Berkeley, CA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

080, height is not an absolute cap so much as a permit trigger: a fence can go higher than 6 feet (4 feet in ES-R) but only after the Zoning Officer approves an Administrative Use Permit for the taller, lot-line, or setback-encroaching fence. Height is measured from the lowest existing grade within a 3-foot radius of any point on the fence to its highest point, so a fence following a sloped yard is judged at its tallest exposed face rather than an averaged grade. In the MU-R (Mixed Use Residential) district, an additional location-based rule applies where a residential lot backs onto another residential lot: a fence taller than 6 feet must be set back either 8 feet from any main residential building on the abutting lot, or 4 feet from the property line if that abutting building already sits less than 4 feet from the shared line.

That setback rule does not apply if both lots share the same owner. Where an MU-R development places a manufacturing use next to a residential use, the code instead requires an 8-foot minimum fence built with sound-absorbent material as a buffer, unless the Zoning Officer approves an AUP for an alternative buffering method. None of these standards apply to the University of California campus, which is state property outside city zoning jurisdiction.