Fence laws in El Cajon, California
What the El Cajon municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where El Cajon sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in El Cajon, California, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Where a non residential development meets residential property in El Cajon, a six foot decorative masonry or concrete wall is required rather than allowed. The figure is 6 feet, for required boundary wall between non residential and residential land.
- How tall
- El Cajon grants forty two inches on any part of a lot, with no qualifier at all, and then six feet anywhere behind the line of the required front yard, and the answer turns on whether the fence stands in front of or behind the required front yard line. The figure is 42 inches, for fence, wall or hedge height allowed on any part of a lot.
- Permits
- California does not write its own building code from scratch.
- 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
- El Cajon leaves the measuring rule to the legislative body of each county and city, through its zoning ordinance.
- Corner lots
- A reverse corner lot in El Cajon loses the six foot allowance within ten feet of the side exterior property line. The figure is 10 feet, for strip along a reverse corner side exterior line held to 42 inches.
- Retaining walls
- El Cajon splits the retaining wall question by what the wall is holding, and the answer turns on whether the retaining wall holds a cut below natural grade or a fill above it. The figure is 42 inches, for openwork guard allowed on a fill retaining wall.
- Materials
- Wrought iron gets its own permission in El Cajon: six feet anywhere on a residential lot, front yard included, where the part above forty two inches is at least ninety percent open. The figure is 90 percent, for openness required above 42 inches for a wrought iron fence.
- 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 El Cajon?
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El Cajon answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where a non residential development meets residential property in El Cajon, a six foot decorative masonry or concrete wall is required rather than allowed. The obligation falls on the non residential side. The wall then steps down to forty two inches across the part of the line matching the neighboring home front or exterior side setback, so the screening stops where it would block a view from the street.
A si x-foot-high decorative masonry or concrete wall shall be provided along any interior property line separating a non-residential development from residentially zoned or residentially developed property
El Cajon Municipal Code 17.130.180.A
6 ftrequired boundary wall between non residential and residential land
Also on fences on the property line in El Cajon
- 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 El Cajon?
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El Cajon answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence stands in front of or behind the required front yard line.
El Cajon grants forty two inches on any part of a lot, with no qualifier at all, and then six feet anywhere behind the line of the required front yard. The rule is written as two permissions stacking rather than as one limit with exceptions. A taller wall for a commercial, industrial or institutional use can be approved, and that approval needs written consent from the adjoining owners it affects.
A wall, fence or hedge 42 inches in height may be situated and maintained on any part of a lot.
El Cajon Municipal Code 17.130.170
The answer turns on whether the fence stands in front of or behind the required front yard line.
- anywhere on the lot, including the front yard
- Forty two inches. 42 in
- behind the line of the required front yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- over six feet for a commercial, industrial or institutional use
- Possible, with written approval from the affected adjoining property owners.
Also on fence height in El Cajon
- 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 El Cajon?
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California answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
California 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.
This one is California law, not El Cajon 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:
Also on permits in El Cajon
- 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 El Cajon
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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 El Cajon 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 El Cajon
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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 El Cajon 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 El Cajon
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El Cajon does not set this. It leaves it to the legislative body of each county and city, through its zoning ordinance.
California 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.
This one is California law, not El Cajon law. All California findings
Regulate all of the following: (1) The location, height, bulk, number of stories, and size of buildings and structures.
The code hands this to the legislative body of each county and city, through its zoning ordinance, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence rules for corner lots in El Cajon
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El Cajon answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A reverse corner lot in El Cajon loses the six foot allowance within ten feet of the side exterior property line. A reverse corner lot is one whose rear faces the side of the house next door, so a tall fence there would sit directly across from a neighboring front yard. The rule is a strip rather than a triangle, which means it holds the whole length of that boundary instead of only near the intersection.
a fence, wall or hedge higher than 42 inches shall not be situated closer to the side exterior property line than 10 feet.
El Cajon Municipal Code 17.130.170
10 ftstrip along a reverse corner side exterior line held to 42 inches
Also on corner visibility in El Cajon
- set in state lawCalifornia 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. Cal. Sts. & Hy. Code 660California · Traffic code
- left to the townEl Cajon writes no sight triangle and gives no distance. It states that no fence anywhere may block pedestrian or vehicular visibility, then hands the height decision to the director, the planning commission or the city council case by case. The rule reaches every fence in the city, including ones the code elsewhere permits outright, and there is no published figure to measure a plan against beforehand. El Cajon Municipal Code 17.130.210El Cajon · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in El Cajon
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El Cajon answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the retaining wall holds a cut below natural grade or a fill above it.
El Cajon splits the retaining wall question by what the wall is holding. A wall holding a cut, meaning the ground was dug away below natural grade, does not count at all: the fence on top gets its full normal height. A wall holding a fill does count, and its height comes off the fence. In both cases a forty two inch openwork guard is allowed on top, and the code defines openwork as no more than sixty percent solid.
Where a retaining wall protects a cut below natural grade and is located on the line separating lots, su ch retaining wall may be topped by a fence, wall or hedge of the same height that would otherwise be permitted at the location if no retaining wall existed.
El Cajon Municipal Code 17.130.200
The answer turns on whether the retaining wall holds a cut below natural grade or a fill above it.
- the wall holds a cut below natural grade, on the line between lots
- The wall is ignored and the fence gets its full height.
- the wall holds a fill
- The wall height counts toward the fence limit, with a 42 inch openwork guard allowed on top regardless. 42 in
Also on retaining walls in El Cajon
- left to the townCalifornia 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. Health & Saf. Code 17922(a)California · Statute
Fence materials allowed in El Cajon
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El Cajon answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Wrought iron gets its own permission in El Cajon: six feet anywhere on a residential lot, front yard included, where the part above forty two inches is at least ninety percent open. Ninety percent is a high bar. Several cities read for this site trade height for openness at forty or fifty percent, so El Cajon is asking for roughly twice the transparency to grant the same extra height.
Also, a wrought iron fence not more than six (6 ) feet in height may be situated anywhere on a residential lot pr ovided such a fence is at least 90 percent open to view for that portion of t he fence that is more than 42 inches in height.
El Cajon Municipal Code 17.130.170
90%openness required above 42 inches for a wrought iron fence
Also on materials in El Cajon
- 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
- set in state lawEl Cajon defines openwork by two tests at once, not one. The solid parts may not add up to more than sixty percent of the face, and they have to be evenly spread across it. The second half is what stops a fence that is solid on one half and empty on the other from passing the arithmetic. Most cities that set an openness percentage never say how it has to be distributed. El Cajon Municipal Code 17.130.200El Cajon · Zoning code
Livestock and boundary fence law in El Cajon
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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 El Cajon 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 El Cajon
- 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 El Cajon itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- California LegislatureCalifornia Civil Code Section 841, Good Neighbor Fence Act of 2013
- City of El CajonEl Cajon Municipal Code, Title 17, Zoning Ordinance
- 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 El Cajon 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