Union, NY Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Two subsections of § 300-53.15 of the Town of Union Code control fence materials: F on barbed wire, electric fencing and livestock, and J on construction materials. The chapter is the Consolidated Zoning Ordinance of the Town of Union, Village of Johnson City, and Village of Endicott, and § 300-10.4 applies it in the Town of Union outside the Villages of Endicott and Johnson City and inside both villages.

Subsection F says that, except for animal husbandry, stables, riding academies and kennel uses in an RR District, livestock, poultry, cattle, barbed wire and electrically charged fencing are prohibited. The one allowance for barbed wire elsewhere is in nonresidential districts, where it can be used provided it starts at least six feet in height above the grade. In a residential district there is no barbed-wire or electric-fence allowance at all. The provision was amended by Local Law No. 7-2019 on May 15, 2019.

Subsection J, added by the same local law, lists approved materials. Under J(1), fences shall be constructed of wood, chain link, wrought iron or PVC permanent fencing material. Under J(2), materials such as sheet metal, razor wire, page wire, pallets, doors, old building materials or nontraditional fence materials are prohibited. The list works in both directions: four materials are approved, and anything that looks improvised is out.

J(3) addresses temporary fences. They are permitted only for the duration of a construction project, so a temporary barrier cannot stay up as a permanent boundary once the work is done.

Materials are separate from height. In residential districts the six-foot cap and the eight-foot street setback for solid fences in § 300-53.15(G) and (H) apply on top of the material rules. Every fence must also be maintained in a safe, sound and upright condition under Subsection I, which means a permitted material that has deteriorated can still draw a violation.

The pool barrier rule is its own provision. Under § 300-53.16 a pool fence must be of wooden or metal construction for an aboveground pool, which is narrower than the general list.