A few things to consider before you install a fence in Monrovia. These are general guidelines — always confirm current requirements with the City before you start.
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Front Yard Height
Monrovia allows screening up to 6 feet on property lines, but inside the required front setback a fence is capped at 4 feet and a solid wall or hedge at 3 feet, measured from sidewalk grade along the street. Only masonry walls and good-quality wood are permitted outright; chain link is allowed only on single-family lots along interior side and rear lines, never in the front yard or facing a street.
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Side & Rear Yard Height
Interior side and rear yards may be fenced to 6 feet, measured from the highest adjacent finished grade. Anything taller is treated like the house and must meet the main building setbacks, and a fence 6 feet or taller that faces a public street must be screened with an approved landscape plan. Hillside lots backing onto open wilderness may use spike-free wrought iron up to 8 feet.
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When You Need a Permit
New fences and walls are exempt from Monrovia's neighborhood compatibility review, but anything over the standard heights, such as a 7-foot side fence or a fence stacked on a retaining wall, needs a Minor Exception from the Development Review Committee. Masonry walls and retaining walls need a building permit from the Building Division; confirm the current height threshold for wood and iron fences, since the City enforces the California Building Code.
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Corner Lots & Sight Lines
On a corner lot the 4-foot fence and 3-foot wall or hedge limit also applies within 5 feet of the street-side property line, and that fence must stay 5 feet back from the front of the house. The code does not publish a numeric triangle; instead nothing over 3 feet above grade may sit inside the corner cutoff area shown on the City's intersection diagrams.
Good to Know
If your home is part of an HOA, check your community's CC&Rs before installing — many HOAs add their own material and height rules on top of the City's. Building a pool or spa? California's Pool Safety Act (Health & Safety Code §115922–115923) requires at least two independent, approved drowning-prevention features, such as a 60-inch enclosure. Fence codes can change, so we always recommend confirming current requirements with the Monrovia Community Development Department before you start. Have questions about your property?
Contact Legacy Fence and we'll help you sort it out.
Source: Monrovia Municipal Code §§17.12.040(B) and 17.12.040(G); City of Monrovia Community Development Department.
