Fence laws in Woodland, California
What the Woodland municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Woodland sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Woodland, California, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- In the Spring Lake area of Woodland a corner lot side fence runs into the Public Utility Easement, which is usually seven to ten feet deep from the back of the sidewalk. The figure is 10 feet, for the deeper end of the Public Utility Easement measured from the back of the sidewalk. It reaches corner lots in the Spring Lake area only.
- How tall
- A solid fence in a Woodland front setback stops at three feet six inches, and the answer turns on how far back from the sidewalk the fence stands, and how open it is. The figure is 42 inches, for height of a solid fence in the front setback. It reaches the R-L, N-P and R-LM residential zones only.
- Permits
- Woodland runs three separate permit triggers and only one of them is height. The figure is 6 feet, for fence height above which a building permit is required.
- 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
- Woodland leaves the measuring rule to the legislative body of each county and city, through its zoning ordinance.
- 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
- Where a fence sits on a retaining wall for a grade difference, the Director may allow a combined eight feet, and the combined height is measured from the mid-point of the retaining wall to the top of the fence, and the answer turns on whether the fence sits on the retaining wall or three feet or more away from it. The figure is 8 feet, for combined height of fence and retaining wall.
- Materials
- Woodland writes its street facing fence rule as a list of what is allowed rather than a list of what is banned: iron, pre-painted welded steel, brick, wood picket, or other durable materials.
- 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 Woodland?
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Woodland answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
In the Spring Lake area of Woodland a corner lot side fence runs into the Public Utility Easement, which is usually seven to ten feet deep from the back of the sidewalk. No building permit is issued inside it. A fence can sometimes go there anyway, on conditions, but the city states plainly that if it or PG&E later needs the full easement, removing and replacing the fence is the owner’s expense. The handout also opens by saying to call 811 for an underground service alert before any fence is built.
No building permits will be issued within the PUE.
Woodland Municipal Code 17.64.030, Fences, Walls, Hedges
10 ftthe deeper end of the Public Utility Easement measured from the back of the sidewalk
Also on fences on the property line in Woodland
- 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 Woodland?
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Woodland answers this, but the answer changes depending on how far back from the sidewalk the fence stands, and how open it is.
A solid fence in a Woodland front setback stops at three feet six inches. Five feet is available two ways, and both trade solidity and position for the extra height. A fence five feet back from the sidewalk can reach five feet if it is at least eighty percent open. A fence ten feet back can reach five feet if only its top two feet are eighty percent open, and that version may not run across more than forty percent of the front of the property.
Solid fences, walls, and hedges located within a required front setback or along the front yard property line may be a maximum of three feet six inches (3.5’) in height, with the following exceptions:
Woodland Municipal Code 17.64.030, Fences, Walls, Hedges
The answer turns on how far back from the sidewalk the fence stands, and how open it is.
- a solid fence in the front setback
- Three feet six inches. 42 in
- five feet back from the sidewalk and at least eighty percent open
- Five feet. 80%
- ten feet back from the sidewalk with the top two feet eighty percent open
- Five feet, across no more than forty percent of the frontage. 40%
Also on fence height in Woodland
- 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 Woodland?
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Woodland answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Woodland runs three separate permit triggers and only one of them is height. A fence over six feet needs a building permit. So does a retaining wall of thirty six inches or more. And so does a fence built from an alternative building material such as concrete block or brick, at any height at all. A three foot brick wall along a boundary is therefore a permit in Woodland while a six foot wood fence beside it is not, and every fence proposal goes to Planning for location review whether or not a building permit follows.
Fences constructed using an alternative building material (concrete block, brick, etc.)
Woodland Municipal Code 17.64.030, Fences, Walls, Hedges
6 ftfence height above which a building permit is required
Also on permits in Woodland
- 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 Woodland
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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 Woodland 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 Woodland
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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 Woodland 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 Woodland
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Woodland does not set this. It leaves it to the legislative body of each county and city, through its zoning ordinance.
California 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.
This one is California law, not Woodland law. All California findings
Regulate all of the following: (1) The location, height, bulk, number of stories, and size of buildings and structures.
The code hands this to the legislative body of each county and city, through its zoning ordinance, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence rules for corner lots in Woodland
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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 Woodland 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 Woodland
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Woodland answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence sits on the retaining wall or three feet or more away from it.
Where a fence sits on a retaining wall for a grade difference, the Director may allow a combined eight feet, and the combined height is measured from the mid-point of the retaining wall to the top of the fence. Measuring from the middle of a wall rather than from its top or its base is unique among the cities read for this site. Standing the fence three feet or more back from the wall changes the rule entirely: the height then runs from finished grade, and the wall stops counting.
the Director may allow a combined height of fence and retaining wall up to 8 feet. This is measured from the mid-point of the retaining wall to the fence top.
Woodland Municipal Code 17.64.030, Fences, Walls, Hedges
The answer turns on whether the fence sits on the retaining wall or three feet or more away from it.
- the fence sits on the retaining wall
- Eight feet combined, measured from the mid-point of the wall. 8 ft
- the fence stands three feet or more from the wall
- The height is measured from finished grade and the wall does not count toward it. 3 ft
Also on retaining walls in Woodland
- 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 Woodland
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Woodland answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Woodland writes its street facing fence rule as a list of what is allowed rather than a list of what is banned: iron, pre-painted welded steel, brick, wood picket, or other durable materials. Chain link is prohibited outright in the Residential and Downtown zones. Posts have to be set in concrete. And any fence next to the public right of way has to be stained, painted or treated with a graffiti-resistant coating, which is a maintenance obligation written into the fence rules themselves.
Fencing along a public street must be iron, pre-painted welded steel, brick, wood picket, or other durable materials.
Woodland Municipal Code 17.64.030, Fences, Walls, Hedges
Also on materials in Woodland
- 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 Woodland
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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 Woodland 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 Woodland
- 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 Woodland itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- California LegislatureCalifornia Civil Code Section 841, Good Neighbor Fence Act of 2013
- City of Woodland, Community Development DepartmentResidential Fences and Walls, Installation and Development Requirements
- 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 Woodland 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