Fence Rules in Redwood City

The definition, and it is stricter than the word "open" suggests. An open fence is one that permits direct vision through at least 80 percent of any one square foot of vertical surface, distributed evenly rather than concentrated in one area, with no single component wider than 12 inches — posts, pilasters and lamp posts included (§36.3(A)(2)). Anything that fails that test is a solid fence.

In the required front yard a solid fence is limited to 3 feet, and a combination solid and open fence to 5 feet (§36.3(C)(1)).

That is why "we'll put in a lattice-top" is not an answer to the height question. Lattice with heavy framing, wide boards or a solid base can miss 80 percent per square foot and stay a solid fence in the code's eyes — at 3 feet, not 5. Measure the openness of the panel you are actually buying, in one square foot of it, before agreeing a height.

Seven feet in the interior side and rear yards, whatever the material. It can go to 10 feet with an Architectural Permit — but not in the Professional Office district or in any Residential district (§36.3(C)(2)). On a house lot, seven is the working ceiling.

Six feet, and one number that is not about height at all: the fence has to be set back 18 inches from the sidewalk and meet the vision triangle requirement (§36.3(C)(3)).

Eighteen inches is a placement rule. A run drawn tight to the sidewalk does not become compliant by dropping to six feet — it moves. The strip between the fence and the sidewalk is privately owned and has to be landscaped and kept weed-free, which is worth knowing before choosing where the posts go.

Nothing solid over 3 feet. No solid fence or hedge exceeding 3 feet may stand within a 15-foot vision triangle, either side of a driveway that serves required on-site parking, or where two streets meet at the corner (§36.3(B)(2)).

Two things to hold on to. The triangle here is 15 feet — the number is specific to this city, and a figure carried over from a neighbouring one will be wrong on the ground. And the code refers to its own diagram, Figure 36.3, while stating that where the wording and the diagram disagree, the wording controls. If a drawing is being used to justify a fence, the sentence in the code is the thing to check it against.

Planning. An Architectural Permit is what allows a side or rear fence above 7 feet, in districts where that is available at all (§36.3(C)(2)). A fence within the heights above needs no planning approval.

Building. The city's Building FAQs state that fences 7 feet and under are exempt from a building permit. That is the city's published practice rather than a local amendment written into the municipal code — we looked for one and did not find it — so treat anything unusual (a wall, a structure holding soil, anything doubling as a retaining wall) as a question for the Building Division rather than an assumption.

Three things decide a Redwood City fence, and only one of them is height.

What the panel actually is — measure a square foot of it and see whether 80 percent of it is open. Where the sidewalk is, because the street side setback is measured from it. And where the triangle falls, because a solid fence or a hedge over 3 feet cannot stand in it whatever the yard around it allows.

A boundary survey by a licensed surveyor is the only thing that fixes a property line for certain, and the city's Planning Division confirms what applies at a specific address. A fence built inside the triangle, or tight to the sidewalk, is not corrected on paper — it comes out and goes back at the owner's cost.

We work on fences in Redwood City — repairs, posts, gates and boards — and these are the questions we settle before anything is set. Send photos of what you have and we will tell you what your yard allows. The wider picture for neighbouring cities is in the fence rules and permits guide.