Utica restricts certain fence materials: chain-link is excluded where fences serve as required landscape screening, and barbed wire is allowed only atop public-utility fences when the City deems it necessary for public safety.
The Zoning Code limits materials in screening contexts. Where fences are used as part of required screening or buffering, chain-link fences are excluded and evergreen vegetation or solid fencing is required instead. Barbed wire is permitted only on the top of fences enclosing public-utility uses (such as transformer substations) and only when the Commissioner of Urban and Economic Development deems it necessary for public safety and the Common Council approves. There is otherwise no blanket ban on standard residential fence materials, but all fences must show the finished face outward and obtain a permit.
Using barbed wire without authorization, or chain-link where solid screening is required, is a zoning violation subject to Codes Enforcement correction orders and fines.
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