Before You Build in Long Beach, CA: Permit & Rule Checklist (2026)

A fence built of wood, chain-link or similar material up to 7 feet tall needs no building permit in Long Beach; masonry, concrete, brick or heavy-timber fences drop that threshold to 4 feet. Above those heights, or in violation of the zoning code, a building permit from the Building Official is mandatory.

A retaining wall or planter box in Long Beach needs no building permit if it's 4 feet or less from footing to top, doesn't hold back a surcharge or sloping earth, and doesn't retain flammable liquids. Any wall on a slope steeper than 1-in-5 (20%) needs a permit regardless of height.

Boundary fences in Long Beach follow CA Civil Code §841 (Good Neighbor Fence Act) requiring shared cost. Spite fences over 10 ft built to annoy neighbors are a private nuisance under CA Civil Code §841.4.

Long Beach caps residential front-yard fences at 3 feet and side/rear ("other") yard fences at 6 feet 6 inches, rising to 10 feet outside the required yard, under LBMC § 21.43.020's Table 43-1. Corner-lot cutoff areas are held to 3 feet, though taller open chain-link or wrought-iron fencing is allowed there if it doesn't block sightlines.

A backyard pool counts as a structure under Long Beach's building permit law, so any in-ground or substantial above-ground pool needs a Building Official permit. Only two narrow categories of very small, shallow pools are exempt under LBMC § 18.04.020(B)(16)-(17).

Long Beach pools must comply with the CA Swimming Pool Safety Act (HSC §115920-115929). At least two safety features required: barrier/fence, pool cover, alarms, or self-closing doors. Virginia Graeme Baker Act drain cover compliance is mandatory.

Converting a Long Beach garage into an ADU means losing the garage door for good: LBMC § 21.51.276(D)(3)(b) requires the opening to be removed and finished to match the house, while § 21.51.276(E)(3) lets the converted structure be rebuilt as needed for building, fire and life-safety code compliance without losing its existing nonconforming setback rights.

Accessory dwelling units in Long Beach must meet the same zoning standards as the underlying district, parking, height, setbacks, lot coverage and floor area ratio, under LBMC § 21.51.276(D), plus ADU-specific caps in Table 51.276-1: height tops out at 25 feet and two stories, side yards can shrink to 5 feet, and unit size is capped at 50% of the primary home's floor area or 800 square feet, whichever is less.

Long Beach bars carports outright from the required front yard and street-side yard setbacks citywide. Where the zoning code allows a carport in an interior side or rear yard, LBMC Table 31-3 requires the support column to clear the property line by three feet, with the eave or roof overhang permitted to come only within two feet six inches of the line.

Long Beach Fire Code Section 18.48.240 bans open burning citywide except under three narrow circumstances: official fire-suppression training by a Public Safety Officer, industrial or institutional employee firefighting instruction, or a permit issued by the Fire Code Official for a specific purpose.

Long Beach requires a free permit from the Fire Code Official before any recreational fire -- fire pits, chimineas and similar backyard fires -- under Section 18.48.250's amendment to California Fire Code Section 307.4.2, layered on top of the general Section 307 recreational-fire standards.

Long Beach bars removal of a required street tree in the parkway unless the Director of Public Works finds it dead, dying, or a hazard to curb, gutter, sidewalk or roadway, or clears it as part of a City-approved replacement program. LBMC § 21.42.050.B.3 requires that finding be recorded with the Department of Development Services before the tree comes down.

Long Beach's Public Works Department prunes City street trees to a minimum twelve-foot clearance over sidewalks and sixteen feet over streets, and no one else may trim, cut or remove a tree planted along a City street without a written permit from the Director of Public Works.

Long Beach follows the MWELO (Smartscape) ordinance for new landscaping. Projects 500-2,500 sq ft have streamlined permits; over 2,500 sq ft require a landscape professional. High-water turf is prohibited in parkways and medians.