Article 13 — FENCES, WALLS, RETAINING WALLS AND HEDGES

(Added by O-897; Amended by O-1757; O-2327)

(Amended by O-2437)

The following provisions shall apply to all land used for residential purposes:

a) No fence or wall three (3) feet or greater in height shall be constructed without first obtaining a building permit therefor.

b) No metal fence or metal wall shall be permitted except when constructed of chain link, open smooth wire, ornamental wrought iron, decorative metal beams or decorative panels.

c) No barbed wire is permitted.

d) No fence shall be constructed which is charged or chargeable with electricity.

e) Height limit:

• 1. Front yard area;

Any fence, wall or hedge within the required setback area of any lot shall not exceed a height of four (4) feet nor shall be constructed of materials other than decorative material compatible with the residential structure and the scheme of the general neighborhood, explicitly excluding the use of chain link, chicken wire, hog wire and fiberglass. However, if all the following conditions are met, a fence, wall or hedge up to six (6) feet in height may be constructed in the front setback:

A) That no portion of said fence or wall shall project nearer than ten (10) feet to the front property line except where the average front setback in a block is less than twenty (20) feet, then it shall be allowed to project no nearer than five (5) feet to the front property line. That no portion of said fence or wall shall project into a triangle, the base of which coincides with the front property line of the subject and/or adjacent property, the apex of said triangle being 90 degrees and located along a perpendicular line extending twenty (20) feet from the front property line along the centerline of the right-most driveway lane.

B) That permanent landscaping shall be provided between fence or wall and the front property line and a permanent irrigation system be provided for all landscaping including parkways and street trees.

2. Side Yard Area:

Any fence, or wall within the required side yard setback area of any lot shall not exceed a height of six (6) feet, except that, the Planning Director, may permit a greater height, not to exceed eight (8) feet, for that portion of yard to the rear of the front forty (40) feet upon a determination that a greater height will not be detrimental to the public welfare or to abutting property and that greater height is necessary for one (1) or more of the following reasons:

A) Enclosure of a private swimming pool or outdoor recreation area;

B) Rear yard areas abutting commercial or multiple residential uses;

C) Capping of a six (6) foot fence with less than an eight (8) inch cap or decoration;

D) Fences constructed on terrain with a grade difference of one (1) foot fall in five (5) linear feet.

3) Rear yard area:

Any fence, or wall within the required rear yard setback area of any lot shall not exceed a height of six (6) feet, except that the Planning Director, may permit a greater height not to exceed eight (8) feet, upon a determination that the standards for an exception, established in Section 92.13.1. e-2) are satisfied.

4) Notice and appeal:

A) Upon receipt of an application for an exception to the side yard or rear yard area fence or wall height units, the Planning Director shall notify by mail the owner of any property which immediately abuts the fence or wall indicated on the application, that there is an application on file with the Planning Department and that the abutting property owner has ten (10) days in which to protest the application either in writing or in person;

B) If any protest is made against the application or the Planning Director grants the application or the Planning Director denies the application or grants the application with conditions, the Planning Director shall notify the protesting property owner or the applicant, as the case may be, of his decision and of the right to appeal;

C) Any property owner who has made a protest to the Planning Director, or applicant whose application has been denied or granted with conditions and who is not satisfied with the decision of the Planning Director may file an appeal with the Planning Commission. Any such appeal must be filed within twenty-one (21) days after notice of the decision of the Planning Director has been mailed and must be accompanied by a fee of one-half (1/2) the application fee provided in Section 99.1.12. of this Code.

D) The decision of the Planning Commission may be appealed to the City Council as provided in Article 5, Division 1 of this Code.

f) Swimming Pool Enclosures: A fence or wall shall be constructed to a minimum height of five (5) feet above adjacent property elevations in such a manner as to completely enclose any swimming pool or other body of water which, at any point, reaches a depth of twelve (12) or more inches. The wall of a building may be considered part of such wall. Such wall or fence surrounding a swimming pool or other body of water shall have no openings greater than four (4) inches in width nor less than two (2) feet in height, shall not be a ladder-like design, and shall be constructed of a material and design to prevent any access thereto except by a self-closing, self-latching gate upon which a latch is located at least four (4) feet six (6) inches above the bottom of the gate.

g) Retaining Walls: That portion of a wall which retains an earth bank and provides internal support to a grade shall not be considered as contributing to the permissible overall height of a fence or wall when constructed within the rear yard or interior side yard setback area, provided however:

• 1. That no retaining wall shall be constructed which exceeds five (5) feet in height. If the grade to be retained exceeds five (5) feet, additional retaining walls may be constructed at higher elevations provided a planter area not less than two (2) feet in width is constructed between said retaining walls and is landscaped.
• 2. That any retaining wall which exceeds three (3) feet in height must be topped by a wall or fence not less than three (3) feet in height unless the retaining wall is one of the lower of a series of retaining walls as described above.

(Amended by O-3708)

The following provisions shall apply to all land used for commercial and industrial purposes.

a) No fence or wall three feet or greater in height shall be constructed without first obtaining a building permit;

b) No metal fence or wall shall be permitted except when constructed of chain link, open smooth wire, ornamental wrought iron, decorative metal beams or decorative panels;

c) No fence shall be constructed which is charged or chargeable with electricity, except that Community Development Director may permit a fence charged or chargeable by electricity upon a determination that the fence meets the following requirements:

1. The property on which the fence is constructed, erected or located, is a critical infrastructure, a key resource, a high security risk, or a terrorist target as determined by the federal, state, or local government.

2. The property on which the fence is constructed, erected or located is a minimum of 300 contiguous acres.

3. Any contrivance or mechanism to control electrical current in such fences shall be listed by an approved testing laboratory, and shall include a suitable interrupting device and such other safety devices to prevent dangerous currents getting on the fence at any time.

4. The fence, energizer components, electrical controller, system design and installation must meet or exceed the standards or specifications of the International Electrotechnical Commission or any later adopted standards published by the Underwriters Laboratories, National Electrical Code of the National Fire Protection Association, or the California Electrical Code.

5. Any fence must be posted with warning signs containing the following or similar wording: "DANGER," "CAUTION" or "WARNING" and the words "ELECTRIC FENCE." or "HIGH VOLTAGE." The signs must include the international warning symbol for risk of electric shock or high voltage, which is a lightning bolt inside a triangle (ISO 3864). Further, the sign must contain the warning symbol for an electric fence, which is a hand touching a wire or wires with three lightning bolts coming out from where the hand is touching the wire or wires (IEC 1818/05). The signs must be yellow with black inscription and the letters must be at least two inches high. The signs must be at least 8 inches by 4 inches. The signs must be posted along any such fence at intervals of not more than twenty five feet. The signs must be viewable from both sides of the fence.

6. Any fence charged or chargeable by electricity must not exceed twelve feet in height.

7. Any fence charged or chargeable by electricity must be located inside an exterior perimeter fence that is at least 6 feet in height and is not charged or chargeable by electricity.

8. The fence must be in low voltage mode unless the security advisory system or threat advisory system of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the State of California, the County of Los Angeles, or the City of Torrance is at a current threat level of High or Severe.

9. Any fence charged or chargeable by electricity must use a pulsed DC current with a maximum of 35 milliamperes per pulse, each pulse must last no longer than 300 microseconds, and with a minimum interval of 1.5 seconds between pulses.

10. The Community Development Director may impose conditions as may be deemed desirable and necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Division, to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, and to mitigate project-related adverse impacts.

d) No fence, wall or hedge shall exceed eight feet in height, except as permitted by the Community Development Director in subsection (c);

e) No barbed wire fence shall be constructed, provided, however, that barbed wire may be placed above a fence that is at least five feet in height.

Nothing contained herein shall be construed to prohibit the erection of a fence, wall or hedge as required by any federal or state law or regulations.