Porter Ranch fencing questions and answers

Expect roughly $18 to $40 a linear foot for chain link, $30 to $60 for wood, $40 to $70 for vinyl, and $50 to $120 for wrought iron, all installed. Where you land inside a range depends on the run length, the slope of your lot, and the material grade. A short flat run sits low, while a hillside line with deeper footings and a premium material sits high.

Chain link is the least expensive at $18 to $40 a linear foot, which is why it suits a back line or a pet run rather than street frontage. For a solid six foot privacy fence, wood is the value pick, and a 150 foot cedar run generally comes to $4,500 to $9,000 installed. Vinyl at the same height costs more up front but removes the upkeep.

A standard fence at or under the height your own lot allows usually does not need a City of Los Angeles building permit. You do need one for anything taller, for a retaining wall that holds back soil, or for work in the public right of way, all handled through LADBS. In the tracts, though, the HOA architectural approval is the step to clear first, before any city paperwork.

Under the City of Los Angeles rules, a residential fence is generally allowed up to six feet in the side and rear yards and about three and a half feet in the required front yard. Six feet is what most of Porter Ranch gets, because these tracts sit inside a designated Hillside Area. A lot forty feet or wider outside that boundary can reach eight feet in the side and rear. Corner lots also have a visibility triangle near the street where height is limited so drivers can see, and your HOA may set its own limit inside any of these numbers.

Usually yes. Under the Good Neighbor Fence Act, California Civil Code section 841, adjoining owners are presumed to share equally in the reasonable cost of a boundary fence. The law expects you to give your neighbor at least 30 days written notice before building, describing the problem, the proposed fence, and the estimated cost. There are two further items, the equal-split presumption written out and the timing you propose. Neighbors can always agree to a different split in writing.

It depends on the material. A cedar or redwood fence lasts about 15 to 20 years with a seal every few years, chain link runs a similar 15 to 20, vinyl holds 20 to 30 years or more with almost no upkeep, and wrought iron can pass 40 years if the powder coat is maintained. The hot foothill sun is the main thing that shortens a wood fence here.

Yes. California law requires a safety barrier around a residential pool, at least five feet high with a self-closing, self-latching gate that opens away from the water, and Porter Ranch enforces it through the City of Los Angeles. You can meet the code with removable mesh at $15 to $30 a linear foot or a permanent metal barrier at $40 to $90, which can also serve as the yard fence.

Yes. In Renaissance, Westcliffe, Bella Vista, and the other tracts, the association reviews fence material, color, style, and height before work begins, so we prepare that submittal for you. We quote a fence the guidelines will actually approve and build the review time into the schedule, rather than discovering a restriction after the posts are ordered.