Palmdale, CA Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

040(A) sets the citywide threshold: unless specifically exempted, a building permit is required for new fences, walls, and screening over six feet in height in all zones. Fences under six feet generally do not need a building permit, though they must still meet the placement and material rules in the same section. Two exemptions carve out common situations. First, a fence or wall required as an environmental mitigation measure, or required by county, state, or federal law or regulation, does not trigger this permit requirement.

Second, temporary fencing erected around a construction project, or to temporarily secure a parcel, is exempt from the permit rule; if that temporary fencing is chain-link, it must be vinyl-coated and no taller than eight feet. Height itself is capped separately from the permit trigger. In residential and mixed-use zones, fences within the required interior side and rear setbacks max out at six feet, with an extra foot allowed (seven feet total) if the top foot is open-view fencing. Front-setback fencing is limited to three feet if sight-obscuring, or five feet if open-view, except that lots of 20,000 square feet or more may install a six-foot open-view fence in the front setback, with vehicle gates set back at least 20 feet from the property line. 23 rather than build out of compliance.