Monterey, CA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Monterey City Code Section 38-22(D)(10) sets the standard: the maximum height of a fence or wall is six feet, except in a required front yard, or the side yard adjoining a street of a reverse corner lot, where the ceiling drops to four feet. Every fence and wall is also subject to the driveway visibility requirement in Article 18, Off-Street Parking and Loading Regulations, which governs sightlines near driveways. Corner lots get a second layer of scrutiny: fences or walls on a corner lot must be reviewed by the Traffic Committee, and the code prohibits any visual obstruction at the intersection that could create a traffic hazard within a defined corner cut-off area.

That area runs between two points, each measured 30 feet horizontally along the front and side property lines from where those lines meet at the street corner, forming the visibility triangle. This same six-foot/four-foot structure, with the identical 30-foot corner cut-off triangle and Traffic Committee review, repeats verbatim in the parallel fences-and-walls provisions of the other single-family and multi-family residential districts (R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4) later in Chapter 38, so it is the citywide residential standard, not unique to R-E. Commercial and visitor-accommodation districts run different numbers (up to eight feet, with front/corner-side limits as low as three or four feet), so a fence height answer always depends on the underlying zoning district shown on the property's zoning map, which the Community Development Department can confirm.