Fence laws in La Mesa, California
What the La Mesa municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where La Mesa sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in La Mesa, 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
- La Mesa allows four feet inside the minimum front setback for a principal building and six feet anywhere else, and the answer turns on the setback, the shape of the block, and whether a special permit has been granted. The figure is 4 feet, for fence or wall in the minimum front setback.
- Permits
- California does not write its own building code from scratch.
- Pool barriers
- A La Mesa pool barrier has to reach sixty inches above the grade on the side facing away from the water, with no more than four inches of clearance underneath to a hard surface or two inches to earth. The figure is 60 inches, for minimum height of a pool barrier.
- 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
- La Mesa does not pick a side. The figure is 10 feet, for longest section over which one reading is taken.
- Corner lots
- La Mesa draws its sight triangle at the junction of two streets, two alleys, two driveways or any combination of them, so an ordinary residential driveway is treated the same as a street corner. The figure is 15 feet, for leg of the sight distance triangle.
- Retaining walls
- La Mesa limits a retaining wall inside a required setback by the job it does rather than by its own dimension, and the answer turns on whether the wall holds a fill or a cut. The figure is 3 feet, for fill a setback retaining wall may hold.
- Materials
- La Mesa does not ban security materials, it lifts them out of reach, and the answer turns on how high the material sits above the ground nearby, and whether the building official has approved it. The figure is 8 feet, for lowest point of barbed wire or similar material.
- 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 La Mesa?
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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 La Mesa 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 La Mesa
- 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 La Mesa?
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La Mesa answers this, but the answer changes depending on the setback, the shape of the block, and whether a special permit has been granted.
La Mesa allows four feet inside the minimum front setback for a principal building and six feet anywhere else. More is available by special permit, and the ground the code names for it is privacy: where topographic or other conditions reduce the effectiveness of a normal height fence. A corner lot that abuts another corner lot sharing a common rear property line may have six feet inside the reduced front setback. A fence around a tennis or handball court or similar approved recreational facility is allowed except in a required front or side setback, and a fence may also be required as a condition of a site development plan to reduce the impact of a development on its neighbors. Nothing in any of this may pass the height the sight distance rules allow.
Fences or walls within the minimum front setback for a principal building shall not exceed four feet in height. Fences or walls in any other location shall not exceed six feet in height. However, fences or walls of greater height may be allowed by special permit, where topographic or other conditions reduce the effectiveness of normal height fences for privacy.
The answer turns on the setback, the shape of the block, and whether a special permit has been granted.
- the minimum front setback for a principal building
- Four feet. 4 ft
- anywhere else on the lot
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a corner lot sharing a rear line with another corner lot
- Six feet inside the reduced front setback. 6 ft
- a lot where topography defeats an ordinary fence
- More, by special permit.
Also on fence height in La Mesa
- 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 La Mesa?
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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 La Mesa 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 La Mesa
- 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 La Mesa
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La Mesa answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A La Mesa pool barrier has to reach sixty inches above the grade on the side facing away from the water, with no more than four inches of clearance underneath to a hard surface or two inches to earth. No opening may pass a four inch sphere. Where the barrier is made of horizontal and vertical members less than forty five inches apart, the horizontals go on the pool side and the verticals no more than two inches apart, and where they are forty five inches or more apart the verticals may be four inches apart. Chain link is capped at a two inch square mesh in wire no lighter than eleven and a half gauge, and a lattice fence at a two inch square opening. Pedestrian gates open outward away from the pool, are self-closing and self-latching, and take a locking device at sixty inches. The rules bite at eighteen inches of water, and where the house forms part of the barrier one of four child safety features is required.
The top of the barrier shall be at least sixty inches above grade measured on the side of the barrier which faces away from the swimming pool and shall be constructed to withstand the forces outlined in the Building Code.
60 inminimum height of a pool barrier
Also on pool barriers in La Mesa
- 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 La Mesa
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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 La Mesa 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 La Mesa
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La Mesa answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
La Mesa does not pick a side. Height is read from the midpoint between the finished surface grades on both sides of the fence, so neither owner gains from the drop, and the reading is taken again along every section of no more than ten feet, which stops one favorable spot governing a long run on uneven ground. The same rule expressly covers any combination of a freestanding fence or wall standing on top of a retaining wall, so the two are measured together rather than separately.
The height of any fences or walls (including any combination of freestanding fence or wall on top of a retaining wall) shall be measured from the midpoint between the finished surface grades on both sides of the fence or wall, measured along sections not exceeding ten feet in length.
10 ftlongest section over which one reading is taken
Also on how height is measured in La Mesa
- 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 La Mesa
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La Mesa answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
La Mesa draws its sight triangle at the junction of two streets, two alleys, two driveways or any combination of them, so an ordinary residential driveway is treated the same as a street corner. Nothing higher than thirty six inches above the grade of the adjacent curb or edge of pavement may stand there, and the rule names structures, fences, shrubs and parking alongside any other physical obstruction. The triangle is built from an angle formed by extending the right of way lines, two sides measured back fifteen feet along those extensions, and a third side connecting them. Where an intersection involves a private street or driveway with no right of way line, the lines are taken along the back of the sidewalk, the face of the curb or the edge of the pavement.
At the junction of two streets, alleys, driveways or any combination thereof, there shall be maintained triangular-shaped areas for sight distance purposes within which no structure, fence, shrub, parking, or other physical obstruction shall be allowed which is higher than thirty-six inches above the grade of the adjacent curb or edge of pavement.
15 ftleg of the sight distance triangle
Also on corner visibility in La Mesa
- 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 La Mesa
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La Mesa answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the wall holds a fill or a cut.
La Mesa limits a retaining wall inside a required setback by the job it does rather than by its own dimension. In a required front, rear or side setback the wall may be no taller than is needed to retain a fill of three feet or a cut of six. The distinction matters because a fill is earth the owner brought in and a cut is ground that was already there, so the code gives twice as much allowance for holding back existing hillside as for holding up new ground. Outside the required setbacks the retaining wall is not separately capped, but anything standing on top of it is measured from the combined structure.
Retaining walls within any required minimum front, rear or side yard setback shall not exceed a height needed to retain (i) a fill of three feet or (ii) a cut of six feet.
The answer turns on whether the wall holds a fill or a cut.
- a retaining wall holding a fill, inside a required setback
- Only as tall as needed to retain three feet. 3 ft
- a retaining wall holding a cut, inside a required setback
- Only as tall as needed to retain six feet. 6 ft
Also on retaining walls in La Mesa
- 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 La Mesa
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La Mesa answers this, but the answer changes depending on how high the material sits above the ground nearby, and whether the building official has approved it.
La Mesa does not ban security materials, it lifts them out of reach. Barbed wire, projecting nails, broken glass, electrical shock equipment and similar security type materials are prohibited unless the bottom of them sits at least eight feet above the highest adjacent grade within five feet of the face of the fence, which ties the measurement to the ground somebody could actually stand on rather than to the base of the fence. The chief building official may approve them below that height. Neither the building chapter nor the residential development standards names an approved material for an ordinary fence.
Unless approved by the chief building official, no fence shall be equipped with barbed wire, projecting nails, broken glass, electrical shock equipment or similar security type materials, unless the bottom of such materials or equipment is placed at a height of not less than eight feet above any point of adjacent highest grade located within a five foot distance from the face of the fence.
The answer turns on how high the material sits above the ground nearby, and whether the building official has approved it.
- security material below eight feet
- Prohibited, unless the chief building official approves it.
- security material at eight feet or above
- Allowed, measured from the highest ground within five feet of the fence. 8 ft
Also on materials in La Mesa
- 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 La Mesa
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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 La Mesa 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 La Mesa
- 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 La Mesa 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 La MesaMunicipal Code, Title 24, Chapter 24.05, Section 24.05.030(I), Fences and Retaining Walls
- 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
- City of La MesaMunicipal Code, Title 14, Building Regulations, Chapter 14.20, Fences
- 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 La Mesa 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