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

Woodland Municipal Code § 17.64.030(C), Permits Required, sets the two permit triggers that apply to fences and walls citywide. The first: any fence or wall exceeding six feet in height, and any retaining wall 36 inches or greater, requires a Building Permit under § 17.100.130 before construction, which brings the structure under the City's adopted Building Code for footing depth, wind load and, where the wall retains a grade change, engineering review. The second: any fence or wall proposed within the public right-of-way, such as one that crosses a City sidewalk easement or sits partly in an unimproved right-of-way, needs an encroachment permit in addition to meeting every height, setback and material standard elsewhere in § 17.64.030.

Ordinary residential fences at or below six feet that stay outside the right-of-way, by contrast, are built without a Building Permit, though they still must meet the height-by-setback standards in § 17.64.030(D) and the material rules in § 17.64.030(F). The permit thresholds were carried through the City's 2024 zoning code rewrite under Ordinance 1722 and refined by Ordinance 1733 in February 2025 and Ordinance 1743 in October 2025.