Fresno County, CA Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Zoning Ordinance § 822.3.050(D)
- Allowed fence materials
- Chain link, louvered glass, stake, steel and wire mesh
- Wall material standard
- Concrete, concrete block, wood, or similar solid material
- Restriction
- Chain link barred where prohibited by zone/plan
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $500 fine or 180 days jail
Summary
Fresno County allows chain link, louvered glass, stake, steel mesh, and wire mesh fencing under Zoning Ordinance Section 822.3.050, except where chain link is separately prohibited for a specific zone or plan area, while walls must be built of solid materials like concrete, concrete block, or wood.
822.3.050 - Fences, Walls, and Hedges
D. Allowed materials.
1. Fence materials may include chain link (except where prohibited), louvered glass, stake, steel mesh, wire mesh, and other similar materials. Planting shall be regulated to maintain the required open areas in the fence structure.
2. Wall materials shall include concrete, concrete block, wood, or any other similar materials that are solids and are assembled as to form a solid barrier.
Full Breakdown
050(D) (Fences, Walls, and Hedges, Allowed materials) of the Fresno County Zoning Ordinance sets the baseline material standard for fences and walls on property in the unincorporated county. Fence materials "may include chain link (except where prohibited), louvered glass, stake, steel mesh, wire mesh, and other similar materials," and any planting used as part of a fence must be regulated to keep the fence structure's required open areas intact, so a hedge cannot be grown so dense that it functions as a solid wall where only an open fence is allowed.
Wall materials are held to a different, stricter standard: walls must be built of concrete, concrete block, wood, or other similar solid materials assembled to form a solid barrier, because walls are used elsewhere in the same section to satisfy screening requirements between different zones, such as the six-foot solid masonry wall required where an industrial zone abuts a nonindustrial zone. The ordinance's own text flags that chain link is not universally allowed by writing in the qualifier "except where prohibited," pointing property owners to the fence-height table and any applicable specific plan or overlay district, such as the Fig Garden Neighborhood Plan referenced elsewhere in the same chapter, before installing chain link on a particular parcel.
050(A)'s purpose clause frames all of these material and height rules around preserving air, light, and privacy and preventing visual obstructions at street and highway intersections, and it expressly does not reduce any separate security-fencing requirement imposed by state or federal law.
Violations & Fines
Installing a fence or wall built of a material that is not allowed for its zone under Section 822.3.050(D), such as a solid wall built from non-solid materials or chain link installed where it is locally prohibited, is a Zoning Ordinance violation. Section 878.6.030 makes it a misdemeanor: a fine up to $500, up to 180 days in county jail, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is chain link fencing allowed in unincorporated Fresno County?
What materials can I use to build a required screening wall?
Can I plant a hedge instead of installing a fence?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fresno County
California rules heatmap·Compare Fresno County to another location·View the California fence regulations overview
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