Alpine County, CA Fence Regulations: Neighbor Fence Rules (2026)

Alpine County, being entirely unincorporated, applies county zoning to fence height (Chapter 18.68: six feet in side and rear yards, four and one-half feet in front yards in the RE and RN zones) and to corner-lot sight-distance clearances. The county zoning code does not set who pays for a fence shared with a neighbor. That cost question is governed by California state law, the Good Neighbor Fence Act, codified at Civil Code Section 841. Under Section 841, adjoining landowners are presumed to benefit equally from a fence that divides their properties and, unless they agree otherwise in writing, are presumed equally responsible for the reasonable costs of construction, maintenance, or necessary replacement. A landowner who intends to incur such costs must give each affected adjoining landowner 30 days' prior written notice describing the problem, the proposed solution, the estimated cost, the proposed cost-sharing, and the timeline. The equal-share presumption can be overcome by a preponderance of evidence that equal cost-sharing would be unjust, in which case a court may order a lesser share or none. Exact boundary lines should be confirmed by survey before building on or near a property line. Recorded CC&Rs in a subdivision may add further requirements.