Thursday, DECEMBER 4, 2025 |
Photo – City of Rawlins logo – Courtesy City of Rawlins
The City of Rawlins now requires all qualifying industrial properties to have eight-foot fences.
On Tuesday evening, the Rawlins City Council voted to amend Title 19 of the city’s building codes, requiring all junk, salvage, and towing yards to be surrounded by an eight‑foot-tall fence. In earlier discussions, the governing body debated whether to include a grandfather clause that would allow existing six‑foot‑tall fences to remain. The shorter fences complied with the regulations in place at the time.
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, Community Development Director Lou Lascano said that the amended ordinance no longer permits any fences below the eight‑foot threshold.
Lascano said business owners in the city’s industrial zones with six-foot-tall fences can install height extensions, such as barbed wire, to make up the two-foot difference.
Councilman Steve Sanger pointed out that barbed wire extensions aren’t the only way for a six‑foot fence to meet the new eight‑foot requirement. Property owners can instead install smooth strand wire and still align with the building codes.
Councilman Derek Elliott said he would not support the amended ordinance without a grandfather clause, arguing that forcing business owners with previously compliant fences to upgrade would create undue financial hardship. Community Development Director Lascano clarified that the ordinance only applies to industrial properties. All other fencing requirements throughout the city will remain unchanged.
Councilman Elliott reiterated that requiring new, taller fences could impose a financial burden on property owners. Lascano said if needed, the Rawlins Board of Adjustments, which oversees the city’s zoning rules, will give business owners additional time to comply with the new regulations.
Councilman Elliot asked if the city could provide financial assistance to business owners unable to afford to upgrade their fences. City Attorney Pinita Maberry‑Nave said no. The attorney added that the new regulations are based on the current International Building Code. Following the IBC will help city staff identify properties that don’t conform to the ordinance.
Next, Councilman Elliot asked if the affected business owners were involved in drafting the new fencing ordinances. Community Development Director Lascano said a few towing company owners attended Board of Adjustment meetings. Since then, however, Lascano said no industrial business owner has contacted him or his office, adding they’ve had ample time to do so.
Councilman Steve Sanger commented that city meetings are well advertised and that concerned business owners should have attended meetings where the issue was on the agenda
Councilman Elliot responded that people are not always able to attend the meetings and the city should do everything it can to mitigate the financial impact before passing the amended ordinance.
Councilwoman Tonya Lewman asked if business owners will be given a grace period to comply with the new regulations. Community Development Director Lascano replied that the Board of Adjustments won’t impose unrealistic demands on people.
Lascano added that business owners who are affected will have until July 1st to meet the rules. Enforcement will begin after July 1, 2026.
Vice Mayor Darril Garner asked why the grandfather clause was removed from the amended ordinance, arguing that existing fences should be exempt unless the property owner makes changes. Lascano responded that the City Council asked to remove the grandfather clause at a previous meeting.
Vice Mayor Garner expressed support for the increased fencing height requirement. However, the vice mayor said the lack of a grandfather clause gives the City Council authority to repeatedly amend the ordinance and risk bankrupting business owners.
Mayor Jacquelin Wells said that the City Council removed the grandfather clause at the request of residents. Mayor Wells said determining which fences did and did not comply with the existing regulations was too difficult
Vice Mayor Garner said that without a grandfather clause, nothing would prevent the Council from continually changing the regulations. Attorney Maberry‑Nave said city staff oppose repeated changes, noting the amended ordinance is meant to standardize zoning requirements in the industrial district.
Attorney Maberry‑Nave added that barbed wire fence extensions are relatively inexpensive. Councilman Elliott pointed out that the attorney was not including installation, which would significantly increase the price.
Attorney Maberry‑Nave explained that the amended ordinance not only requires affected properties in the industrial zone to have eight‑foot-tall fences, it also prohibits electrified fences. The city attorney said the changes bring Rawlins more in line with the International Building Code.
The city attorney noted that only one business in the city has an electric fence.
Following the discussion, the Rawlins City Council approved the amended Title 19 fencing ordinance on the third and final reading by a vote of 5-2. Vice Mayor Garner and Councilman Elliot voted against the measure.
