Fence laws in Mission Viejo, California
What the Mission Viejo municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Mission Viejo sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Mission Viejo, California, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Where housing in Mission Viejo backs onto a public park, open space or a major right of way, a fence or wall is required rather than optional, and the code puts it on the developer to build before construction finishes rather than on the eventual owner.
- How tall
- Mission Viejo writes the whole height rule as one sentence with three exceptions, and the answer turns on whether the fence is in a front setback, a street side setback or a traffic safety sight area. The figure is 6 feet, for fence, wall or hedge away from a setback or sight area.
- 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
- Where two Mission Viejo lots sit at different levels, the code picks the higher one.
- Corner lots
- On a Mission Viejo corner parcel nothing over forty two inches above the nearest street curb elevation may be built, placed, planted or allowed to grow inside a traffic safety sight area, and the rule names shrubbery, mounds of earth and signs alongside fences so a planted or graded obstruction is caught as well. The figure is 42 inches, for anything inside a traffic safety sight area.
- Retaining walls
- Crib block, the interlocking open-faced wall normally used to hold a slope, is not permitted as of right in Mission Viejo and is not banned either.
- Materials
- Mission Viejo narrows chain link to a single ordinary use, and the answer turns on the material, and whether the fence can be seen from a public right of way.
- 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 Mission Viejo?
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Mission Viejo answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where housing in Mission Viejo backs onto a public park, open space or a major right of way, a fence or wall is required rather than optional, and the code puts it on the developer to build before construction finishes rather than on the eventual owner. Both sides of a perimeter wall or fence have to be architecturally treated, which removes the usual question of which neighbor looks at the posts.
Fencing or walls are required between single-family dwellings or residential developments which are adjacent to public parks, open spaces, and/or major rights-of-way. The permanent fencing or walls are to be provided by the developer prior to the completion of construction.
Also on fences on the property line in Mission Viejo
- 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 Mission Viejo?
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Mission Viejo answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is in a front setback, a street side setback or a traffic safety sight area.
Mission Viejo writes the whole height rule as one sentence with three exceptions. A fence, wall or hedge may be six feet anywhere on a parcel, except in a traffic safety sight area, a required front setback or a street side setback, where forty two inches is the limit. The code then leaves the door open for other parts of the title to set something different in those three places. A hedge counts the same as a wall throughout, so planting is not a way around the front yard figure.
A maximum six-foot-high fence, wall, or hedge may be located anywhere on a parcel except in a traffic safety sight area, a required front setback, or street-side setback. The maximum height in these locations shall be 42 inches or as required by other regulations within this code.
The answer turns on whether the fence is in a front setback, a street side setback or a traffic safety sight area.
- most of a parcel
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a required front setback or a street side setback
- Forty two inches. 42 in
- a traffic safety sight area
- Forty two inches above the nearest street curb elevation. 42 in
Also on fence height in Mission Viejo
- 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 Mission Viejo?
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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 Mission Viejo 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 Mission Viejo
- 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 Mission Viejo
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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 Mission Viejo 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 Mission Viejo
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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 Mission Viejo 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 Mission Viejo
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Mission Viejo answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where two Mission Viejo lots sit at different levels, the code picks the higher one. A fence or wall built along the property line is measured from the finished grade of the highest contiguous parcel, so the owner standing lower cannot gain height from the drop, and the neighbor above sees the stated limit rather than something taller. The traffic safety sight area uses a different datum again, reading from the nearest street curb elevation.
When there is a difference in the ground level between two adjoining parcels, the height of any fence or wall constructed along the property line shall be determined by using the finished grade of the highest contiguous parcel.
Also on how height is measured in Mission Viejo
- 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 Mission Viejo
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Mission Viejo answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
On a Mission Viejo corner parcel nothing over forty two inches above the nearest street curb elevation may be built, placed, planted or allowed to grow inside a traffic safety sight area, and the rule names shrubbery, mounds of earth and signs alongside fences so a planted or graded obstruction is caught as well. The exceptions are listed rather than left to judgment: utility poles, a tree trimmed to the trunk at least six feet above the intersection, an open-growth sapling or plant that is not a hedge and keeps a clear crossview in all seasons, supporting members of structures already standing when the code took effect, and official warning signs or signals.
On a corner parcel, no fence, wall, hedge, sign, or other structure, shrubbery, mounds of earth, or other visual obstruction over 42 inches in height above the nearest street curb elevation shall be erected, placed, planted, or allowed to grow within a traffic safety sight area.
42 inanything inside a traffic safety sight area
Also on corner visibility in Mission Viejo
- 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 Mission Viejo
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Mission Viejo answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Crib block, the interlocking open-faced wall normally used to hold a slope, is not permitted as of right in Mission Viejo and is not banned either. The code routes it to the planning commission, and attaches two conditions before it can be considered at all: appropriate landscaping materials and a comprehensive landscape maintenance program, so the planting that fills the face of the wall has to be looked after rather than merely installed.
Crib block walls with appropriate landscaping materials and a comprehensive landscape maintenance program may be considered by the planning commission.
Also on retaining walls in Mission Viejo
- 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 Mission Viejo
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Mission Viejo answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, and whether the fence can be seen from a public right of way.
Mission Viejo narrows chain link to a single ordinary use. It is permitted in conjunction with private or commercial tennis courts, and otherwise only where some law or regulation requires it. Electrified fence and razor wire are prohibited in every zone on the same terms, and barbed wire is prohibited unless the director approves it. Where wood or uncolored cinder block is visible from a public right of way it has to carry a decorative finish compatible with the surroundings, with wood painted or stained and uncolored cinder block covered in stucco or something similar. Only one type of fence or wall design is allowed on a parcel or development, and any later addition has to use materials compatible with the original.
Chain link fencing is permitted only in conjunction with private or commercial tennis courts and where required by any law or regulation of the city, the state, or any agency thereof.
9.20.015(f)(4), (5), (7), (8), (9) and (10)
The answer turns on the material, and whether the fence can be seen from a public right of way.
- any zone
- No electrified fence and no razor wire.
- barbed wire
- Prohibited unless the director approves it.
- wood or uncolored cinder block visible from a public right of way
- A decorative finish, with wood painted or stained and block stuccoed.
Also on materials in Mission Viejo
- 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 Mission Viejo
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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 Mission Viejo 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 Mission Viejo
- 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 Mission Viejo itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- California LegislatureCalifornia Civil Code Section 841, Good Neighbor Fence Act of 2013
- City of Mission ViejoMunicipal Code, Title 9, Chapter 9.20, Section 9.20.015(f), Fences, walls and hedges
- 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 Mission Viejo 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