Montebello, CA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Montebello Municipal Code § 17.10.130(C) sets the base fence height rule for every R-zone: a wall, fence or hedge up to thirty-six inches may be placed anywhere on the lot. Behind the rear line of the required front yard, height can rise to six feet, except on reversed corner lots. Within the required front yard itself, a taller fence is allowed only if it is wrought iron or a similar nonview-obscuring decorative style, capped at six feet, and only with the approval of the city planner, who reviews it for adequate traffic sight distance; the code specifically states that chain link and similar fencing is not considered decorative for this purpose.

Exhibit 17.10.130, the Fencing Standards table, adds location-specific limits: within the corner vision clearance triangle described in Section 17.50.040, no fence, hedge or wall, including a retaining wall, may exceed three feet. On a reversed corner lot, the front-setback and street-side-setback limit stays at three feet for a view-obscuring fence, with the same six-foot wrought-iron exception available. Section 17.10.130(B) exempts fences the state requires around public utility installations from all of these limits. Because fence height compliance is checked at building-permit issuance rather than listed among the Section 17.06.070 infractions, an unpermitted or oversized fence is enforced as the general Title 17 misdemeanor, with the city planner able to require removal or lowering of a fence that blocks traffic sight lines at a corner.