Fence laws in Rocklin, California
What the Rocklin municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Rocklin sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Rocklin, 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
- Rocklin holds a residential front yard setback to thirty inches, and applies the same thirty inches to the street side setback of a reverse corner lot and to the front and street side setbacks of nonresidential land, and the answer turns on the zone, the setback, and whether the fence can be seen through. The figure is 30 inches, for fence or wall in the required front yard setback.
- Permits
- Any height above the Rocklin table needs a conditional use permit.
- 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
- Rocklin attaches the datum to each figure rather than stating it once, repeating the phrase as measured from finished grade after every height in the residential and nonresidential sections.
- Corner lots
- Rocklin leaves corner clearance to the Visibility Requirements in the City of Rocklin Construction Specifications, Improvement Standards, and Standard Drawings, an engineering document adopted by the City Council rather than a codified section.
- Retaining walls
- Rocklin 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
- Rocklin allows wood, masonry, metal, chain link, decorative tubular metal, and anything else the community development director approves, and the answer turns on the material, the zone, and whether the fence can be seen from the street.
- 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 Rocklin?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
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 Rocklin 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 Rocklin
- 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 Rocklin?
Compare fence height across all 50 states
Rocklin answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone, the setback, and whether the fence can be seen through.
Rocklin holds a residential front yard setback to thirty inches, and applies the same thirty inches to the street side setback of a reverse corner lot and to the front and street side setbacks of nonresidential land. Outside those setbacks a residential fence may reach six feet along and inside the interior side, street side and rear property lines, and a nonresidential one eight. The relief is written in terms of transparency rather than height: on rural estate, rural agricultural, multifamily and all nonresidential lots, a decorative nonsolid tubular metal fence designed to allow visibility through and between its members may go to six feet inside those setbacks. A conditional use permit may exceed any of the figures, and the planning director may allow a six foot fence in the street side setback of a reverse corner lot where specific findings about traffic and pedestrian conditions can be made.
Within the required front yard setback area and the required street side yard setback area, as applicable, of residential lots located within the Rural Estate (RE), Rural Agricultural (RA), and multi-family residential zone districts, and all lots in nonresidential zone districts a decorative, nonsolid, tubular metal fence that is designed to allow visibility through and between the fence members may be erected to a maximum height of six feet.
17.76.010, 17.76.020 and 17.76.030.A
The answer turns on the zone, the setback, and whether the fence can be seen through.
- a required front yard setback, residential or not
- Thirty inches. 30 in
- outside the front setback on a residential lot
- Six feet. 6 ft
- outside the front setback on a nonresidential lot
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a see-through tubular metal fence on rural, multifamily or nonresidential land
- Six feet, even inside the front and street side setbacks. 6 ft
Also on fence height in Rocklin
- 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 Rocklin?
Compare permits across all 50 states
Rocklin answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Any height above the Rocklin table needs a conditional use permit. One narrower route exists alongside it. The owner of a reverse corner lot may apply for an administrative variance from the planning director to put a six foot fence in the street side setback, on a city form carrying the applicant details, the site address and parcel number, a description of the fencing and a site plan showing where it goes. The director has to find that the fence is not detrimental to health, safety or general welfare and that the situation creates a traffic and pedestrian interface substantially similar to a typical residential lot, weighing topography, grade differences, existing or needed retaining walls, unusual road curvature and the position of the neighbor’s driveway. The decision may be appealed to the planning commission under Chapter 17.86.
The height limits specified in Sections 17.76.010 and 17.76.020 may be exceeded when authorized by an approved conditional use permit.
Also on permits in Rocklin
- 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 Rocklin
Compare pool barriers across all 50 states
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 Rocklin 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 Rocklin
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
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 Rocklin 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 Rocklin
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Rocklin answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Rocklin attaches the datum to each figure rather than stating it once, repeating the phrase as measured from finished grade after every height in the residential and nonresidential sections. That leaves no doubt about the starting point on level ground. What the chapter does not carry is a rule for a difference in grade between two lots or for a fence standing on a retaining wall, so neither of those cases is settled by the text. Grade differences and retaining walls appear once, as factors the planning director may weigh when deciding a reverse corner lot fence.
Outside of the required front yard setback area of interior and corner lots fences and walls may be erected along and inside the interior side, street side, and rear property lines to a height not exceeding six feet as measured from finished grade.
Also on how height is measured in Rocklin
- 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 Rocklin
Compare corner visibility across all 50 states
Rocklin does not set this. It leaves it to the Visibility Requirements in the City of Rocklin Construction Specifications, Improvement Standards, and Standard Drawings, an engineering document adopted by the City Council rather than a codified section.
Rocklin does not print a sight triangle in its zoning code. The intersection section overrides every height rule in the chapter and then sends the reader to the Visibility Requirements in the City of Rocklin Construction Specifications, Improvement Standards, and Standard Drawings approved by the City Council. That is an engineering document rather than a codified section, so the geometry and the controlling height for a corner lot are not findable in the municipal code at all.
Notwithstanding Sections 17.76.010, 17.76.020 and 17.76.030, no fence, wall, or other structure may be erected that is not consistent with the Visibility Requirements contained in the City of Rocklin, Construction Specifications, Improvement Standards, and Standard Drawings approved by the City Council.
The code hands this to the Visibility Requirements in the City of Rocklin Construction Specifications, Improvement Standards, and Standard Drawings, an engineering document adopted by the City Council rather than a codified section, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Rocklin
- 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 Rocklin
Compare retaining walls across all 50 states
Rocklin 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 Rocklin 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 Rocklin
Compare materials across all 50 states
Rocklin answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material, the zone, and whether the fence can be seen from the street.
Rocklin allows wood, masonry, metal, chain link, decorative tubular metal, and anything else the community development director approves. Wire including barbed wire is permitted only to enclose livestock as the code defines it. The tubular metal option carries a specification most codes leave out: it has to be dark colored with a smooth horizontal rail on top, and pointed or open rod topped styles are prohibited. Chain link is allowed in commercial and industrial areas when approved through design review, and in residential zones only along interior side or rear lot lines where it is not in a front or street side yard and not visible from the public right of way. Chain link already standing when the ordinance took effect may remain, but residential chain link visible from the street has to be replaced with a different material when it is replaced at all.
Decorative, tubular metal fencing. All tubular fencing shall be dark colored and have a smooth horizontal rail on top, pointed or open rod topped styles are prohibited;
The answer turns on the material, the zone, and whether the fence can be seen from the street.
- a residential front or street side yard
- No chain link, and nothing visible as chain link from the street.
- a commercial or industrial area
- Chain link with or without slats, approved through design review.
- wire, including barbed wire
- Only to enclose livestock.
Also on materials in Rocklin
- 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 Rocklin
Compare agricultural fencing across all 50 states
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 Rocklin 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 Rocklin
- 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 Rocklin 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 RocklinMunicipal Code, Title 17, Chapter 17.76, Fences and 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
- 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 Rocklin 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