Fences and gates Morgan Hill

Fences in Morgan Hill, from 1970s tract back lines to El Toro's slopes

In Morgan Hill a back or side fence may reach 6 feet, and a seventh foot only as lattice or other decoration uniformly open to light and air. In the front setback, and within 5 feet of a street side property line, the limit is 3 feet. Chapter 18.52 of the zoning code also bars chain link, barbed and razor wire, sheet metal and electric fences on residential lots unless the Planning Commission approves them.

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  • Rules on this page checked against 18 public sources, October 2026
Shops at First Street and Monterey Road in downtown Morgan Hill
Shops at First Street and Monterey Road in downtown Morgan Hill. Photo: Cristiano Tomás, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fence and gate work goes in Morgan Hill

The Morgan Hill code sections a fence quote should follow

  1. Chapter 18.52, fences and walls

    The chapter applies in every zoning district and counts walls as fences. A fence that meets it needs no planning permit, though a building permit may still be needed under the building code, and a fence in the public right-of-way needs an encroachment permit under Chapter 12.08. One decorative arch, gate or trellis per street frontage may exceed the height limit, up to 10 feet wide and 10 feet high, and fences and walls must be kept in orderly and good condition.

    Morgan Hill Municipal Code, Chapter 18.52 (opens in a new tab)

  2. Minor exceptions to the height limit

    The community development director may approve a minor exception in two cases. In the open space and residential estate districts, an open wrought iron or decorative front fence at least 70 percent open to light and air may reach 6 feet. In any district, a fence may gain 2 feet in the front setback and 1 foot behind the front setback line where a slope or a grade difference between lots warrants it, or where the lot borders a park or common open space and views are not unreasonably affected.

    Morgan Hill Municipal Code, Section 18.52.050 (opens in a new tab)

  3. Nonconforming fences and the 25 percent trigger

    Legally established nonconforming screening, fences and landscaping may continue and remain. The exception is a large project: an addition or renovation that increases the floor area or the market value of one or more buildings on the property by 25 percent or more requires them to be brought into compliance with the zoning district. A remodel big enough to cross that line can therefore also require an old front fence to come down to the current limits.

    Morgan Hill Municipal Code, Section 18.68.070 (opens in a new tab)

  4. The hillside combining district

    The H district applies to every area of the city with an average slope of 10 percent or more. On parts of a lot steeper than 20 percent, the code bars grading, altering natural features and removing natural vegetation in preparing a lot for development, with exceptions the planning commission may grant for fire trails and fire-protection thinning. It also asks that El Toro Mountain be kept as open space as far as possible above set elevations.

    Morgan Hill Municipal Code, Section 18.30.040 (opens in a new tab)

State license for this work: C-13 Fencing, C-29 Masonry. Look up a contractor's license on the CSLB website (cslb.ca.gov).

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The work

Five Morgan Hill fence jobs and the code line each one meets

  • A 7-foot back fence with a lattice top

    Behind the front setback, Table 18.52-1 holds a fence to 6 feet, and its footnote allows one more foot, to 7 in all, only for lattice work and other decorative features uniformly open to the passage of light and air. A solid seventh foot of boards does not qualify. The city's fence page says it the other way round: once a side or rear fence passes 6 feet, the top foot has to be lattice.

  • A fence standing on a retaining wall

    Section 18.52.030 measures a fence on top of a retaining wall from the top of the wall, treating that as finished grade, so the wall itself does not count against the fence. Where there is no retaining wall and the yards on either side sit at different grades, the height runs from the lower side to the highest point of the fence. On a hillside lot, the city's handout lists new retaining walls over 4 feet among the projects that need a Planning design permit.

  • The street side of a corner lot

    Two Morgan Hill rules overlap at a corner. Table 18.52-1 limits a fence within 5 feet of the street side property line to 3 feet, and Section 18.92.080 keeps a clear vision triangle, measured 20 feet along each street from the point where the rights-of-way intersect, in which no structure, object or landscaping may stand over 3 feet. Trees can remain there if they are pruned at least 8 feet above the curb.

  • Back fences along arterial roads

    Where a rear or side yard sits along an arterial roadway named in the General Plan, Section 18.16.030 requires residential development to hold its fence or wall at least 15 feet from the face of the curb, with an average of 20 feet. The rule is written for residential development rather than for repairs, so ask the Planning Division whether it applies before a replacement fence is moved any closer to the street.

  • Replacing an old chain link front fence

    Chain link is prohibited on residential lots unless the Planning Commission approves it, and in the Residential Estate and open space districts, chain link with or without slats and solid board fences stay at 3 feet in the front setback even where open fencing may go higher. A legally built chain link fence can remain, but Section 18.68.070 makes a large addition or renovation bring nonconforming fences on the lot into compliance.

A white wooden picket fence with an open gate in front of a white weatherboard house
A white wooden picket fence with an open gate in front of a white weatherboard house. Photo: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The houses here

Tract yards from the boom years, estate lots and hillside parcels

Most Morgan Hill fences divide tract lots built after the city approved its first modern subdivision in 1958, a great many of them in the 1970s, when the population roughly tripled, and later in the yearly allotments of the city's growth-control system. The zoning code also keeps a Residential Estate district for detached houses on large lots in a semi-rural setting, with subzones whose minimum lot sizes are 1, 2.5 and 10 acres, and the fence rules there loosen for open front fencing. Slope adds a third layer. The city's hillside handout says the hillside ordinance applies to every property with an average slope of 10 percent or more, whether or not the zoning map shows the hillside combining district.

Part by part

Two Morgan Hill places where fence work changes

  • Holiday Lake Estates and Jackson Oaks

    The 2016 county wildfire plan annex for Morgan Hill names these association-managed communities above Anderson Lake as the areas of greatest wildland-urban interface concern, noting many homes with combustible decks and fencing and one road in and out. Before replacing a fence, ask the association what it requires, and check the lot on the city's 2025 Fire Hazard Severity Zone map.

  • El Toro

    The hillside code singles out El Toro Mountain: land above 600 feet in Llagas Valley and Paradise Valley, and above 500 feet elsewhere, is to stay open space as far as possible, and subdivisions there dedicate open-space easements. The city's hillside handout warns that such easements may restrict development or alterations, so read the title report before planning a perimeter fence on one of these lots.

Before you hire

What to settle with a Morgan Hill fence pro

  • For a 7-foot fence, ask them to show the top foot as lattice open to light and air, as Table 18.52-1 requires.
  • On a corner lot, ask them to mark the 20-foot vision triangle and the 5-foot strip along the side street before digging.
  • Replacing chain link? Ask for wood, masonry, tubular steel, fiberglass or stone, the kinds of material Section 18.52.080 names.
  • Where the fence meets the house, ask about a metal or other noncombustible gate or panel for the first 5 feet.
  • Check the C-13 Fencing license at cslb.ca.gov, and ask how the old pressure-treated posts will be disposed of.

Free, no obligation. Next, add your details in the request form.

Questions

Morgan Hill owners ask about fence height and materials

Can our new back fence in Morgan Hill be 7 feet of solid boards?

No. Table 18.52-1 sets 6 feet for fences outside the front setback and the street side strip, and the extra foot up to 7 is allowed only for lattice and other decorative features uniformly open to light and air. The city's fence page says fences of 7 feet or under need no building permit, so the lattice top is a zoning rule rather than a building one.

Our Morgan Hill fence sits on a 2-foot retaining wall. Does the wall count toward the height?

No. Section 18.52.030 measures a fence on a retaining wall from the top of the wall, treating it as finished grade. A fence beside a grade change with no retaining wall under it is measured instead from the lower side to its highest point, which can make a fence along a slope taller in the code's eyes than it looks from the higher yard.

Is chain link allowed along a side yard in Morgan Hill?

Not on a residential lot without Planning Commission approval. Section 18.52.060 lists chain link alongside barbed wire, razor wire, sheet metal and electric fences as prohibited in residential districts unless the commission approves it. The minor-exception rules also keep chain link, slatted or not, at 3 feet in the front setback of residential estate and open space lots.

We plan a big addition in Morgan Hill. Will our old front fence have to change?

Possibly. Under Section 18.68.070, legally established nonconforming fences may stay, but an addition or renovation that raises the floor area or market value of one or more buildings on the property by 25 percent or more requires nonconforming fences, screening and landscaping to come into compliance. A front fence taller than 3 feet in the setback would then have to meet the current limit.

Does Morgan Hill's fire department say anything about wood fences next to the house?

Its Be Ember Aware tips warn against stacking firewood next to wood fences that are connected to the house, and they ask owners in high fire hazard areas to keep a noncombustible or low-combustible area within 3 to 5 feet of the house. The state Board of Forestry's Zone 0 rules for that first 5 feet were still in final review in October 2026, so check their status before rebuilding an attached section.

Where these facts come from

Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and programs change: confirm permit requirements with the city before work starts, and a contractor's license on the CSLB website.

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