Fence laws in Compton, California
What the Compton municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Compton sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Compton, California, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Two neighbors split the cost of a fence on the line in California.
- How tall
- Compton sets both a floor and a ceiling for each land use in a single table, so some fences have a minimum height as well as a maximum, and the answer turns on the land use, the yard, and what the fence faces. The figure is 3.5 feet, for front yard fence facing a residential street.
- Permits
- Compton sends fences along its main roads to a design body rather than a counter. The figure is 150 feet, for radius used to set an average neighborhood fence height.
- Pool barriers
- Compton puts the pool barrier in its own row of the fencing table rather than leaving it to the building code. The figure is 6 feet, for minimum pool enclosure height.
- 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
- Compton writes the berm out of the measurement. The figure is 2 feet, for most a slope may add to the zone maximum.
- 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
- Compton 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
- Compton assigns materials by land use rather than by zone, and names a white picket fence as an allowed way to enclose the front yard setback of any residential use anywhere in the city, and the answer turns on the land use, what the fence faces, and whether it can be seen from the street. The figure is 3 strands, for barbed wire allowed in the manufacturing zones.
- 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 Compton?
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California answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Two 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.
This one is California law, not Compton law. All California findings
Adjoining landowners are presumed to share an equal benefit from any fence dividing their properties and, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties in a written agreement, shall be presumed to be equally responsible for the reasonable costs of construction, maintenance, or necessary replacement of the fence.
Also on fences on the property line in Compton
- 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 Compton?
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Compton answers this, but the answer changes depending on the land use, the yard, and what the fence faces.
Compton sets both a floor and a ceiling for each land use in a single table, so some fences have a minimum height as well as a maximum. A residential front yard on a residential street tops out at three and a half feet, which is among the lowest front yard figures in California, and the fence there has to be open or combination rather than solid. A residential front yard facing a nonresidential street or a major or secondary highway gets five feet. Rear and side yards next to residential zones require a solid fence of five to six feet, and rear and side yards backing a right of way, a school, or a commercial or manufacturing zone require five to eight. Commercial and manufacturing land runs to eight feet, manufacturing rear and side yards to twelve, and outside storage needs six to twelve feet of solid fence sufficient to screen everything stored.
Fence height shall be measured from the finished grade (excluding berming or mounding) to the top of the fence.
The answer turns on the land use, the yard, and what the fence faces.
- a residential front yard on a residential street
- Three and a half feet, open or combination. 3.5 ft
- a residential front yard on a nonresidential street or a major highway
- Five feet, open or combination. 5 ft
- a residential rear or side yard next to a residential zone
- A required solid fence of five to six feet. 6 ft
- a manufacturing rear or side yard
- Up to twelve feet. 12 ft
Also on fence height in Compton
- 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 Compton?
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Compton answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Compton sends fences along its main roads to a design body rather than a counter. The Architectural Review Board approves all fences and gates built along major or secondary highways, with rear yard fences for single family homes exempt unless the Planning Commission or an approved Corridor Improvement Plan calls for review. The same board may approve minor modifications: an unlisted material comparable in appearance, durability and screening capacity, an alternate design compatible with what is next door, up to two feet of extra height along a major corridor, and up to a foot and a half along a residential line to match the average fence height within a hundred and fifty feet. Anything larger needs a variance under section 30-27.
The Architectural Review Board shall approve all fences and gates constructed along major or secondary highways. Rear yard fences for single-family homes are exempted from review except as required by the Planning Commission or an approved Corridor Improvement Plan.
150 ftradius used to set an average neighborhood fence height
Also on permits in Compton
- 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 Compton
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Compton answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Compton puts the pool barrier in its own row of the fencing table rather than leaving it to the building code. Any public or private pool in any zone requires a fence of six to eight feet, open, solid or combination, with a self-closing and locking gate. Chain link is allowed around a pool only where the pool is not visible from a public right of way.
A solid, open or combination fence with a self-closing and locking gate shall be provided for any public or private swimming pool.
6 ftminimum pool enclosure height
Also on pool barriers in Compton
- set in state lawA 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. Health & Saf. Code 115923California · Statute
Spite fence laws in Compton
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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 Compton 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 Compton
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Compton answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Compton writes the berm out of the measurement. Height runs from the finished grade to the top of the fence, and the code puts berming and mounding outside that grade in brackets, so piling earth under a fence does not buy any height. Where the ground on the two sides of a rear or side yard fence differs, the higher grade may be used as the datum, but only so far: the total height may not pass the maximum for the zone by more than two feet.
When a difference in grade exists on opposing sides of a rear or side yard fence, the height of the fence may be measured from the elevation of the higher grade provided the total height of the fence does not exceed the maximum fence height for the zone by more than two feet.
2 ftmost a slope may add to the zone maximum
Also on how height is measured in Compton
- 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 Compton
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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 Compton 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.
Also on corner visibility in Compton
- no rule, documents checkedCompton draws a vision clearance area and then never applies it to a fence. The triangle is defined in the sign standards, with sides reaching fifteen feet from the intersection of the vehicle travel areas and a controlled band running from forty two inches to ten feet above grade, and the rule it carries is that a sign may not be located there. Section 30-44 governs fences across six subsections, requires review by the Architectural Review Board along major highways and lists prohibited materials in detail, and it sets no corner rule, no sight triangle and no reduced height at an intersection. The landscaping standards ask only that plant material not interfere with safe sight distances, without a dimension. 30-44Compton · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Compton
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Compton 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 Compton 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 Compton
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Compton answers this, but the answer changes depending on the land use, what the fence faces, and whether it can be seen from the street.
Compton assigns materials by land use rather than by zone, and names a white picket fence as an allowed way to enclose the front yard setback of any residential use anywhere in the city. Wrought iron is allowed for any required front yard setback, and a front yard fence may carry decorative masonry pilasters and a masonry base of up to half the fence height. Masonry is required on the lines between commercial or manufacturing and residential land, between multifamily and single family land, along any rear or side line facing a major or secondary highway, and on every rear and side line in a new subdivision. Wood panels or planks painted or treated for weather are confined to interior rear and side lines away from those situations. Chain link is allowed only on interior commercial, manufacturing and institutional lines out of sight of the street, around a pool not visible from the street, around a vacant lot or construction site, and with neutral slats to screen manufacturing storage. Three strands of barbed wire are allowed in the M-L and M-H zones away from housing. Corrugated metal, sheet metal, tin, chicken wire, fiberglass, plywood, used or salvaged material including tires, railroad ties and doors, electrified fencing, razor wire, concertina wire, cut glass, fabric and plastic sheeting are all prohibited.
White picket fences shall be allowed to enclose the front yard setback of any residential use in all zones, except where solid fencing is required to separate commercial or manufacturing zones from a residential zone and on vacant lots in residential and commercial zones. Picket fencing may be made of wood, polyvinyl or other approved material.
The answer turns on the land use, what the fence faces, and whether it can be seen from the street.
- a residential front yard setback
- A white picket fence or wrought iron, with pilasters and a masonry base of up to half the height.
- a line between commercial or manufacturing and residential land
- Masonry.
- a property line fence in the M-L or M-H zones away from housing
- Three strands of barbed wire. 3 strands
Also on materials in Compton
- 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 Compton
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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 Compton 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 Compton
- 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
11 documents, of which 2 were published by Compton itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- California LegislatureCalifornia Civil Code Section 841, Good Neighbor Fence Act of 2013
- California LegislatureCalifornia Civil Code Section 841.4, spite fences
- City of ComptonMunicipal Code, Chapter 30, Zoning, Section 30-44, Fencing
- 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
- City of ComptonMunicipal Code, Chapter 30, Zoning, Section 30-22.5, Sign standards
- 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 Compton 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