Fence laws in Roseville, California
What the Roseville municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Roseville sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Roseville, California, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Roseville states plainly that public utility equipment sitting on private land may not be obstructed, covered or made inaccessible by a fence. It reaches public utility equipment standing on private property only.
- How tall
- Roseville allows seven feet, which is a foot more than most California cities on this site, and the answer turns on where on the lot the fence stands. The figure is 7 feet, for general fence height including lattice.
- Permits
- Going above seven feet in Roseville is possible and the route changes at eight, and the answer turns on whether the extra height stops at eight feet or goes past it. The figure is 8 feet, for the ceiling an Administrative Permit can reach.
- 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 Roseville lots sit at different pad heights, the fence between them is measured from the finished grade of the higher one.
- Corner lots
- Roseville builds its clear vision triangle from two legs of different lengths, and the answer turns on whether the triangle is at a street intersection or a driveway, and whether the lot is residential or commercial. The figure is 25 feet, for the approach leg of the clear vision triangle. It reaches corner lots and driveways only.
- Retaining walls
- Roseville 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
- California sets a wire standard for a lawful fence in grazing counties. The figure is 3 strands, for barbed wires in a lawful wire fence. It reaches lawful fences in grazing counties 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 Roseville?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Roseville answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Roseville states plainly that public utility equipment sitting on private land may not be obstructed, covered or made inaccessible by a fence. The rule catches the transformer cabinet, the backflow device and the meter pedestal that a boundary fence would otherwise be run straight past, and it applies even though the equipment stands on private property. No other city read for this site prints that rule in its fence handout.
Public utility equipment on private property may not be obstructed, covered, or made inaccessible by fences.
Roseville Municipal Code 14.24.200
Also on fences on the property line in Roseville
- 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 Roseville?
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Roseville answers this, but the answer changes depending on where on the lot the fence stands.
Roseville allows seven feet, which is a foot more than most California cities on this site. It then takes that down to three feet in three named places: inside a clear vision triangle, inside the required front setback, and within five feet of the back of the sidewalk on the street side of a corner lot. That last one is a setback from the sidewalk rather than from the property line, so on a corner lot the tall fence starts five feet in from where the pavement ends.
Fences are allowed up to a maximum height of seven (7) feet including lattice or similar attachments with the following exceptions:
Roseville Municipal Code Title 19.22
The answer turns on where on the lot the fence stands.
- anywhere not named below
- Seven feet, and lattice on top counts toward it. 7 ft
- inside a clear vision triangle or the required front setback
- Three feet. 3 ft
- within five feet of the back of the sidewalk on the street side of a corner lot
- Three feet, measured from the back of the right of way where there is no sidewalk. 5 ft
Also on fence height in Roseville
- 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 Roseville?
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Roseville answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the extra height stops at eight feet or goes past it.
Going above seven feet in Roseville is possible and the route changes at eight. Up to eight feet the city can approve it with an Administrative Permit. Above eight feet it becomes a Conditional Use Permit, which is a public hearing rather than a counter decision. Both are judged on unusual or special circumstances such as noise attenuation or a buffer next to certain land uses, so neither is a height somebody is entitled to.
Fences up to eight (8) feet in height may be allowed through approval of an Administrative Permit.
Roseville Municipal Code Title 19.22
The answer turns on whether the extra height stops at eight feet or goes past it.
- above seven feet but not above eight
- An Administrative Permit. 8 ft
- above eight feet
- A Conditional Use Permit.
Also on permits in Roseville
- 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 Roseville
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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 Roseville 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 Roseville
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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 Roseville 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 Roseville
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Roseville answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Where two Roseville lots sit at different pad heights, the fence between them is measured from the finished grade of the higher one. Seven feet on the high side can stand nine or ten feet above the ground on the low side and still be within the limit, because the measurement never starts from the lower lot. Lattice and similar attachments count toward the total as well, so a topper added later can put an existing fence over.
When there is a difference between pad grades of two adjoining parcels, the height of the fence or wall is determined by using the finished grade of the highest contiguous parcel.
Roseville Municipal Code Title 19.22
Also on how height is measured in Roseville
- 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 Roseville
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Roseville answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the triangle is at a street intersection or a driveway, and whether the lot is residential or commercial.
Roseville builds its clear vision triangle from two legs of different lengths. Twenty five feet runs along the back of curb on the side a driver approaches from, and seventy five feet runs along the curb of the street the driver departs on. The shape therefore depends on the direction traffic moves through the corner rather than on the corner itself, and the long leg reaches two thirds again as far as the longest symmetrical triangle anywhere else on this site. Commercial lots use thirty feet for the front line. At a driveway the triangle drops to ten feet by ten feet.
the triangular area created by the diagonal connection (hypotenuse) of two points measured twenty-five (25) feet along the back-of-curb (BOC) on the right-hand side of the vehicle as it approaches the intersection to turn right, and seventy-five (75) feet along the perpendicular side of the back of curb on the right-hand side of the vehicle as it completes the turn and departs the intersection.
Roseville Municipal Code Title 19.22
The answer turns on whether the triangle is at a street intersection or a driveway, and whether the lot is residential or commercial.
- at a residential street intersection, on the approach side
- Twenty five feet along the back of curb. 25 ft
- at a residential street intersection, on the departure side
- Seventy five feet along the back of curb. 75 ft
- at a driveway
- Ten feet along the edge of the driveway and ten feet along the back of curb. 10 ft
Also on corner visibility in Roseville
- 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 Roseville
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Roseville 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 Roseville 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 Roseville
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California answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
California 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.
This one is California law, not Roseville 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.
3 strandsbarbed wires in a lawful wire fence
Livestock and boundary fence law in Roseville
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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 Roseville 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 Roseville
- 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 Roseville itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- California LegislatureCalifornia Civil Code Section 841, Good Neighbor Fence Act of 2013
- City of Roseville, Development Services Department, Planning DivisionResidential Fences and Walls, Fence Handout
- 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 Roseville 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