Petaluma, CA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

1 of the Implementing Zoning Ordinance sets the height ladder by location. In a required front setback or on the front property line, fences top out at 42 inches, though minor decorative entry treatments such as an arbor or trellis can reach 8 feet. The same 42-inch cap applies within a required street-side setback and inside the sight-visibility triangle at intersections of alleys, streets and driveways, which on a corner lot is measured from points 35 feet back along the projected curb lines. Outside a required setback, or in the interior side and rear setbacks, fences and walls may go up to 6 feet solid, with an additional 2 feet of screening material that is at least 50% open permitted on top.

025 allows the Director to modify these standards for flag lots and irregular parcels, lets a 6-foot fence sit in a street-side setback if it is at least 5 feet off the property line and the gap is landscaped, and allows 2 extra feet on a rear or interior-side fence abutting a school, corporation yard or similar public facility. 030 governs how height is measured: from the grade abutting the fence to the top edge of the fence material, and on sloping ground or where a fence sits atop a retaining wall, a 6-foot solid fence measured from the up-slope side is allowed only if the combined height, including the retaining wall, does not exceed 10 feet measured from the down-slope property.

No fence or wall of any height may be built in the Floodway zoning district. 060, which reviews the plot plan and dimensional detail for compliance before approval.