Citrus Heights Fence Rules

If you are planning a new fence in Citrus Heights, the number that surprises most homeowners is not the backyard number — it is the front-yard number. Citrus Heights keeps front fences low, allows taller privacy fences in the back than many nearby cities, and measures height in a specific way that matters a lot on sloped lots and on fences built on top of retaining walls.

This guide explains the City of Citrus Heights’ own fence standards for houses, as the City publishes them today. It is general information only, not legal advice. Every figure below comes from the City’s official sources, cited by name and linked, so you can check them yourself before you build.

With more than 30 years of hands-on fence experience, here is how we walk Citrus Heights homeowners through it.

Where Citrus Heights keeps its fence rules

Two different City rules apply to the same fence, and keeping them separate avoids most mistakes:

1. Zoning height and location rules — in the City of Citrus Heights Zoning Code, Section 106.30.050 — Fences and Walls. This section controls how tall a fence, wall, or hedge can be in each part of your lot, when Design Review is required, and which materials are prohibited.
2. Building-permit rules — in the City’s Residential Code, which lists which fences do not need a building permit at all (see the permit section below).

A fence can be building-permit exempt and still violate the zoning height limit — and the other way around. Check both.

Questions before you build go to the City of Citrus Heights Planning Division, 6360 Fountain Square Drive, Citrus Heights, CA 95621, at (916) 727-4740 or planning@citrusheights.net.

Back and side yards: up to 8 feet as your neighbor sees it

For a backyard privacy fence, Table 3-1 in Section 106.30.050.C gives this limit for fences within the required side and rear yard setbacks:

• 8 feet as the fence appears from a parcel or right-of-way abutting the site
• 10 feet as the fence appears on the site itself

That two-number rule exists because of grade. If your yard sits higher than your neighbor’s, the same fence looks taller from their side. Citrus Heights caps what the neighbor sees at 8 feet, while allowing up to 10 feet measured on your own side.

A note to Table 3-1 adds that additional height, to a maximum of 10 feet, may be authorized through Design Review approval under Section 106.62.040.

In plain words: the standard 6-foot redwood privacy fence most Citrus Heights homeowners build is comfortably inside the limit, and the zoning code leaves room for a taller back fence than the 6- or 7-foot ceilings in several neighboring cities — if the design, the grade, and any HOA rules allow it. Your HOA, if you have one, can still set a lower maximum or require a specific style. City compliance does not override a private HOA agreement.

Height alone does not make a tall fence a good fence. An 8-foot fence catches more wind in winter storms than a 6-foot fence. Post depth and concrete decide whether it stays straight — see our build standard below.

Front yards: 3 feet inside the front setback

Inside the required front yard setback, Table 3-1 limits fences, walls, and hedges to 3 feet.

A footnote to the table explains what that setback zone is for most Citrus Heights houses: the front yard fence setback is 20 feet in the RD-1 through RD-15 zoning districts, and 25 feet in the RD-20 through RD-30 zoning districts. In other words, the 3-foot limit applies to the strip between your front property line and that 20- or 25-foot line — not to your whole front yard. Once a fence steps back behind that line, the side- and rear-yard rules for its location apply instead.

In plain words: a solid 6-foot privacy fence across the front of a Citrus Heights home, right at the sidewalk, is not a compliant plan. Homeowners who want front-yard enclosure usually choose a low 3-foot fence inside the setback, or step the taller privacy fence back behind the setback line where the taller limit applies.

Corner lots and street side yards: 3 feet, plus a landscaping setback

Corner lots have a second street frontage, and Citrus Heights treats it strictly. Within the required street side setback, Table 3-1 also limits fences to 3 feet.

If fencing in that street side area exceeds 3 feet, the Code requires it to be set back a minimum of 3 feet from the property line or sidewalk, to allow landscaping to be planted to soften the visual impact of the fence. There is one narrow exception: a fence that was lawfully constructed before November 6, 2006 may be replaced in the same location.

Corners have one more safety rule, and it is the lowest number in this whole guide. Under Section 106.30.060.E — Height Limit at Street Corners, a traffic safety visibility area is a triangle measured 20 feet from the intersection of the extensions of the front and street side right-of-way lines — 10 feet for driveways. Inside that triangle, no structure, sign, or landscape element may exceed 30 inches in height, unless the City Engineer approves it. Trees are the exception, and only when their canopy is trimmed to a minimum of 8 feet above grade. Table 3-1 says the same thing for fences at intersections of alleys, streets, and driveways within sight visibility areas: 2 feet 6 inches maximum.

If you live on a corner in Citrus Heights, sketch that triangle before you sketch the fence. It decides the first stretch of fence on both streets.

How Citrus Heights measures fence height

Section 106.30.050.D sets the measuring rule:

• Height is measured from the top of the fence or wall to the level of the finished grade.
• The height of fencing placed on top of a retaining wall is measured from the base of the wall, with one exception in the next bullet.
• Where the finished grade within 6 feet of the base of the fence differs from one side to the other — as when a fence sits at the top of a slope or on a retaining wall — height is measured from the side with the lowest natural grade.

That lowest-grade rule is why Table 3-1 can say 8 feet from the neighbor’s side and 10 feet from yours. Measure from the low side first, on paper, before any post goes in the ground. A fence that measures 6 feet from your patio can measure over the limit from a lower neighbor’s yard.

The same section handles retaining walls directly: embankments to be retained that are over 48 inches high must be benched so that no individual retaining wall exceeds 36 inches, and each bench is a minimum of 36 inches wide. And wood shall not be used for a retaining wall more than 2 feet high.

Materials Citrus Heights prohibits

Section 106.30.050.G prohibits fences and walls made of sheet or corrugated iron, steel, aluminum, bamboo, or asbestos, with an exception for ornamental fences approved by the Director. Barbed wire, concertina or razor wire, and electrified fences are not permitted.

For most homeowners this changes nothing — redwood, pressure-treated wood, vinyl, masonry, and ornamental metal fencing are the normal residential choices here. It matters if you were planning a corrugated-metal privacy fence: in Citrus Heights, do not assume that style is allowed without the Director’s approval as an ornamental fence.

One more rule in the same section: each fence and wall next to a public right-of-way in a non-residential zone, or in a zone that allows multi-unit residential development, must have a permanently maintained graffiti-resistant coating. That rule rarely touches a single-family backyard, but it does touch walls along busy streets in multi-unit areas.

When a Citrus Heights fence needs Design Review

Most backyard fence replacements need no Design Review at all. Under Section 106.30.050.B, Design Review is required for a fence or wall that is visible from a public right-of-way and meets any one of these tests:

• It is located within a commercial zone, or
• It has a height greater than 8 feet, or
• Regardless of height, it has a length greater than 200 feet.

Approval requires the review authority to find that the fence complies with Section 106.30.050 and with the design guidelines for fences and walls in Section 106.31.070.G. All walls and fences in a commercial zone that are visible from a public right-of-way are also subject to Design Review, and commercial walls and fences visible from a right-of-way are limited to 8 feet, with up to 10 feet possible for walls not visible from a right-of-way when authorized through Design Review.

Pools are separate: Section 106.30.050.E.2 says swimming pools, spas, and similar water features must be fenced in compliance with Building Code requirements, regardless of the other rules in this section. Do not assume a standard backyard fence automatically satisfies pool-barrier rules.

Temporary fencing is also separate: temporary security fencing, including chain link, up to 6 feet may be installed around the property lines of vacant property with the approval of the Director, and the vacant property must be kept free of weeds and litter.

Do you need a building permit for a fence in Citrus Heights?

For most backyard fences, no.

The City’s Residential Code, in Chapter 18, Article XVI, Section R105.2 — Work Exempt from Permit, lists “fences, and other than swimming pool barriers, not over 7 feet high” as work that does not require a building permit. The same list covers certain retaining walls — not over 4 feet high measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, and only when they meet the construction and retained-earth limits in that item, do not support a surcharge, and do not impound liquids.

That creates the most important planning point in this guide:

1. 7 feet or under, not a pool barrier — generally building-permit exempt, but the zoning heights above still apply in full. A 7-foot fence in a front setback is still a zoning violation, permit or no permit.
2. Over 7 feet — the building-permit exemption no longer covers it, even though the zoning code can allow 8 feet in a side or rear setback. Confirm the permit path before you design an 8-foot fence.
3. Over 8 feet, or over 200 feet long and visible from a street — Design Review enters the picture as well (see above).
4. A pool barrier — never covered by the fence exemption. Follow the Building Code pool rules.

The Residential Code states the principle plainly: an exemption from permit requirements does not authorize work done in violation of the code or any other laws or ordinances of the City. When in doubt, call Planning at (916) 727-4740 before you build, not after a complaint.

How we build a Citrus Heights fence that fits the rules — and lasts

Height compliance gets a fence allowed. Build quality decides whether it is still straight in ten years, especially in Sacramento-area clay soil that swells when wet and shrinks when dry. On every fence we build in Citrus Heights:

• Posts are set 2 to 3 feet deep in concrete — toward the deeper end for taller fences and heavy gates.
• Every post is wrapped in a waterproof membrane below ground, where soil moisture works against the wood.
• The frame is pressure-treated posts and rails, with redwood pickets for the face you see every day.
• Rails and pickets are fastened with Simpson steel connectors and screws, never nails that work loose as wood moves through hot summers and wet winters.

See our Fencing page for the full build standard, and our Citrus Heights page for local work in this city. Every fence we build carries a 12-month workmanship warranty on the work we performed.

Frequently asked questions

How tall can a backyard fence be in Citrus Heights?

Within the required side and rear yard setbacks, Table 3-1 in Zoning Code Section 106.30.050 allows 8 feet as the fence appears from a neighboring parcel or right-of-way, and 10 feet as it appears on your own site. Additional height to a maximum of 10 feet may be authorized through Design Review. Most homeowners build 6 feet, which is well inside the limit — but remember that the building-permit exemption only covers fences not over 7 feet.

How tall can a front-yard fence be in Citrus Heights?

Within the required front yard setback — 20 feet in the RD-1 through RD-15 districts and 25 feet in the RD-20 through RD-30 districts — fences, walls, and hedges are limited to 3 feet. On a corner lot, the street side setback is also 3 feet, and any fencing there over 3 feet must be set back at least 3 feet from the property line or sidewalk for landscaping.

Do I need a permit to build a fence in Citrus Heights?

The City’s Residential Code Section R105.2 exempts fences, other than swimming pool barriers, not over 7 feet high from a building permit. Zoning height limits still apply, and fences over 7 feet, fences over 8 feet or over 200 feet long that are visible from a public right-of-way, retaining-wall combinations, and pool barriers can trigger a permit or Design Review — confirm with Planning at (916) 727-4740.

My Citrus Heights lot slopes down to my neighbor. How is my fence height measured?

From the side with the lowest natural grade, when the grade within 6 feet of the base of the fence differs from one side to the other. Fencing on top of a retaining wall is normally measured from the base of the wall. Measure from the low side before you build — that is the measurement the City uses.

Want a fence planned to Citrus Heights rules from the start?

Tell us where the fence will sit — front, street side, rear, a corner lot, or on a retaining wall — and we will design the height and style to fit Citrus Heights rules for that location, then build it deep, wrapped, and screwed tight. Call (916) 579-3063 for a free on-site estimate.

American Gardens Landscaping — serving Citrus Heights and surrounding areas, including Sacramento, Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Roseville, Elk Grove, and El Dorado Hills.

Licensed • Bonded • Insured — CSLB Lic. #1105341

Regulations change. For the latest updates, please contact your city to confirm before building.