Building on your lot in Palo Alto

A fence, wall or structure in the nature of a fence located at the intersection of any street improved for vehicular traffic, shall not exceed three feet in height above the adjacent curb grade, within a triangular area formed by the curblines, and their projection, and a line connecting them at points thirty-five feet from the intersection of the projected curblines.

A fence, wall, or other structure in the nature of a fence located between the street setback line and the lot line, shall be permitted up to four feet in height, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

A fence, wall or other structure in the nature of a fence, up to six feet in height, except as otherwise provided in Section 16.24.040, may be located within the front and street side yard setbacks on residential property having street frontage on University Avenue, between Middlefield Road and the eastern city limit

Structural and decorative posts or columns, not exceeding seven feet in height or eighteen inches in width, and spaced no closer than six feet apart, from center to center, shall be permitted;

A fence or wall up to ten feet in height may be located at the rear of any single family residential site adjacent to San Francisquito Creek and fronting on Edgewood Drive if the portion of the site subject to a permanent easement in favor of the Santa Clara Valley Water District (or its successor in interest) for flood control purposes is reconfigured after January 1, 2002.

Where residential properties abut frontage roads, railroad rights-of-way, industrial or commercial areas, or public property other than a public street, fences of solid board or similar materials may be constructed to a height not to exceed eight feet.

A fence, wall, or other structure in the nature of a fence, located beyond the street setback line in a front yard or other street side yard shall not exceed six feet in height

A fence, wall or other structure in the nature of a fence, located beyond the street setback line in an interior side yard or rear yard, shall not exceed seven feet in height

Accessory buildings located within a required interior yard as permitted by this section shall be subject to a maximum height established by a daylight plane beginning at a height of eight feet at the property line and increasing at a slope of three feet for each ten feet of distance from the property line, to a maximum height of twelve feet.

An accessory building shall not be located in a required interior side or rear yard unless the building is at least seventy-five feet from any street line, measured along the respective lot line.

Not more than twenty-five percent of the gross floor area of the dwelling unit, or five hundred square feet of gross floor area on the site including accessory buildings, whichever is less, shall be devoted to the home occupation.

No person shall be employed on the site in connection with the home occupation except lawful occupants of the dwelling unit within which the home occupation is conducted.

The lots created by an Urban Lot Split must be of approximately equal area, such that no resulting parcel shall be smaller than 40 percent of the lot area of the original parcel proposed for subdivision.

The minimum size for a parcel created by an Urban Lot Split is 1,200 square feet.

Where existing dwelling units on the property are to remain, no lot line may be created under this Chapter in a manner that would bisect any structure or that would result in more than two dwelling units on any resulting parcel.

That no more than two dwelling units may be permitted on each lot.

The owner intends to occupy one of the housing units located on a lot created by the parcel map as their principal residence for a minimum of three years from the date of the recording of the parcel map.

For a small residential rooftop solar energy system eligible for expedited review, only one consolidated inspection shall be required, which shall be done in a timely manner.

At least seven days prior to pruning a protected tree, other than that required to remove a dead, diseased, or broken branch or branches, the property owner or their designee shall prominently post a notice on the property

Protected trees less than five years old are exempt from this provision.

It shall be a violation of this chapter for anyone to remove or cause to be removed a protected tree, except pursuant to a protected tree removal permit issued under Section 8.10.140 consistent with the following:

A maximum vertical clearance from the ground to the bottom of the enclosure of two inches (51 mm).

Gaps or voids, if any, do not allow passage of a sphere equal to or greater than four inches (102 mm) in diameter.

An outside surface free of protrusions, cavities or other physical characteristics that would serve as handholds or footholds that could enable a child below the age of five years to climb over.

Whenever a building permit is issued for construction of a new swimming pool or spa, or any building permit is issued for remodeling of an existing pool or spa, at a private, single-family home, it shall be equipped with at least two of the following seven drowning prevention safety features:

A minimum height of 60 inches (1,524 mm).

Whenever any door or window is opened or left ajar, exit alarms shall make either an audible, continuous alarm sound or a repeating verbal warning, such as a repeating notification that “the door to the pool is open.”

Any access gates through the enclosure open away from the swimming pool and are self-closing with a self-latching device placed no lower than 60 inches (1,524 mm) above the ground.