Fence laws in Huntington Park, California
What the Huntington Park municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Huntington Park sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Huntington Park, California, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Any new residential development in Huntington Park of two or more dwelling units, but not an addition or a minor improvement, has to provide a block wall of at least six feet along the side and rear property lines, architecturally compatible with the proposed theme. The figure is 6 feet, for minimum block wall on a new multi-unit development.
- How tall
- In the R-L, R-M and R-H zones of Huntington Park no fence may exceed eight feet above the natural level of the ground or the adjacent finish grade, and eight feet may be built anywhere on a residential lot except where the article restricts it, and the answer turns on the yard, the shape of the lot, and how much of the fence can be seen through. The figure is 8 feet, for fence or wall on a residential lot.
- Permits
- Nobody in Huntington Park may erect or construct a fence or wall, or have one built, without first obtaining a separate permit for each one, and the article sets no height threshold and no exemption.
- 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
- Huntington Park defines height for the whole fence article as the vertical distance from the top of the uppermost vertical projection down to the grade beneath, so a post cap, a finial or a raised pilaster counts rather than being treated as decoration.
- Corner lots
- Huntington Park answers corner clearance in two places that do not agree, and both are quoted below rather than one being picked as the winner.
- Retaining walls
- Huntington Park 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 Huntington Park fence may be wrought iron, wood, concrete block, brick or vinyl, and vinyl carries a condition of its own: it has to duplicate a wood grain appearance, and the answer turns on the zone, and whether the fence stands in a front yard.
- 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 Huntington Park?
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Huntington Park answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Any new residential development in Huntington Park of two or more dwelling units, but not an addition or a minor improvement, has to provide a block wall of at least six feet along the side and rear property lines, architecturally compatible with the proposed theme. A block wall is defined in the same article as slump block, split face brick, concrete or other decorative masonry, with no other building material allowed except interior reinforcement and exterior plaster. A parking lot abutting residential land may carry an eight foot wall on the common boundary, dropping to three feet where it meets a required front setback, and a parking lot facing housing across a street is held to three feet set five feet back from the front line.
Any new residential development of two or more dwelling units, but excluding additions and minor improvements, shall provide a block wall not less than six (6′-0″) feet in height along the side and rear property lines, except where expressly prohibited by this section.
9-2.1704(h), 9-2.1701 and 9-2.1705
6 ftminimum block wall on a new multi-unit development
Also on fences on the property line in Huntington Park
- 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 Huntington Park?
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Huntington Park answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the shape of the lot, and how much of the fence can be seen through.
In the R-L, R-M and R-H zones of Huntington Park no fence may exceed eight feet above the natural level of the ground or the adjacent finish grade, and eight feet may be built anywhere on a residential lot except where the article restricts it. Inside the front yard setback, or the building setback where that is less, the limit is sixty inches, of which only the first thirty inches may be solid and view obscuring, with everything above that required to be non-view obscuring. On a corner lot the height along the street line is decided by the Director of Community Development at the intersection of two public streets. An eight foot fence may run along the street line of a corner lot behind the front setback to the rear property line, and on a reversed corner lot it has to stop at least ten feet short of the rear line.
No fence shall be greater than eight (8′-0″) feet in height above the natural level of the ground in any area or finish grade adjacent thereto.
The answer turns on the yard, the shape of the lot, and how much of the fence can be seen through.
- anywhere on a residential lot
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- the front yard or building setback, whichever is less
- Sixty inches, solid only for the first thirty. 60 in
- the street line of a reversed corner lot
- Eight feet, stopping ten feet short of the rear property line. 10 ft
Also on fence height in Huntington Park
- 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 Huntington Park?
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Huntington Park answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Nobody in Huntington Park may erect or construct a fence or wall, or have one built, without first obtaining a separate permit for each one, and the article sets no height threshold and no exemption. A fee is paid on the current schedule set by the City Council. A fence lawfully built before 17 May 1967 that does not meet the location and height rules is classified as nonconforming and falls under the city’s nonconforming use provisions rather than being required to come down.
No person shall erect or construct any fence or wall in the City, or cause the same to be done, without first obtaining a separate permit for each such fence or wall.
9-2.1702, 9-2.1703 and 9-2.1711
Also on permits in Huntington Park
- 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 Huntington Park
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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 Huntington Park 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 Huntington Park
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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 Huntington Park 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 Huntington Park
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Huntington Park answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Huntington Park defines height for the whole fence article as the vertical distance from the top of the uppermost vertical projection down to the grade beneath, so a post cap, a finial or a raised pilaster counts rather than being treated as decoration. Where two adjoining lots sit at different levels, a fence on the line between them is measured from the finished grade of the higher lot, so the owner standing lower cannot gain height from the drop.
"Height"means the vertical distance measured from the top of the uppermost vertical projection to the grade beneath.
Also on how height is measured in Huntington Park
- 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 Huntington Park
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Huntington Park says two different things about this. Both are quoted below, and neither one is treated as the right answer.
Huntington Park draws its corner cutback as a triangle with ten foot legs and then gives two different answers about what may stand inside it. The definitions section says in no case may landscaping or structures in the required cutback exceed two feet six inches above the established street grade. The operative sections on reversed corner lots and on alley intersections allow a fence or wall of up to eight feet inside the same cutback, provided only the first thirty inches is solid and everything above that is non-view obscuring with at least eighty percent visibility. The two are hard to read together: one is a flat ceiling on anything in the area and the other permits more than three times that height on a transparency condition. Neither refers to the other, and the corner cutback is separately made subject to review and approval by the City Traffic Engineer.
Two provisions disagree. Both are printed, and this page does not pick a winner.
Two feet six inches, with no exception offered.
In no case shall landscaping and/or structures permitted in the required corner cutback area exceed two (2′) feet six (6″) inches in height, measured from the established street grade.
Eight feet, if only the bottom thirty inches is solid and the rest is eighty percent visible.
A fence or wall not greater than eight (8′-0″) feet in height may be constructed within the required corner cut-back area, provided that the first thirty (30″) inches above the natural ground or finished grade may be constructed solid and view obscuring, anything above the first thirty (30″) inches shall be non-view obscuring and constructed so as to have a minimum of 80% visibility.
Also on corner visibility in Huntington Park
- 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 Huntington Park
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Huntington Park 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 Huntington Park 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 Huntington Park
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Huntington Park answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone, and whether the fence stands in a front yard.
A Huntington Park fence may be wrought iron, wood, concrete block, brick or vinyl, and vinyl carries a condition of its own: it has to duplicate a wood grain appearance. Chain link fences and chain link gates of any type are not permitted on any residentially zoned or developed property. In a front yard the fence has to be decorative open fencing such as wrought iron, block has to be decorative in finish such as slump block, brick or decorative stone, and stucco over block is allowed only where its color matches the primary color of the house. Two bans reach the whole city with no exception written for any zone: no electrically charged fence may be erected, constructed or maintained, and no barbed wire or other sharp-pointed material may be either.
Fence or wall materials shall include wrought iron, wood, concrete block, brick and vinyl. Vinyl fences must duplicate a wood grain appearance. Chain link fences or chain link gates of any type shall not be permitted on any residentially zoned or developed property.
9-2.1704(f) and (g), 9-2.1709 and 9-2.1710
The answer turns on the zone, and whether the fence stands in a front yard.
- any residentially zoned or developed property
- No chain link fence or gate of any type.
- a front yard
- Decorative open fencing, or decorative block, with stucco matching the house color.
- anywhere in the city
- No electrically charged fence, barbed wire or other sharp-pointed material.
Also on materials in Huntington Park
- 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 Huntington Park
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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 Huntington Park 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 Huntington Park
- 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 Huntington Park itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- California LegislatureCalifornia Civil Code Section 841, Good Neighbor Fence Act of 2013
- City of Huntington ParkMunicipal Code, Chapter 9-2, Article 17, Section 9-2.1704, Residential zones
- 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 Huntington Park 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