Fence laws in Stockton, California
What the Stockton municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Stockton sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Stockton, California, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Stockton states plainly what most cities leave a reader to work out: no fence is required at all in a residential zone, it is the choice of whoever owns the land, and an argument about where a fence sits, what it is made of or who repairs it is for the two neighbors or a civil court.
- How tall
- Stockton buys height with visibility in three steps rather than one, and the answer turns on how much of the view passes through the fence, and what it is built from. The figure is 3 feet, for a solid fence in the front or street yard area. It reaches the front yard area and the street yard area of a residential lot only.
- 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
- The three foot limit only reaches as far as the front yard area does, and Stockton publishes where that ends. The figure is 15 feet, for depth of the front yard area in the RL and RM zones.
- Corner lots
- Inside a Stockton traffic sight area nothing may stand over two feet six inches, which is the lowest corner limit of any city on this site and well under the three feet most cities settle on, and the answer turns on whether the intersection has a stop sign or a traffic signal. The figure is 30 feet, for an uncontrolled street intersection. It reaches a traffic sight area at an intersection or a driveway only.
- Retaining walls
- Stockton 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
- Stockton restricts five things in residential zones in one line: plain wire, chain link, tarp fencing, electrified fencing and razor wire. It reaches residential zones 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 Stockton?
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Stockton answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Stockton states plainly what most cities leave a reader to work out: no fence is required at all in a residential zone, it is the choice of whoever owns the land, and an argument about where a fence sits, what it is made of or who repairs it is for the two neighbors or a civil court. The city is not the referee. The handout also says a licensed land surveyor is the way to establish where the line actually runs.
Disputes over placement, material, or repair of fencing must be resolved by the adjoining neighbors or by a civil court.
Stockton Municipal Code 16.48, as published by the city
Also on fences on the property line in Stockton
- 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 Stockton?
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Stockton answers this, but the answer changes depending on how much of the view passes through the fence, and what it is built from.
Stockton buys height with visibility in three steps rather than one. A solid fence in the front or street yard stops at three feet. Build it so at least a third of the view gets through and it may be four. Build it in wrought iron or tubular steel and it may be five, or six inside the Magnolia Historic Overlay District. Everywhere else on the lot the limit is eight feet, which is the widest front to back spread of any city on this site.
Other Areas 8 feet (A building permit is required for any fence over 7 feet)
Stockton Municipal Code 16.48, as published by the city
The answer turns on how much of the view passes through the fence, and what it is built from.
- the fence is solid
- Three feet. 3 ft
- the fence is open enough to let a third of the view through
- Four feet, where at least 33 percent of the view passes through it. 4 ft
- the fence is wrought iron or tubular steel
- Five feet, and six inside the Magnolia Historic Overlay District. 5 ft
- the fence is anywhere else on the lot
- Eight feet, with a building permit needed above seven. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Stockton
- 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 Stockton?
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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 Stockton 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 Stockton
- 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 Stockton
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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 Stockton 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 Stockton
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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 Stockton 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 Stockton
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Stockton answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The three foot limit only reaches as far as the front yard area does, and Stockton publishes where that ends. In the low and medium density residential zones the setback line sits 15 feet from the front property line. In the high density zone it sits 10 feet. On a corner lot the street yard runs 10 feet from the side property line in every zone. Past those lines the eight foot allowance starts, so the depth of the low fence is a fixed number a homeowner can measure rather than something to look up.
In RL (Residential, Low Density) and RM (Residential, Medium Density) zones the setback line is located 15 feet from the property line.
Stockton Municipal Code 16.48, as published by the city
15 ftdepth of the front yard area in the RL and RM zones
Also on how height is measured in Stockton
- 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 Stockton
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Stockton answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the intersection has a stop sign or a traffic signal.
Inside a Stockton traffic sight area nothing may stand over two feet six inches, which is the lowest corner limit of any city on this site and well under the three feet most cities settle on. How far the area reaches depends on whether drivers already have to stop: 30 feet back from an intersection with no stop sign or signal, 20 feet where there is one, and 10 feet either side of a residential driveway. The city is asking for more clear ground exactly where nobody is obliged to slow down.
Traffic Sight Area 2 feet, 6 inches (2.5 feet)
Stockton Municipal Code 16.48, as published by the city
The answer turns on whether the intersection has a stop sign or a traffic signal.
- the intersection has no stop sign and no traffic signal
- The sight area reaches 30 feet, the largest of the three. 30 ft
- the intersection has a stop sign or a traffic signal
- The sight area reaches 20 feet. 20 ft
- the fence is beside a residential driveway
- The sight area reaches 10 feet. 10 ft
Also on corner visibility in Stockton
- 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 Stockton
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Stockton 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 Stockton 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 Stockton
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Stockton answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Stockton restricts five things in residential zones in one line: plain wire, chain link, tarp fencing, electrified fencing and razor wire. Tarp is the unusual entry, and naming it closes the gap that lets somebody hang sheeting on a frame and call it a fence. The restriction comes from SMC 16.48.070 rather than the height table, so it applies whatever the height.
Wire or chain link fencing, tarp fencing, electrified fencing and razor-wire are restricted in residential zones
Stockton Municipal Code 16.48.070
Also on materials in Stockton
- 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 lawEvery gate in Stockton has to open inward onto the property and never out over the public right of way. It is a short rule and it decides which way the hinges go, which is the kind of thing found out after the fence is built rather than before. An entry gateway or trellis is treated separately and may stand ten feet tall, eight wide and three deep, with nothing solid over a foot across between three and eight feet up. Stockton Municipal Code 16.48, as published by the cityStockton · Zoning code
Livestock and boundary fence law in Stockton
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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 Stockton 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 Stockton
- 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 Stockton itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- California LegislatureCalifornia Civil Code Section 841, Good Neighbor Fence Act of 2013
- City of Stockton, Community Development DepartmentFence Regulations for Residential Property
- 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 Stockton 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