Fence laws in Rancho Cucamonga, California
What the Rancho Cucamonga municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Rancho Cucamonga sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Rancho Cucamonga, 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
- Six feet is allowed in a side or rear yard and in a street side yard. The figure is 5 feet, for least setback from the property line for a new street side fence. It reaches a street side yard only.
- Permits
- Two more feet of height is available through a Minor Exception from the Planning Department, and the process puts it in front of the neighbors. The figure is 2 feet, for extra height a Minor Exception can allow.
- 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
- Rancho Cucamonga measures a fence between two lots at different levels from the mid-point of the retaining wall height, taken on the side with the lowest finished grade.
- Corner lots
- California writes no clear view triangle into state law. It reaches the right of way of a state highway, whether or not the whole width is paved only.
- Retaining walls
- A retaining wall in Rancho Cucamonga stops at four feet wherever it stands on the lot, and where walls are stepped they have to sit at least three feet apart. The figure is 4 feet, for a retaining wall anywhere on the property.
- Materials
- A fence put up for screening or privacy in a Rancho Cucamonga residential district has to be one of four things: solid wood on a steel frame, solid vinyl, tubular steel or wrought iron. It reaches fences and gates approved for screening or privacy in residential districts only.
- 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 Rancho Cucamonga?
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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 Rancho Cucamonga 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 Rancho Cucamonga
- 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 Rancho Cucamonga?
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Rancho Cucamonga answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Six feet is allowed in a side or rear yard and in a street side yard. The street side carries a condition the others do not: a new fence or wall has to stand at least five feet back from the property line. So on a corner lot the six foot fence is available but not on the line itself, and the five feet of ground in front of it stays open. No other city on this site pairs a height allowance with a setback like that.
New fences and walls require a minimum setback of five (5) feet from the property line.
Rancho Cucamonga Development Code 17.48.050
5 ftleast setback from the property line for a new street side fence
Also on fence height in Rancho Cucamonga
- 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 pageIn a Rancho Cucamonga front yard a solid fence stops at three feet and an open one, wood picket or wrought iron, may reach six. The useful part is that the two may be combined: a low solid base with open fencing above it, up to six feet all in. Several cities on this site allow open fences more height and only this one and San Diego say plainly that the two can be stacked rather than leaving somebody to guess. Rancho Cucamonga Development Code 17.48.050Rancho Cucamonga · Zoning code
Do I need a permit for a fence in Rancho Cucamonga?
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Rancho Cucamonga answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Two more feet of height is available through a Minor Exception from the Planning Department, and the process puts it in front of the neighbors. The adjacent owners are notified, there is a ten day comment period, and the Planning Director decides at the end of it. Findings have to be made to allow the extra height, so it is not automatic. Huntington Beach reaches a similar place by a different road, asking for notification instead of any application at all.
Adjacent property owners will be notified of the application and be given an opportunity to comment.
Rancho Cucamonga Development Code 17.16.110 and 17.16.025
2 ftextra height a Minor Exception can allow
Also on permits in Rancho Cucamonga
- 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 Rancho Cucamonga
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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 Rancho Cucamonga 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 Rancho Cucamonga
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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 Rancho Cucamonga 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 Rancho Cucamonga
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Rancho Cucamonga answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Rancho Cucamonga measures a fence between two lots at different levels from the mid-point of the retaining wall height, taken on the side with the lowest finished grade. That is a fourth answer to a question four cities on this site answer four different ways. Santa Rosa reads from the lowest grade outright, Long Beach averages both sides, San Diego uses the lowest ground touching the fence. On flat ground the ordinary rule applies: finished grade at the base up to the uppermost part of the fence.
the fence or wall shall be measured at the mid-point of the retaining wall height as measured on the side with the lowest finished grade
Rancho Cucamonga Development Code 17.48.030
Also on how height is measured in Rancho Cucamonga
- 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 Rancho Cucamonga
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California answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
California 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.
This one is California law, not Rancho Cucamonga law. All California findings
“Encroachment” includes any tower, pole, pole line, pipe, pipe line, fence, billboard, stand or building, or any structure, object of any kind or character not particularly mentioned in this section, or special event, which is in, under, or over any portion of the highway.
Retaining wall rules in Rancho Cucamonga
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Rancho Cucamonga answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A retaining wall in Rancho Cucamonga stops at four feet wherever it stands on the lot, and where walls are stepped they have to sit at least three feet apart. That forces a tall slope to be held by two or three benched walls with planting between them rather than one high wall. San Diego does the same thing with a different pair of numbers, three foot walls separated by the height of the upper one.
Retaining walls have a maximum height of four (4) feet and a minimum separation of three (3) feet between stepped walls, regardless of where the retaining walls are located on the property.
Rancho Cucamonga Development Code 17.120.020
4 fta retaining wall anywhere on the property
Also on retaining walls in Rancho Cucamonga
- 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 Rancho Cucamonga
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Rancho Cucamonga answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A fence put up for screening or privacy in a Rancho Cucamonga residential district has to be one of four things: solid wood on a steel frame, solid vinyl, tubular steel or wrought iron. Where tubular steel or wrought iron is used it has to be backed with solid or perforated metal sheeting painted to match, because the point of it is screening and open metal does not screen. Perimeter walls around a development have to be decorative block, split face, fluted, or block finished in stucco or stackstone.
shall be solid wood with steel frames, solid vinyl, tubular steel or wrought iron
Rancho Cucamonga Development Code 17.48
Also on materials in Rancho Cucamonga
- 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
- set in state lawChain link cannot be used for screening in any zone in Rancho Cucamonga, residential or otherwise. Most cities on this site restrict chain link by where it is: not in a front yard, not where the street can see it, not over a certain height. Rancho Cucamonga bans it for a purpose instead, which reaches every zone in the city at once. Rancho Cucamonga Development Code 17.48Rancho Cucamonga · Zoning code
Livestock and boundary fence law in Rancho Cucamonga
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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 Rancho Cucamonga 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 Rancho Cucamonga
- 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 Rancho Cucamonga 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 Rancho Cucamonga, Planning DepartmentResidential Fence and Wall Information, November 2024
- 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 Rancho Cucamonga 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