7 rules for unincorporated San Benito County, California.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated San Benito County, fences and walls up to 3 feet may stand in any front yard, and fences up to 6 feet in any side or rear yard, under County Code Section 25.07.013. Where land grades abruptly at a boundary, a fence may reach the upper lot's limit but never more than 12 feet.
Most residential fences in unincorporated San Benito County need no building permit, because the California Residential Code exempts fences up to 7 feet and retaining walls up to 4 feet. Fences must still meet the County's zoning height and location standards in Section 25.07.013, and taller or grade-related fences may need planning review.
San Benito County has no special county ordinance on shared boundary fences, so California's Good Neighbor Fence Act (Civil Code Section 841) controls. Adjoining owners are presumed equally responsible for the reasonable cost of building, maintaining, or replacing a dividing fence, and an owner planning the work must give neighbors 30 days written notice.
Cal. Civil Code Section 841 (Good Neighbor Fence Act)
(a) Adjoining landowners shall share equally in the responsibility for maintaining the boundaries and monuments between them. (b)(1) 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, mainte...
Under County Code Section 25.07.013, retaining walls more than 48 inches high in unincorporated San Benito County must be stepped. Separately, the California Residential Code requires a building permit for any retaining wall over 4 feet measured from the bottom of the footing, or any wall supporting a surcharge.
On lots near road or driveway intersections in unincorporated San Benito County, County Code Section 25.29.013 prohibits any fence, wall, structure, or planting that obstructs cross-visibility between 30 inches and 6 feet above the road within a sight-distance triangle formed by 25-foot legs along the abutting rights-of-way.
County Code Section 25.07.013 restricts certain fence materials in unincorporated San Benito County: barbed wire and electrified fencing are allowed in agricultural zones but prohibited in residential, commercial, and industrial zones unless approved; razor and concertina wire are prohibited; and chain link is not allowed in a required front yard or street side yard.
Common fence materials such as wood, masonry, and ornamental metal are allowed in unincorporated San Benito County under County Code Section 25.07.013, subject to height limits. The main material limits are that barbed wire and electric fencing are confined to agricultural zones, razor and concertina wire are banned, and chain link is excluded from front and street side yards.
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