Palm Springs, CA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

00 splits fence height into two linked rules. In side and rear yards, and along the side and rear lot lines, walls and fences may reach six feet without further review. In any front yard or side front yard, the limit drops to four and a half feet, again without discretionary review, though a separate provision lets some non-R-1 residential properties apply for a taller decorative wall through architectural review. The same section separately protects sightlines at intersections through a defined "corner cutback area": a triangular zone created where the prolongation of the front and side front property lines meet.

In residential zones, that triangle is drawn by connecting two points measured 30 feet back from where those property lines would intersect, and inside it, no wall, fence, sign, hedge or other landscaping may rise above three and a half feet, measured from the nearest street pavement surface. The rule is written broadly, covering not just fences but any "visual obstruction," so a tall shrub or freestanding sign in that triangle is treated the same as a masonry wall. The corner cutback height limit stacks on top of, and is stricter than, the ordinary four-and-a-half-foot front yard cap, since it protects the specific sightline a driver needs at a stop sign or driveway approach rather than the whole yard.