Warwick, RI Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

' That means barbed wire is not automatically prohibited, but a homeowner cannot install it as of right either; the zoning board must sign off first. 2 goes further and covers every district in the city, not just residential ones. It bars any fence or portion of a fence containing exposed wires from which a person can get an electrical shock, or containing barbed wire, unless the property owner obtains a special use permit from the zoning board of review under Section 900. Because barbed wire in a residence district and electrified or exposed-wire fencing anywhere both route through the same board, the board must also make the special findings required by Section 900 for any special use permit, plus consider the character of the district, the fence's location, the likelihood of injury or shock, and the fence's purpose, and conclude the fence will not become a nuisance or hazard.

2 states it applies to existing fences as well as newly proposed ones, so a barbed-wire or electrified fence installed before the ordinance was adopted is not grandfathered out of the permit requirement.