Wausau, WI Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

40(5) lists the only materials a Wausau fence may use: naturally resistant or treated wood, brick or masonry, natural stone, wrought iron, vinyl, and galvanized or coated chain link, plus any comparable material the Zoning Administrator approves. The same subsection then bans rope, string, wire products, netting, cut or broken glass, paper, metal panels, corrugated metal panels, galvanized sheet metal, plywood, pallets, fiberglass, and plastic panels outright, and prohibits permanent chicken wire or snow fences from ever being used as a fixed fence. Wire mesh and chain link cannot go in the front yard in the SR-2, SR-3, SR-5, SR-7, MH-7, DR-8, TF-10, TRD-12, MR-12, and MR-50 districts unless the property is a park, school, airport, or other institutional use.

Wire and chain link rolls must run one piece top to bottom, since stacking rolls is prohibited. Barbed wire or similar security fencing is allowed only on top of another fence, starting at least six feet above the ground, and only in the I, RP, LI, MI, HI, IOS, IOC, AO, and EX districts, where it must still meet the setback that applies to the principal structure. Chain link fencing itself must be at least nine-gauge with a top rail, and it cannot sit in a front or street yard or extend toward the street past the front of the building.