Whittier, CA Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Whittier handles pool fencing in two layers. The zoning division, Section 18.10.030(D) and Table 18.10.030(D), sets how high and how close to the lot line a wall or fence can stand on an R-zoned lot. The barrier specifications themselves come from the building code. Section 18.10.030(D)(7)(a) refers to pool enclosure requirements that apply per building code, and a note under Figure 7 tells owners of below grade lots to refer to the Building Code for the safety fence minimum height.

Table 18.10.030(D) carries a dedicated row, Swimming Pool Enclosure: Non-view Obscuring Fence, under both the Interior Side Yard Setback group and the Rear Yard Setback group. Each row sets a 6 foot maximum height and no setback from the property line. Footnote b then lifts the cap where needed: the height restrictions for fences, walls and retaining walls may be increased to provide a required five-foot pool safety enclosure. Footnote c lets the Director of Community Development waive the table, footnotes a and b included, if compliance would create a significant inconsistency with abutting properties.

The front yard is stricter, and the table lists no pool enclosure row there. A non-view obscuring fence in the front yard setback tops out at 36 inches on lots 60 feet wide or less, 42 inches on lots 61 to 99 feet wide, and 5 feet 6 inches on lots 100 feet wide or larger. On a standard corner lot a 6 foot fence in the street side yard needs a 4-foot setback, and on a reversed corner lot it needs 5 feet. Near a driveway or alley, nothing taller than 42 inches is allowed inside the 5-foot vision cut-off triangle.

Pools on sloped lots get their own rule in Section 18.10.030(D)(7)(a). Where a fence above a retaining wall is required to comply with a pool fence enclosure, a non-view obscuring fence goes on top of the retaining wall at the height the pool rules demand, provided the portion of retaining wall and fence that exceeds six feet is non-view obscuring. A fence set above a retaining wall on the same parcel sits 4 feet back from the wall below.