Yolo County, CA Fence Regulations: Height Limits (2026)

Yolo County Code Sec. 1005 governs fences, walls, and hedges in Residential (R) zones. The baseline is seven feet anywhere on the lot, but that shrinks close to the street for sight distance. Within the required front yard setback, a fence or hedge cannot exceed three feet for the first four feet out from the sidewalk or pavement edge, protecting drivers backing out of driveways. Owners can stack one foot of at-least-50%-open lattice on top of that three-foot front fence. Farther back in the front yard, fences can climb to six feet once they clear a ten-foot setback on an interior lot or a fifteen-foot setback on a corner lot, with height stepping down in increments between that line and the four-foot zone at the sidewalk.

Corner lots carry an additional restriction, the visibility triangle: any fence, wall, or hedge over three feet, measured from curb gutter grade, is barred from a triangular area running twenty-five feet along the inside face of the sidewalk in both directions from the intersection, or along the right-of-way line where no sidewalk exists. A corner lot's street side yard can carry a six-foot fence if it sits at least ten feet off the property line, extending along the rear yard and the house's street side yard until it meets that same triangular sight zone.

Atrium and courtyard walls set outside required yards can top six feet only with an approved Site Plan Review. The Planning Director can adjust any of these heights where lot shape, topography, or the site's layout justifies it, so long as the change will not create a safety hazard for neighbors or roadway users. The section was adopted by Ordinance 1445, effective August 14, 2014.