Imperial Beach · Building on your lot

Building on your lot in Imperial Beach

Imperial Beach sets its own limits for fences and accessory buildings and allows home businesses in residential zones under set conditions. Fences near street corners must stay low for visibility.

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Key points

Fence height: Imperial Beach limits fences to 4 ft in front yards and a reversed corner lot's street side yard; 6 ft elsewhere.
Accessory buildings: Imperial Beach allows accessory buildings up to 100 sq ft on a side or rear lot line with no roof runoff onto the neighbor.
Home businesses: Imperial Beach allows home businesses in any residential zone if the listed conditions are met, with at most 2 people employed on site.

Each rule below is marked Imperial Beach code or CA state law and links to the section it comes from (checked October 2026). General information, not legal advice.

Fences and walls

Imperial Beach code What Imperial Beach's code adds
Corner visibility	Corner clear zones: no solid fences or plants over 2½ feet; open fencing up to 4 feet. Applies: Clear zones are 25 feet at two-street corners and 10 feet at street-alley corners. Open fencing needs community development department approval. § 19.46.030 · code text Solid, sight-obstructing fences and landscaping over two and one-half feet in height shall not be located in a twenty-five-foot corner clear zone at the intersection of two streets or in a ten-foot corner clear zone at the intersection of a street and an alley. Open nonsight obstructing fencing may be permitted in the corner clear zones to a height of four feet, subject to the approval of the community development department.
Height anywhere on the lot	Fences up to 4 feet high may go anywhere on the lot. § 19.46.020 · code text Any fence not exceeding four feet in height may be located on any part of a lot. Up to 6 feet high. Applies: Any part of the lot except front yards and the street side yard of a reversed corner lot. § 19.46.020 · code text Any fence not exceeding six feet in height may be located on any part of a lot except the front yard of all lots or the street side yard on a reversed corner lot.

Sheds, garages and other accessory structures

Imperial Beach code What Imperial Beach's code adds
Side and rear setback	At least 5 feet from any property line. Applies: Accessory buildings in any required rear yard. § 19.74.010 · code text Accessory buildings may be located in any required rear yard; provided, they shall be located not less than five feet from any property line. No setback. May sit on the side or rear property line. Applies: Accessory buildings of no more than 100 square feet, if no roof water runs onto the neighboring property. § 19.74.010 · code text Any accessory building having a floor area of not more than one hundred square feet may be located on the side or rear property line, provided that there is no runoff of water from the roof onto abutting property.

Running a business from home

Imperial Beach code What Imperial Beach's code adds
Employees	No more than 2 people may work on the premises. § 19.74.020 · code text Not more than two persons are employed on the premises;
Permit	Allowed in any residential zone if the listed conditions are met. Applies: Residential zones. § 19.74.020 · code text Home occupations shall be permitted in any residential zone, provided the following conditions are complied with:

Lot splits under SB 9

Imperial Beach code Neither new parcel may be smaller than 40% of the original lot area. Each unit may be no more than 800 square feet of floor area, not counting parking.

All 15 Imperial Beach rules on lot splits under sb 9, with the code text and the state law underneath →

RV and boat parking

Imperial Beach code What Imperial Beach's code adds
Where it may be parked	On the RV owner's property, or someone else's with the fee owner's written permission if the RV owner lives there. § 10.36.110 · code text The off-street parking of recreational vehicles is limited to the personal real property of the registered vehicle owner or the personal real property of another, so long as the registered vehicle owner is a legal resident of the property and obtains written permission from the real property owner, who must be the holder in fee, of the property.
Front-yard parking	Not in the required front-yard setback for the zone. Applies: Applies to RVs stored or parked on private property. § 10.36.110 · code text RVs shall not be stored or parked in the required front-yard setback, for the particular zone, as prescribed in Sections 19.12.030, 19.14.030, 19.15.030 and 19.16.030.
Screening and surface	Park with the smallest side facing the street. Applies: Applies to RVs parked where any public street can see them. § 10.36.110 · code text RVs parked in areas visible from any public street, shall be parked in a manner that exposes the smallest profile of that RV to the street. Smallest side faces the nearest street; hide the largest side from view as much as feasible. Applies: Applies to RVs stored or parked on corner parcels. § 10.36.110 · code text RVs stored or parked on corner parcels shall be positioned so that the smallest profile is oriented towards the street nearest to which it is parked. The largest profile must be obscured from visibility to as great an extent as feasible.
Parking on the street	No more than 48 hours. Applies: On any street; street parking is only for loading and trip preparation, not storage. § 10.36.110 · code text It is unlawful to park a recreational vehicle for a period in excess of 48 hours on any street in the City.

Solar panels and EV chargers

Imperial Beach code What Imperial Beach's code adds
EV charger permit	Electronic submittal is allowed, and electronic signatures are accepted. Applies: Applies to EV charging station permit applications. § 15.10.040 · code text the Building Official shall allow for electronic submittal of permit applications covered by this ordinance and associated supporting documentations. In accepting such permit applications, the Building Official shall also accept electronic signatures The Building Official approves and issues all needed permits when the application meets the City's checklist and laws. Applies: Applies to EV charging stations. § 15.10.040 · code text an application to install an electric vehicle charging station will be deemed approved 20 business days after the application was deemed complete for applications for one to 25 electric vehicle charging stations at a single site
Solar permit process	Administrative, nondiscretionary review; all required permits issue once the checklist is confirmed. Applies: Applies to small residential rooftop solar systems. § 15.07.060 · code text The Community Development Department shall implement an administrative, nondiscretionary review process to expedite approval of small residential rooftop solar energy systems.

Swimming pools

Imperial Beach code What Imperial Beach's code adds
Pool barrier	No opening wider than 4 inches. § 19.70.020 · code text Such wall, fence or enclosure shall not be less than five feet in height, with no opening greater than four inches wide. The fence or wall must not give ladder-like access into the pool, spa or hot tub area. § 19.70.020 · code text No such fence or wall shall be so constructed as to afford ladder-like access into the pool, spa or hot tub area.
Barrier height	At least 5 feet high. Applies: Applies to the wall, fence or enclosure around any pool, spa or hot tub. § 19.70.020 · code text Such wall, fence or enclosure shall not be less than five feet in height, with no opening greater than four inches wide.
Equipment and alarms	Heating, filter, pump and accessory equipment must be at least 5 feet from any property line. Applies: Applies to pool heating, filtering, pumping and accessory equipment. § 19.70.010 · code text Heating, filtering, pumping and accessory equipment shall be located not less than five feet from any property line.
Gates	Gates 5 feet high, self-closing and self-latching; latch at least 4.5 feet above grade. § 19.70.030 · code text Ingress and egress provided by a gate in the fence or wall shall also be five feet in height and all such gates shall be self-closing and self-latching. The latch shall be at least four and one-half feet above grade.
Setback from property lines	At least 5 feet from any property line, measured from the pool edge. Applies: Applies to swimming pools, spas and hot tubs. § 19.70.010 · code text All swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs shall be located not less than five feet from any property line, measured from the lip of the pool edge.

Pets, chickens and bees

Imperial Beach code What Imperial Beach's code adds
Chickens	Yes, up to 3 hen chickens. Applies: R-1-6000 residential lots of at least 5,000 square feet with no more than 1 single-family home. § 6.04.035 · code text A maximum of three hen chickens may be kept on any residential property zoned R-1-6000 Single-Family Residential as defined in Chapter 19.12 of this code, provided it has a minimum of 5,000 square feet in size and contains not more than one single-family dwelling unit.
Coop setback	The hen enclosure must be at least 15 feet from any property line. Applies: The enclosure must be in the rear yard and outside required side and rear setbacks. § 6.04.035 · code text All hen chickens shall be kept within an enclosure that is at least 15 feet distant from any property line.
Pet limit	No more than 5 dogs over 4 months old. Applies: Per residential dwelling unit. § 6.04.090 · code text No owner/guardian owning or residing in any residential dwelling unit within the City shall keep or maintain more than five dogs over the age of four months within such unit or upon the premises where such unit is located.

Who this affects

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Frequently asked questions

How tall can a fence be in Imperial Beach?

Imperial Beach limits fences to 4 ft in front yards and a reversed corner lot's street side yard; 6 ft elsewhere.

How big can a shed or accessory building be in Imperial Beach?

Imperial Beach allows accessory buildings up to 100 sq ft on a side or rear lot line with no roof runoff onto the neighbor.

Can I run a business from my home in Imperial Beach?

Imperial Beach allows home businesses in any residential zone if the listed conditions are met, with at most 2 people employed on site.

Can I park an RV or boat at my home in Imperial Beach?

Imperial Beach's code: On the RV owner's property, or someone else's with the fee owner's written permission if the RV owner lives there. (§ 10.36.110); Not in the required front-yard setback for the zone. (Applies to RVs stored or parked on private property.) (§ 10.36.110).

Do I need a permit for solar panels or an EV charger in Imperial Beach?

Imperial Beach's code: Electronic submittal is allowed, and electronic signatures are accepted. (Applies to EV charging station permit applications.) (§ 15.10.040); The Building Official approves and issues all needed permits when the application meets the City's checklist and laws. (Applies to EV charging stations.) (§ 15.10.040).

What are the pool fence and setback rules in Imperial Beach?

Imperial Beach's code: No opening wider than 4 inches. (§ 19.70.020); The fence or wall must not give ladder-like access into the pool, spa or hot tub area. (§ 19.70.020).

Can I keep chickens or bees at my home in Imperial Beach?

Imperial Beach's code: Yes, up to 3 hen chickens. (R-1-6000 residential lots of at least 5,000 square feet with no more than 1 single-family home.) (§ 6.04.035); The hen enclosure must be at least 15 feet from any property line. (The enclosure must be in the rear yard and outside required side and rear setbacks.) (§ 6.04.035).

General information, not legal advice.

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