Allentown bars fences made from scrap sheet metal or similar 'junk,' and bans barbed wire or electrified fences in neighborhood zones unless the zoning officer finds it necessary to protect against an unusual hazard.
Fence material limits are municipal, not county. Allentown's Zoning Ordinance §660-45.A(3) states no fence or wall may be built from scrap sheet metal or similar junk, and no fence in a neighborhood zone may be barbed wire or electrically charged unless the applicant proves to the zoning officer that barbed wire is necessary to guard against an unusual hazard, such as electric transformers. These bans keep residential streetscapes safe and orderly. Non-residential and industrial zones have more latitude (security fences up to 8 feet are allowed for some uses). Other Lehigh County municipalities commonly prohibit barbed wire and razor wire in residential districts too.
Installing a prohibited material fence is a zoning violation enforced by the municipal zoning officer, who can order removal or modification; smaller boroughs impose their own fines.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Lehigh County's material restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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