Fence laws in San Clemente, California
What the San Clemente municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where San Clemente sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in San Clemente, 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
- The San Clemente residential table gives three feet six inches in the front yard setback and six feet in the interior side, rear and everywhere else on the lot, and the answer turns on the part of the lot, the lot type, and whether an exception permit has been granted. The figure is 3.5 feet, for fence, wall or hedge in the front yard setback.
- Permits
- Nothing in San Clemente needs a fence permit for an ordinary fence built to the table, and the answer turns on the zone, and how much relief is being sought.
- 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
- San Clemente measures from the lower side of finished grade to the top, so on sloping ground the taller face governs and the owner standing higher gains nothing.
- Corner lots
- San Clemente protects the corner with a strip rather than a triangle. The figure is 3.5 feet, for height inside five feet of a street side property line.
- Retaining walls
- San Clemente runs a separate table for retaining walls that mirrors the fence one and then adds a twist, and the answer turns on the part of the lot, which way the wall faces, and whether the walls are stepped. The figure is 3.5 feet, for retaining wall in the front yard setback.
- Materials
- San Clemente names no permitted material for a residential fence and prohibits two.
- 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 San Clemente?
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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 San Clemente 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 San Clemente
- 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 San Clemente?
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San Clemente answers this, but the answer changes depending on the part of the lot, the lot type, and whether an exception permit has been granted.
The San Clemente residential table gives three feet six inches in the front yard setback and six feet in the interior side, rear and everywhere else on the lot. The street side yard is split by lot type. A reverse corner lot is held to three feet six inches across the whole street side setback, while an ordinary corner lot takes three feet six inches within five feet of the street side property line and six feet across the rest of it. A Minor Exception Permit can raise a front yard or street side fence to six feet. A Conditional Use Permit can take a fence in the rear half of the lot past six feet where it encloses a tennis court, a similar recreational area or a private screened outdoor area. Nonresidential fence heights are not in the table at all and are set through architectural review.
A Minor Exception Permit is required to allow the height of a fence, wall or hedge in front yards and street side yard setback areas (within five feet of property line) to be increased to a maximum of six feet per Section 17.16.080, Minor Exception Permits.
The answer turns on the part of the lot, the lot type, and whether an exception permit has been granted.
- the front yard setback area
- Three feet six inches. 3.5 ft
- an interior side, rear or other area of the lot
- Six feet. 6 ft
- within five feet of the street side line of a corner lot
- Three feet six inches. 5 ft
- a rear half enclosure for a tennis court or screened outdoor area
- More than six feet, with a Conditional Use Permit.
Also on fence height in San Clemente
- 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 San Clemente?
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San Clemente answers this, but the answer changes depending on the zone, and how much relief is being sought.
Nothing in San Clemente needs a fence permit for an ordinary fence built to the table. Height above it runs through a Minor Exception Permit in the front and street side setbacks, or a Conditional Use Permit for a tall rear half enclosure, and both carry two extra findings on top of the general ones. The decision maker has to find that the height will not be unsightly or incompatible with the character of or uses in the neighborhood, and that it will not have negative visual impacts upon the street scene or obstruct views of traffic to and from driveways. In the nonresidential zones a Development Permit is required for the fence itself, because its height and materials are decided in review rather than set in the code.
The height of the fence, wall, or hedge will not have negative visual impacts upon the street scene or obstruct views of traffic to and from driveways.
The answer turns on the zone, and how much relief is being sought.
- a residential fence built to the table
- No fence permit stated.
- extra height in a front or street side setback
- A Minor Exception Permit, with two findings about the street scene.
- any fence in a nonresidential zone
- A Development Permit, because the height and materials are set in review.
Also on permits in San Clemente
- 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 San Clemente
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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 San Clemente 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 San Clemente
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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 San Clemente 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 San Clemente
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San Clemente answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
San Clemente measures from the lower side of finished grade to the top, so on sloping ground the taller face governs and the owner standing higher gains nothing. The rule then sweeps in everything holding the fence up, naming pilasters and trellises among the structural elements that count toward the same figure, which removes the usual argument about whether a pilaster cap or an arbor over a gate is part of the fence. The retaining wall section repeats the same datum word for word.
The height of fences, hedges and walls and all structural elements supporting fences, walls and hedges, including pilasters, trellises, etc., shall be measured from the lower side of finished grade to the top of the fence, hedge or wall.
Also on how height is measured in San Clemente
- 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 San Clemente
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San Clemente answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
San Clemente protects the corner with a strip rather than a triangle. On an ordinary corner lot everything within five feet of the street side property line is held to three feet six inches, and the rest of the street side yard may go to six. A reverse corner lot, which faces the neighbor’s front yard, is held to three feet six inches across the whole street side setback. The purpose clause states the reasoning, naming unobstructed views of traffic to and from driveways alongside the open street scene, and the same test reappears as a required finding before any height exception is granted. No sight triangle is drawn and no leg length is given anywhere in the chapter.
The purpose of a stricter fence height limit in the front yard is to provide for an open street scene, to allow the primary structures on a street to be visible and to contribute to the visual character of the neighborhood, and to allow for unobstructed views of traffic to and from driveways.
17.24.090.A and Table 17.24.090
3.5 ftheight inside five feet of a street side property line
Also on corner visibility in San Clemente
- 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 San Clemente
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San Clemente answers this, but the answer changes depending on the part of the lot, which way the wall faces, and whether the walls are stepped.
San Clemente runs a separate table for retaining walls that mirrors the fence one and then adds a twist. Three feet six inches applies in the front yard setback and in the tighter parts of a street side yard, and six feet applies in the interior side, rear and remaining areas, except where the wall faces toward the subject property, in which case it may reach eight feet six inches. A run of stepped walls may substitute for one tall wall provided each wall meets the table and the horizontal gap between any two is at least as great as the height of the taller, measured between the back face of the downslope wall and the front face of the upslope one. A two foot deep planted strip is required at the base of a retaining wall in a front or street side setback, in a canyon overlay or coastal canyon setback, and within ten feet of open space. Nonresidential retaining wall height, design, materials and stepping are set through architectural review rather than by table.
The minimum distance between any two retaining walls shall be equal to or greater than the height of the taller of the two retaining walls.
The answer turns on the part of the lot, which way the wall faces, and whether the walls are stepped.
- a front yard setback
- Three feet six inches. 3.5 ft
- an interior side, rear or other area, facing the neighbor
- Six feet. 6 ft
- the same areas, where the wall faces toward the subject property
- Eight feet six inches. 8.5 ft
Also on retaining walls in San Clemente
- 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 San Clemente
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San Clemente answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
San Clemente names no permitted material for a residential fence and prohibits two. Barbed wire and razor fences are barred in every zone, with a single exception written for restricting access to public utility equipment such as a high voltage transformer, so the allowance follows the hazard rather than the zoning district. In the nonresidential zones the materials question is not answered in the code at all: height, materials and other features are settled through an architectural review process requiring a Development Permit, or a Cultural Heritage Permit for a listed historic resource.
Barbed wire and razor fences are prohibited in all zones, except when such materials are needed to restrict access to public utility equipment such as high voltage transformers.
Also on materials in San Clemente
- 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 San Clemente
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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 San Clemente 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 San Clemente
- 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 San Clemente 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 San ClementeZoning Code, Title 17, Chapter 17.24, Section 17.24.090, 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
- 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 San Clemente 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