Fence laws in Citrus Heights, California
What the Citrus Heights municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Citrus Heights sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Citrus Heights, California, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- A street side fence in Citrus Heights over three feet has to stand at least three feet back from the property line or the sidewalk, and the code says why: to leave room for landscaping that softens the mass of the fence. The figure is 3 feet, for setback from the line for a street side fence over three feet. It reaches street side setbacks only.
- How tall
- A Citrus Heights side or rear yard fence carries two limits at the same time: eight feet as it appears from the abutting parcel or right of way, and ten feet as it appears from inside the site, and the answer turns on which setback the fence is in, and which side of the fence is being measured. The figure is 8 feet, for height as the fence appears from the abutting parcel.
- Permits
- A fence visible from a public right of way in Citrus Heights goes to Design Review in three cases: it stands in a commercial zone, it is over eight feet, or it runs longer than two hundred feet regardless of height, and the answer turns on the zone, the height, and the length of the fence. The figure is 8 feet, for height at which Design Review is triggered.
- Pool barriers
- A pool fence in California stands at least sixty inches high. The figure is 60 inches, for minimum height of a pool enclosure.
- Spite fences
- A fence over ten feet tall in California is a private nuisance when it was put up or kept there to annoy the neighbor and the extra height serves no purpose. The figure is 10 feet, for spite fence threshold, with malice required.
- Measured from what
- Citrus Heights measures from the top of the fence to finished grade, and adds two refinements. The figure is 6 feet, for distance from the base within which a grade difference triggers the rule.
- Corner lots
- California writes no clear view triangle into state law. It reaches the right of way of a state highway, whether or not the whole width is paved only.
- Retaining walls
- Citrus Heights leaves retaining walls to Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, the California Building Standards Code, which tracks the International Building Code and the International Residential Code.
- Materials
- A fence in a Citrus Heights flood hazard area answers to two more documents on top of the fence rules: the Creekside Development and Flood Hazard Mitigation section, and the city Drainage and Development Policy. It reaches fences and walls in an area subject to flooding only.
- Livestock
- California calls a fence lawful when it is strong enough to keep livestock from getting in or out. The figure is 4 feet, for height of the top wire on a lawful wire fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Citrus Heights?
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Citrus Heights answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A street side fence in Citrus Heights over three feet has to stand at least three feet back from the property line or the sidewalk, and the code says why: to leave room for landscaping that softens the mass of the fence. The rule carries a date. A fence lawfully built before 6 November 2006 is exempt and may be replaced in the same location, so the older fence on the line keeps its place and its replacement inherits it.
Fencing exceeding a height of 3 ft shall be set back a minimum of 3 ft from the property line or sidewalk to allow for the planting of landscaping to mitigate the visual impact of the fence mass; provided that this requirement shall not apply to a fence that was lawfully constructed prior to November 6, 2006, which may be replaced in the same location.
Citrus Heights Zoning Code 106.30.050.C, Table 3-1
3 ftsetback from the line for a street side fence over three feet
Also on fences on the property line in Citrus Heights
- set in state lawTwo neighbors split the cost of a fence on the line in California. The law starts from the idea that both get the same benefit from it, so both owe the same share of building it, keeping it up and replacing it. A neighbor about to spend that money gives the other one thirty days written notice first. Either neighbor can show the even split is wrong, and a court can then order less than half or nothing at all. Civ. Code 841California · Statute
- set in state lawThe notice has to say six things: that the law starts from an even split, what is wrong with the fence now, what is planned instead, what it is expected to cost, how the cost gets shared, and when the work happens. Civ. Code 841(b)(1)California · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Citrus Heights?
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Citrus Heights answers this, but the answer changes depending on which setback the fence is in, and which side of the fence is being measured.
A Citrus Heights side or rear yard fence carries two limits at the same time: eight feet as it appears from the abutting parcel or right of way, and ten feet as it appears from inside the site. Both have to be met. A front yard setback fence stops at three feet, a street side setback fence at three, and anything inside a sight visibility area at two feet six inches. Design Review can authorize up to ten feet elsewhere.
8 ft as the fence appears from a parcel or right -of-way abutting the site, 10 ft as the fence appears on the site.
Citrus Heights Zoning Code 106.30.050.C, Table 3-1
The answer turns on which setback the fence is in, and which side of the fence is being measured.
- in a required side or rear yard setback
- Eight feet as the neighbor sees it, ten feet as the owner sees it. 8 ft
- in a required front or street side setback
- Three feet. 3 ft
- inside a sight visibility area at an alley, street or driveway
- Two feet six inches. 30 in
Also on fence height in Citrus Heights
- no rule, documents checkedCalifornia sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. Cities and counties write that in their zoning codes and the answer changes a lot from one town to the next. The one height in state law is the ten feet in the spite fence rule, and that only matters when the fence was put up to annoy a neighbor. It is not a building limit. Civ. Code 841California · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Citrus Heights?
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Citrus Heights answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone, the height, and the length of the fence.
A fence visible from a public right of way in Citrus Heights goes to Design Review in three cases: it stands in a commercial zone, it is over eight feet, or it runs longer than two hundred feet regardless of height. The length trigger is the unusual one and it catches the long unbroken boundary fence along a collector street. Approval takes a finding that the fence meets both the fence standards and the city design guidelines.
Regardless of height, has a length greater than 200 feet.
Citrus Heights Zoning Code 106.30.050.B
The answer turns on the zone, the height, and the length of the fence.
- over eight feet, or in a commercial zone, and visible from a right of way
- Design Review. 8 ft
- longer than two hundred feet and visible from a right of way
- Design Review, at any height. 200 ft
Also on permits in Citrus Heights
- set in state lawCalifornia does not write its own building code from scratch. Section 17922 adopts Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations and requires it to ask for much the same things as the International Building Code and the International Residential Code, with state additions and cuts. So the permit rule for a fence starts out as outside code text that California then edits. Health & Saf. Code 17922California · Statute
- set in state lawA California city or county can make the statewide building code stricter, but not quietly. Section 17958.7 makes the city council say in writing why each change is needed because of local weather, ground or land shape. That finding goes to the California Building Standards Commission, and the change does nothing until it is filed. The finding is a public record, which is why a local permit line can sit well below the statewide one. Health & Saf. Code 17958.7California · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Citrus Heights
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California answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A pool fence in California stands at least sixty inches high. No more than two inches may be left between the ground and the bottom of it, and no gap in it may pass a four inch ball. The outside face has no handholds or footholds a child under five could climb. Gates open away from the pool and close and latch by themselves, with the latch set no lower than sixty inches above the ground.
This one is California law, not Citrus Heights law. All California findings
An enclosure shall have all of the following characteristics: (a) Any access gates through the enclosure open away from the swimming pool, and are self-closing with a self-latching device placed no lower than 60 inches above the ground. (b) A minimum height of 60 inches. (c) A maximum vertical clearance from the ground to the bottom of the enclosure of two inches. (d) Gaps or voids, if any, do not allow passage of a sphere equal to or greater than four inches in diameter. (e) An outside surface free of protrusions, cavities, or other physical characteristics that would serve as handholds or footholds that could enable a child below the age of five years to climb over.
60 inminimum height of a pool enclosure
Spite fence laws in Citrus Heights
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California answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A fence over ten feet tall in California is a private nuisance when it was put up or kept there to annoy the neighbor and the extra height serves no purpose. Height on its own is not enough. The case turns on proving why the fence is there. The rule covers anything built like a fence, not only a fence.
This one is California law, not Citrus Heights law. All California findings
Any fence or other structure in the nature of a fence unnecessarily exceeding 10 feet in height maliciously erected or maintained for the purpose of annoying the owner or occupant of adjoining property is a private nuisance.
10 ftspite fence threshold, with malice required
How fence height is measured in Citrus Heights
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Citrus Heights answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Citrus Heights measures from the top of the fence to finished grade, and adds two refinements. Fencing on top of a retaining wall is measured from the base of the wall, not the top. And where the finished grade within six feet of the base differs from one side to the other, the height is measured from the side with the lowest natural grade. Natural, not finished, so a slope that was built up does not move the starting point.
In cases where elevation of the finished grade within six feet of the base of the fence differs from one side of the fence to the other (as when a fence is placed at the top of a slope or on a retaining wall), the height shall be measured from the side with the lowest natural grade.
Citrus Heights Zoning Code 106.30.050.D
6 ftdistance from the base within which a grade difference triggers the rule
Also on how height is measured in Citrus Heights
- left to the townCalifornia gives a fence height and never says what it is measured from. Civil Code section 841.4 makes a fence over ten feet a private nuisance when it is kept up to annoy a neighbor. It does not say whether the ten feet starts at bare dirt, at the finished yard, or at the high side of a slope. Government Code section 65850 is why the state stops there: it lets any county or city set the place, height and size of structures. So the number and the surface it starts from are both written into local zoning. Cal. Gov. Code 65850(c)(1)California · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Citrus Heights
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California answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
California writes no clear view triangle into state law. The Streets and Highways Code counts a fence as an encroachment once it stands in, under or over any part of a state highway right of way. Section 670 then makes putting one there without a written permit from the department a misdemeanor. That covers the public strip, not the corner of a private yard. Government Code section 65850 gives every city and county the power to set the height and place of structures, and that is where a corner triangle gets written in California.
This one is California law, not Citrus Heights law. All California findings
“Encroachment” includes any tower, pole, pole line, pipe, pipe line, fence, billboard, stand or building, or any structure, object of any kind or character not particularly mentioned in this section, or special event, which is in, under, or over any portion of the highway.
Retaining wall rules in Citrus Heights
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Citrus Heights does not set this. It leaves it to Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, the California Building Standards Code, which tracks the International Building Code and the International Residential Code.
California has no rule of its own in statute for a wall that holds back earth. The rule is in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, which section 17922 adopts by reference and requires to match the newest editions of a named list of outside codes, the International Building Code and the International Residential Code among them. The same section leaves setbacks, side yards, rear yards and property line rules entirely to cities and counties.
This one is California law, not Citrus Heights law. All California findings
The building standards and rules and regulations shall impose substantially the same requirements as are contained in the most recent editions of the following international or uniform industry codes as adopted by the organizations specified:
The code hands this to Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, the California Building Standards Code, which tracks the International Building Code and the International Residential Code, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Citrus Heights
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Citrus Heights answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A fence in a Citrus Heights flood hazard area answers to two more documents on top of the fence rules: the Creekside Development and Flood Hazard Mitigation section, and the city Drainage and Development Policy. The trigger is a Federal Flood Insurance Rate Map, or the city otherwise knowing the area floods, which means the second half of the test is not on any map. Redding is the only other city on this site that treats a fence as an obstruction to floodwater.
A fence or wall in an area subject to flooding identified on a Federal Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) or as otherwise known to the City shall comply with all requirements of Section 106.30.040 (Creekside Development and Flood Hazard Mitigation), and the City's Drainage and Development Policy, in addition to this Section.
Citrus Heights Zoning Code 106.30.050.A.1
Also on materials in Citrus Heights
- set in state lawCalifornia sets a wire standard for a lawful fence in grazing counties. A wire fence takes three tight barbed wires on solid posts set no more than a rod apart, with one wire at least four feet up. Any fence as strong and as tall as that one counts too. Cal. Food & Agric. Code 17121California · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Citrus Heights
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California answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
California calls a fence lawful when it is strong enough to keep livestock from getting in or out. A wire fence gets real numbers: three tight barbed wires on posts set no more than one rod apart, with one of those wires at least four feet off the ground. Any other fence as tall, as strong and as good at holding animals counts too, and so does a cattle guard wide and deep enough to turn them.
This one is California law, not Citrus Heights law. All California findings
No wire fence is a good and substantial fence within the meaning of this article unless it has three tightly stretched barbed wires securely fastened to posts of reasonable strength, firmly set in the ground not more than one rod apart, one of which wires shall be at least four feet above the surface of the ground.
4 ftheight of the top wire on a lawful wire fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Citrus Heights
- depends, see the pageCalifornia answers this one county by county. Section 17123 names Siskiyou, Lassen and Modoc, plus parts of Trinity and Shasta, as land used mainly for grazing. Section 17124 lets the board of supervisors of any county put the same label on the county or part of it. Where the label applies, the land has to be fully fenced before the person on it may take in a stray animal or hold it for payment. Cal. Food & Agric. Code 17122California · Statute
Documents behind this page
10 documents, of which 1 was published by Citrus Heights itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- California LegislatureCalifornia Civil Code Section 841, Good Neighbor Fence Act of 2013
- City of Citrus Heights, Planning DivisionCitrus Heights Municipal Code Title 106, Zoning Code, Article 3
- California LegislatureCalifornia Civil Code Section 841.4, spite fences
- California LegislatureCalifornia Health and Safety Code Section 17922, adoption of building standards
- California LegislatureCalifornia Health and Safety Code Section 17958.7, local modification of building standards
- California LegislatureCalifornia Health and Safety Code Section 115923, enclosure requirements
- California LegislatureCalifornia Government Code, Title 7, Division 1, Chapter 4, Article 2, Section 65850
- California LegislatureCalifornia Streets and Highways Code, Division 1, Chapter 3, Section 660
- California LegislatureCalifornia Food and Agricultural Code, Division 9, Part 2, Chapter 3, Article 5
- California LegislatureCalifornia Food and Agricultural Code, Division 9, Part 2, Chapter 3, Article 5
What this page does not cover
A city ordinance is not the only rule that reaches a fence. The zoning district a parcel sits in can change the height allowed on it, and so can an overlay district, a recorded easement, a fire hazard severity zone or a coastal zone. A homeowner association can be stricter than the city and nothing in the municipal code will say so. None of those appear here.
The rules above are the ones Citrus Heights publishes, plus the California rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in California has the state layer in full.
This is general information drawn from published government documents. It is not legal advice, ordinances are amended, and the date beside each finding is the date the document was read. How findings are made · What the terms mean