Sacramento, CA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Sacramento City Code § 17.620.110 sets fence and wall height limits for single-unit, duplex, and multi-unit residential development. In front yards and street side yards, § 17.620.110.A caps ordinary walls or fences at 4 feet, but a decorative, open wrought-iron or tubular-steel fence may reach 6 feet, and chain-link or woven-wire fencing is flatly prohibited in those setback areas under A.2. A.3 allows a 6-foot fence within the street side-yard setback if it sits at least 5 feet from the property line or aligns with the nearest wall of the main building, paired with a landscaping requirement of climbing vines, shrubs or trees along the street-facing base.

A.4 permits a decorative gateway feature up to 10 feet tall, 8 feet long and 24 inches wide. In rear and interior side yards, § 17.620.110.B allows 6 feet generally, 8 feet where the property line abuts a school, park, alley or other nonresidential use, and up to 12 feet for a solid sound-attenuation wall abutting a freeway or railroad (which must also meet the Article III sound-wall standards); fences over 6 feet are allowed outright once outside the required setback area. Multi-unit developments must additionally provide a 6-foot solid masonry or brick wall along property lines bordering an on-site parking lot that abut single-unit or duplex dwellings, per § 17.620.110.C.

Layered on top of every residential height allowance is the citywide § 17.620.100.C clear-zone rule limiting walls and fences to 3.5 feet within the triangular sight-distance area at a driveway/curb intersection, which controls even where § 17.620.110 would otherwise permit more height.