7 rules for unincorporated Del Norte County, California.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Del Norte County, Title 20 (inland zoning) caps fences at four feet along a required front yard and eight feet along side or rear yards of an interior lot (Sec. 20.48.70); taller fences need a use permit. In the coastal zone, Title 21 and the Local Coastal Program apply and a Coastal Development Permit may be required.
No building permit is needed for fences up to seven feet under the California Building Code (Sec. 105.2). But under Del Norte County Title 20, a zoning use permit is required for fences over four feet in a front yard or eight feet in side/rear yards (Sec. 20.48.70), and coastal-zone fences may need a Coastal Development Permit.
Del Norte County's zoning code has no special boundary-fence ordinance, so California's Good Neighbor Fence Act (Civil Code Sec. 841) controls. Adjoining owners are presumed to share equally in the reasonable cost of a boundary fence, and a 30-day written notice is required before incurring shared costs.
Under the California Building Code (Sec. 105.2) adopted countywide, a retaining wall is exempt from a building permit only up to four feet measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, and never when it supports a surcharge. Walls over four feet need a building permit, and coastal-zone walls may need a Coastal Development Permit.
Inland fences in unincorporated Del Norte County follow Title 20: four feet maximum in a required front yard and eight feet in side/rear yards on interior lots (Sec. 20.48.70), with corner lots subject to intersection sight rules (Sec. 12.08.010). Coastal-zone fences fall under Title 21 and may need a Coastal Development Permit.
Del Norte County's Title 20 zoning code does not set general material restrictions for ordinary residential fences; it regulates fences by height (Sec. 20.48.70). Material-based limits come mainly from the building code (masonry walls over four feet need a permit) and from use-permit or coastal-permit conditions.
Unincorporated Del Norte County does not dictate fence materials in Title 20; it regulates fences by height (Sec. 20.48.70). The meaningful material rule is from the building code: any fence is permit-exempt up to seven feet, but masonry or concrete walls are exempt only up to four feet from the bottom of the footing.
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