Fence rules in Woodside
- A town permit is required for fences, walls, gates, pylons, and berms (WMC 153.212). Open fences that meet the standards can be approved directly by the Planning Director; other designs may go to the Architectural and Site Review Board.
- Solid or "non-rural" fences set more than 50 feet from the road right-of-way (30 feet in the R-1 zone) trigger notice to adjacent owners, who can request design review within 10 days.
- No fencing in stream corridors unless the Town Engineer finds it won't impede drainage and Planning approves wildlife passage provisions.
- Wildlife-friendly design is the town's explicit preference — open rail, welded wire on wood posts — tied to the General Plan's wildlife-corridor policies.
- Fence permits lapse after two years if unused.
What this means for repairs
Like-for-like repair of an existing permitted fence is the simple case: replacing rotted posts and rails in kind maintains what was approved. It's changes — height, opacity, location — that restart the permit conversation. On Woodside's slopes and wooded lots, the usual failure points shift too: posts on grades collect runoff on the uphill side, oak-shaded runs stay damp longer, and long rural fence lines fail post by post rather than all at once, which is exactly what makes them repairable in stages.
Send photos through the form — the failed posts, the run, the terrain around it — and get a repair estimate range before anyone drives up.
Sources: Woodside Municipal Code §153.212; town Fences & Entry Features guidelines. Rules are parcel-specific here more than anywhere nearby — talk to Woodside Planning early for anything beyond in-kind repair.