Fence laws in Hanford, California
What the Hanford municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Hanford sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Hanford, 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
- Seven feet is allowed along a Hanford interior side lot line, and the allowance starts ten feet back from the front lot line rather than at the street. The figure is 10 feet, for distance from the front lot line where the seven foot side fence may begin.
- Permits
- Hanford puts a clock on a temporary fence that is not securing construction: ninety days, then it comes down unless a temporary use permit extends it. The figure is 90 days, for life of a temporary fence not securing construction.
- 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
- Hanford measures height as the vertical distance from the highest point down to the ground directly below, and then adds a rule for a fence with different ground on each side: it is measured on the shorter side.
- Corner lots
- On a Hanford corner lot the seven foot street side fence cannot start until twenty five feet back from the front lot line, more than twice the distance required on an interior side. The figure is 25 feet, for distance from the front lot line where a corner street side fence may reach seven feet.
- Retaining walls
- A retaining wall may stand anywhere in a required Hanford setback, grouped in one sentence with fences, hedges, garden structures, walks and driveways.
- Materials
- Open chain link can reach seven feet along a front lot line in Hanford, and only where the land behind it is a public or quasi-public playground or park. The figure is 7 feet, for chain link height allowed at a front lot line beside a park.
- 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 Hanford?
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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 Hanford 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 Hanford
- 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 Hanford?
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Hanford answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Seven feet is allowed along a Hanford interior side lot line, and the allowance starts ten feet back from the front lot line rather than at the street. In front of that point the front lot line limits apply instead. The rear lot line gets the full seven feet with no starting point attached, so the side fence is the one that has to step.
Along an interior side lot line not exceeding seven (7) feet in height beginning at ten (10) feet from the front lot line;
Hanford Municipal Code 17.50.120.B
10 ftdistance from the front lot line where the seven foot side fence may begin
Also on fence height in Hanford
- 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
- depends, see the pageA Hanford fence on the front lot line gets three feet, or four feet where the top foot is at least half open. The extra foot has to be the open part, not the bottom, so a solid fence with an open cap qualifies and a fence that is open at the ankle does not. A six foot fence is possible in the front building setback area if it is pulled ten feet back from the front lot line. Hanford Municipal Code 17.50.120.E and FHanford · Zoning code
Do I need a permit for a fence in Hanford?
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Hanford answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Hanford puts a clock on a temporary fence that is not securing construction: ninety days, then it comes down unless a temporary use permit extends it. A fence protecting a construction, rehabilitation or demolition job has no day count and instead comes out when the work is done. Either way the fence has to be chain link or another approved material and cannot be permanently fixed to the site.
A temporary fence placed for a reason other than to secure a construction, rehabilitation or demolition project on the site shall be removed after ninety (90) days unless a temporary use permit is issued in accordance with Chapter 17.76 that allows a longer period of time.
Hanford Municipal Code 17.50.125.D
90 dayslife of a temporary fence not securing construction
Also on permits in Hanford
- 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 Hanford
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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 Hanford 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 Hanford
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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 Hanford 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 Hanford
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Hanford answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Hanford measures height as the vertical distance from the highest point down to the ground directly below, and then adds a rule for a fence with different ground on each side: it is measured on the shorter side. The sentence says minimum height rather than maximum, which is the opposite of how every other city read for this site words the same idea, and the section gives no second sentence to settle which one a tall fence is judged against.
G. Where there is a grade difference on either side of a fence or wall, the minimum height of the fence or wall shall be measured on the shorter side.
Hanford Municipal Code, rules of measurement, F and G
Also on how height is measured in Hanford
- 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 Hanford
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Hanford answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
On a Hanford corner lot the seven foot street side fence cannot start until twenty five feet back from the front lot line, more than twice the distance required on an interior side. A reverse corner lot, whose rear faces the side of the house next door, gets a second rule on top: the fence moves five feet in off the street side lot line, and the rear fence may not run out past that five foot strip.
On a corner lot along the street side lot line not exceeding seven (7) feet in height beginning at twenty-five (25) feet from the front lot line. On a reverse corner lot, the fence or wall is to be set back from the street side lot line five (5) feet.
Hanford Municipal Code 17.50.120.C
25 ftdistance from the front lot line where a corner street side fence may reach seven feet
Also on corner visibility in Hanford
- 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
Retaining wall rules in Hanford
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Hanford answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A retaining wall may stand anywhere in a required Hanford setback, grouped in one sentence with fences, hedges, garden structures, walks and driveways. That is the only time the zoning title mentions a retaining wall. It sets no height for one, no separate permit and no rule for a fence built on top, so the wall is placed by this sentence and sized by nothing.
C. Fences, walls, hedges, garden structures, walks, driveways and retaining walls may occupy any required building setback area or other open space, subject to the limitations prescribed in this title.
Hanford Municipal Code, projections into required yards, C
Also on retaining walls in Hanford
- 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 Hanford
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Hanford answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Open chain link can reach seven feet along a front lot line in Hanford, and only where the land behind it is a public or quasi-public playground or park. The permission is tied to the use rather than to the zone, so the same chain link at the same height on the house next door does not qualify. It is the only place in the section where a specific material is named.
Along a front lot line an open chain link fence up to seven (7) feet in height may be located in conjunction with a public or quasi-public playground or park use;
Hanford Municipal Code 17.50.120.G
7 ftchain link height allowed at a front lot line beside a park
Also on materials in Hanford
- 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 Hanford
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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 Hanford 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 Hanford
- 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 Hanford 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 HanfordHanford Municipal Code, Title 17, Zoning Ordinance, June 1, 2017
- 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 Hanford 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