Fence laws in Yorba Linda, California
What the Yorba Linda municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Yorba Linda sets no rule of its own, the California rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Yorba Linda, 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
- Yorba Linda holds a required front yard to three feet for the part directly in front of the dwelling and six feet everywhere else on the property, and the answer turns on which part of the lot the wall is on, and whether an administrative adjustment has been approved. The figure is 3 feet, for wall height in front of the dwelling.
- Permits
- Yorba Linda allows a minor increase in return wall or fence height for pool barrier compliance without an administrative adjustment or a variance application, and gives its reason: the health and safety urgency of securing a property with a code-compliant pool barrier.
- Pool barriers
- On a Yorba Linda terraced lot, a return fence beside a two to three foot retaining wall has to stand at least forty five inches above the top of that wall to meet the pool barrier requirement of the California Building Code. The figure is 45 inches, for minimum fence height above the top of the retaining wall for pool barrier compliance. It reaches return fencing beside a side yard retaining wall only.
- 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
- Yorba Linda states in writing that its own code does not say where or how wall heights are measured, and names the two cases where it matters most: multiple retaining walls abutting each other, and a garden wall or fence abutting a retaining wall.
- 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 Yorba Linda wall or fence immediately abuts another, the pair is measured as one: from the lowest side, from finished grade, to the top of the highest of them, and the answer turns on whether the two walls abut or stand at least three feet apart. The figure is 3 feet, for separation at which two walls are measured independently.
- 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 Yorba Linda?
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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 Yorba Linda 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 Yorba Linda
- 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 Yorba Linda?
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Yorba Linda answers this, but the answer changes depending on which part of the lot the wall is on, and whether an administrative adjustment has been approved.
Yorba Linda holds a required front yard to three feet for the part directly in front of the dwelling and six feet everywhere else on the property. A retaining wall, or a combined retaining and garden wall, may reach nine feet on a side or rear portion with an administrative adjustment approved. Nine feet is the tallest residential figure of any city read for this site, and the terraced hillside lots are the reason it exists.
Retaining walls or combination retaining/garden walls may be allowed up to a maximum height of 9 feet on any side or rear portions of the property, with approval of an administrative adjustment.
Yorba Linda Zoning Code 18.10.130
The answer turns on which part of the lot the wall is on, and whether an administrative adjustment has been approved.
- in the required front yard directly in front of the dwelling
- Three feet. 3 ft
- on all other portions of the property
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a retaining or combination wall on a side or rear portion, with an administrative adjustment
- Up to nine feet. 9 ft
Also on fence height in Yorba Linda
- 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 Yorba Linda?
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Yorba Linda answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Yorba Linda allows a minor increase in return wall or fence height for pool barrier compliance without an administrative adjustment or a variance application, and gives its reason: the health and safety urgency of securing a property with a code-compliant pool barrier. The Community Development Director reviews each one. It is the only case on this site where a city has removed its own process rather than added one, and it has written down why.
Minor adjustments to return wall/fence height to ensure pool-safe barrier compliance shall be permitted without need for formal review of an administrative adjustment or variance application .
Zoning Code Interpretation ZCI-003
Also on permits in Yorba Linda
- 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 Yorba Linda
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Yorba Linda answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
On a Yorba Linda terraced lot, a return fence beside a two to three foot retaining wall has to stand at least forty five inches above the top of that wall to meet the pool barrier requirement of the California Building Code. Measured from the low side at the bottom of the wall, that puts the combination at seven to eight feet. The pool barrier rule therefore forces a fence over the ordinary height limit, and the city treats the safety requirement as the one that wins.
Thus, as measured from the lower grade at the bottom of the retaining wall, the wall/fence may achieve a combined height of 7 to 8 feet.
Zoning Code Interpretation ZCI-003, affecting Yorba Linda Zoning Code 18.10.130.B
45 inminimum fence height above the top of the retaining wall for pool barrier compliance
Also on pool barriers in Yorba Linda
- set in state lawA 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. Health & Saf. Code 115923California · Statute
Spite fence laws in Yorba Linda
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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 Yorba Linda 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 Yorba Linda
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Yorba Linda answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Yorba Linda states in writing that its own code does not say where or how wall heights are measured, and names the two cases where it matters most: multiple retaining walls abutting each other, and a garden wall or fence abutting a retaining wall. Interpretation ZCI-010, adopted 27 October 2011, fills the gap. It is rare for a city to publish the hole in its code rather than leave it to be discovered at a counter.
However, the code is silent on where or how wall heights are measured; especially in the case when multiple retaining walls abut each other and/or when a garden wall/fence abuts a retaining wall.
Zoning Code Interpretation ZCI-010, affecting Yorba Linda Zoning Code 18.10.130.A and B
Also on how height is measured in Yorba Linda
- 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 Yorba Linda
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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 Yorba Linda 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 Yorba Linda
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Yorba Linda answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the two walls abut or stand at least three feet apart.
Where a Yorba Linda wall or fence immediately abuts another, the pair is measured as one: from the lowest side, from finished grade, to the top of the highest of them. Separate them by at least three feet and each becomes an independent structure measured on its own. So three feet of ground between two walls is the difference between a nine foot reading and two smaller ones. Santa Barbara uses five feet for the same purpose.
Further, when you have a wall and/or fence immediately abutting another wall/fence, the measurement for determining wall height shall be measured from the lowest side of the wall/fence, from finished grade to the top of the highest abutting wall/fence at the point of measurement.
Zoning Code Interpretation ZCI-010
The answer turns on whether the two walls abut or stand at least three feet apart.
- two walls immediately abutting
- Measured as one, to the top of the higher.
- separated by at least three feet
- Each is an independent structure with its own measurement. 3 ft
Also on retaining walls in Yorba Linda
- 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 Yorba Linda
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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 Yorba Linda 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 Yorba Linda
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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 Yorba Linda 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 Yorba Linda
- 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 Yorba Linda 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 Yorba Linda, Community Development Department, Planning DivisionZoning Code and Policies and Procedures Interpretations Manual
- 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 Yorba Linda 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