-of-way, and requires that any fence not obstruct a motorist's view exiting a driveway. These same all-district rules apply regardless of whether the fence sits along a single-family lot line or a commercial property boundary.