Fence laws in Madera, California
What the Madera municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Madera sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Madera, 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
- Madera allows six feet between the rear property line and the front line of the main building, and along any rear line, and three feet in a required front or street side yard, and the answer turns on the yard, the width of the lot and the street it faces, and who has approved the extra height. The figure is 3 feet, for fence, wall or hedge in a front or street side yard.
- Permits
- Madera does not run a general fence permit, and it does run two narrower approvals.
- 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
- Madera leaves the measuring rule to the legislative body of each county and city, through its zoning ordinance.
- Corner lots
- Madera writes its corner rule as a radius rather than a triangle. The figure is 25 feet, for radius from a street corner where three feet applies.
- Retaining walls
- Madera 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 Madera fence has to be built of permanent building materials, and the code names them: wood, chain link, stone, rock, concrete block, masonry brick, brick, decorative wrought iron, or something similar the planning department approves, and the answer turns on the zone, the street the fence faces, and the setback used. The figure is 3 feet, for distance from a lot line where barbed wire is barred.
- 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 Madera?
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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 Madera 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 Madera
- 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 Madera?
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Madera answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the width of the lot and the street it faces, and who has approved the extra height.
Madera allows six feet between the rear property line and the front line of the main building, and along any rear line, and three feet in a required front or street side yard. In the residential zones the same pattern is repeated with detail added. A six foot fence may go on the street side yard property line of a fifty foot wide corner lot next to an eighty foot local street right of way, with the Community Development Director or City Engineer approving and weighing sight distance at alleys and driveways. An encroachment permit may allow more than three feet in the street side yard setback, to a maximum of six feet and no closer than twenty five feet to the front property line, and it is refused outright on a corner lot with an alley or a street along the rear line. The Planning Commission may allow eight feet behind the front forty feet of a yard on finding it will not harm the public welfare or abutting property, and may require masonry walls above eight feet to mitigate noise in a new subdivision, based on an acoustical analysis.
The Planning Commission may permit a greater height not to exceed a maximum height of eight feet (8') for that portion of a yard to the rear of the front forty feet (40') upon a determination that a greater height will not be detrimental to the public welfare or to abutting property.
The answer turns on the yard, the width of the lot and the street it faces, and who has approved the extra height.
- a required front or street side yard
- Three feet. 3 ft
- a rear or interior side yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a street side yard under an encroachment permit
- Six feet, no nearer than twenty five feet to the front property line. 25 ft
- behind the front forty feet, with Planning Commission approval
- Eight feet. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Madera
- 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 Madera?
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Madera answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Madera does not run a general fence permit, and it does run two narrower approvals. The Community Development Director or City Engineer may grant an encroachment permit for a fence over three feet inside the required street side yard setback, subject to a list of conditions about corner lots, alleys and sight distance. The Planning Commission may approve encroachments into the ten foot street side setback that the Director or Engineer cannot, and may permit greater height behind the front forty feet. A fence built, replaced or repaired inconsistently with the general section is itself a violation of that section, so repair work is caught as well as new construction.
Any fence that is constructed, replaced or repaired in a manner that is inconsistent with the provisions of this section as of the effective date of Ordinance No. 809 C.S. shall constitute a violation of this section.
Also on permits in Madera
- 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 Madera
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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 Madera 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 Madera
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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 Madera 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 Madera
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Madera 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 Madera 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.
Also on how height is measured in Madera
- no rule, documents checkedMadera sets three feet, six feet and eight feet and never says what any of them is measured from. The general fence section states the figures and the residential section repeats and refines them, and neither names a datum, sets a rule for a difference in grade between two lots, or says how a fence standing on a retaining wall is read. The only measured reference point anywhere near the topic is the twenty five foot distance from a street corner, which fixes a location rather than a height. 10-3.412Madera · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Madera
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Madera answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Madera writes its corner rule as a radius rather than a triangle. Nothing in the form of a fence, wall or screen planting may pass three feet within twenty five feet of any street corner, the same figure that applies in a required front or street side yard. Because the rule reaches screen planting as well as built fences, a hedge grown at a corner is caught by it. Sight distance appears again as a factor the Community Development Director or City Engineer weighs when approving a taller fence on the street side of a corner lot, and as a factor in an encroachment permit where a neighbor’s driveway approach sits near the rear line.
No fence, wall, or screen planting of any kind shall be constructed or grown to exceed a maximum of six feet in height between the rear property line of a lot and the front line of the main building or along any rear property line, nor to exceed three feet in height in any required front or street side yard or within 25 feet of any street corner except as may otherwise be permitted under this chapter.
25 ftradius from a street corner where three feet applies
Also on corner visibility in Madera
- 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 Madera
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Madera 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 Madera 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 Madera
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Madera answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone, the street the fence faces, and the setback used.
A Madera fence has to be built of permanent building materials, and the code names them: wood, chain link, stone, rock, concrete block, masonry brick, brick, decorative wrought iron, or something similar the planning department approves. It then names what is not permanent, in a list that leaves no argument, ruling out cast-off and secondhand material including plywood under five eighths of an inch, particle board, cardboard, paper, visqueen plastic, plastic tarp, scrap wood and scrap metal. In the R-1, R-2, R-3 and planned development zones no barbed wire may be used along any lot line or within three feet of one, and no sharp wire or point may project at the top of a fence or wall. Along a street side property line in the residential zones the fence has to be masonry, wrought iron, solid wood or a combination, with wood of cedar quality or better, waterproofed, and posts set in concrete. Masonry is mandatory along an arterial street whatever the setback, along a collector street unless the ten foot setback is used, and on a rear line facing either.
A fence may not be constructed of cast-off, secondhand, or other material not originally intended to be used for constructing or maintaining a fence, including, but not limited to plywood less than five-eighths inches thick, particle board, cardboard, paper, visqueen plastic, plastic tarp, scrap wood, scrap metal, or similar material.
The answer turns on the zone, the street the fence faces, and the setback used.
- any fence in the city
- Permanent building materials only, and nothing cast-off or secondhand.
- the R-1, R-2, R-3 and planned development zones
- No barbed wire on or within three feet of a lot line, and no sharp points on top. 3 ft
- a fence along an arterial street
- Masonry, whatever the setback.
Also on materials in Madera
- 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 Madera
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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 Madera 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 Madera
- 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 Madera 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 MaderaMunicipal Code, Chapter 3, Zoning, Section 10-3.506, R; Fences, Walls and Hedges
- 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
- City of MaderaMunicipal Code, Chapter 3, Zoning, Section 10-3.412, Fences, Walls and Hedges
- 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 Madera 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