Pismo Beach, CA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Both regulate fences and the wording differs, so the two rules are laid out separately.

1983 Zoning Ordinance, § 17.102.120: fences, hedges and walls up to six feet in height from existing grade can be placed in all required rear yards and interior side yards. No solid fence, hedge or wall over forty-two inches is permitted in any front yard or in the side yard or street side of a corner lot. Open fences over six feet enclosing tennis courts or similar uses, when they enclose the rear half of a lot, need planning commission approval with an architectural review permit. Fences in required bluff setback areas are limited to forty-two inches, need a coastal development permit, and must be non-permanent, removable and see-through. Section 17.102.050 adds that in R-1 zones such fences are ninety percent see-through, keep a five foot minimum setback from the top edge of the bluff, and need a geologic study by a registered geologist.

1998 Zoning Code, § 17.24.060: fences and walls need site plan and architectural review unless exempt. Wood, wrought iron, chain link, masonry and similar fences and walls are exempt when they do not exceed forty-two inches within a front or street side setback, or six feet outside one. Hedges within a front yard setback are limited to forty-two inches. Where adjoining parcels differ in grade by less than two feet, height is measured from the finished grade of the highest contiguous parcel, and at two feet or more the director determines it. Retaining walls cannot exceed six feet unless the Director approves. Blufftop fences are allowed only in the RSL district, at forty-two inches, ninety percent transparent, with a twenty-five-foot minimum setback from the bluff top. Barbed wire, electrified fence and razor wire are prohibited unless approved by the director or required by law.

Neither quoted section prints a separate dimension for a corner sight triangle. The corner-lot control is the forty-two inch limit on the street side.

Pismo Beach uses two adopted zoning codes. The city's Zoning and Land Use page states that properties inside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1983 Zoning Code, and properties outside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1998 Zoning Code.