Pasadena, CA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

2 sets tiered height limits illustrated in the code's Figure 4-11. In interior side or rear setbacks abutting another residential use or an OS/PS-zoned lot, "the maximum wall or fence height shall be six feet," rising to eight feet where the abutting property is commercial or industrial. Between the front property line and the "occupancy frontage," the limit drops to four feet, and that front-yard fence "shall be at least 50 percent open," with any concrete block built to a "finished stucco appearance" rather than left as bare block.

Rear yard fencing gets its own rule: six feet is allowed between the rear building line and the rear property line, but only if the fence sits "a minimum distance of five feet from the street property line"; within that five-foot band, or between the occupancy frontage and the rear building line, height drops back to four feet. The code also protects sightlines at driveways: "The maximum height shall be 30 inches within a triangular area extending at an angle of 45 degrees from the street property line to a point on the edge of the driveway 10 feet from the street property line," a low-visibility triangle meant to keep drivers backing out able to see pedestrians and cross traffic.

Corner lots get a further carve-out allowing a six-foot wall at the street property line where the wall sits beyond the front building line and faces a commercial or industrial zoning district across the street. Double frontage and flag lots each have their own six-foot allowances tied to specific setback distances, and height is always measured "from the existing grade as it existed on March 2, 2009," so an owner cannot mound dirt to gain extra fence height.