Modoc County, CA Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

Title 18 of the Modoc County Code does not list permitted or prohibited fence materials for ordinary residential or rural fences — there is no fence chapter and no design or material standard for typical boundary fences. The only material-type language appears in §18.30.070, the conservation-of-values section that applies in any zone. It requires that outdoor storage of merchandise, materials, dismantled autos, or salvage be enclosed in a 'sight-obscuring fence,' and that wrecked or inoperative vehicles kept more than 72 hours be placed behind an 'opaque screening fence' or inside a building. These describe the fence's screening function (you must not be able to see through it) rather than a specific material such as wood, vinyl, masonry, or chain link — wood, metal panel, or solid masonry could all satisfy 'sight-obscuring' or 'opaque.' Concrete and masonry walls are treated as walls rather than fences under the adopted California Building Code (Modoc County Code §15.01.020), which can change the permit analysis for those materials. Beyond these screening rules, fence material choice in unincorporated Modoc County is left to the owner, subject only to the building-code permit threshold (over 7 feet) and zoning placement rules.