Vestavia Hills, AL Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

3(4) of the Zoning Ordinance restricts every residential fence to one of five materials: chain link, masonry, vinyl, composite or wood. The same subsection requires that the grade and quality of the material be identical on every face of the fence, so a homeowner cannot install a finished side facing the street and a rough or different-grade side facing a neighbor; front and back must match. The ordinance layers additional material rules onto the narrow exception that lets a fence sit within the front yard setback for security purposes on a recorded lot of at least one acre where the house sits back at least one hundred feet from the front lot line.

That security fencing and its gate must be open, ornamental and decorative in style, built of finished stone, masonry and/or metal, and it must specifically exclude wood and chain link within the front yard setback, materials that are otherwise allowed everywhere else on the property. A fence permit application has to list and describe the materials to be used before the City will approve construction, and the Building Official and Fire Marshal both sign off on the plans and specifications before any permit issues. Barbed wire and electrified fencing are not among the five permitted materials, so neither has a place on a residential lot in the city under this section.