Trenton, NJ Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

H(1)(b) of Trenton's zoning code lists six categories of prohibited fence and wall material that apply everywhere in the city, independent of the height and yard-placement rules in the rest of the section: scrap metal, corrugated metal, sheet metal, spiked posts (defined as sharpened fence-post ends capable of causing physical damage to persons or animals), razor wire, and barbed wire and chicken wire. 1 must also sit entirely within the lot boundaries and present its finished face toward the abutting property or right-of-way. The prohibition sits alongside a separate ornamentation limit: light fixtures, post tops, finials and other decorative elements above the mass of the wall or fence cannot exceed one-third of the fence or wall's permitted height, and such ornamentation can be spaced no closer than an average of six feet apart.

Together, the material ban and the ornamentation cap mean a Trenton property owner cannot substitute a banned material, like a scrap-metal panel fence or barbed wire topping, for a compliant design, regardless of the yard or district the fence sits in.