Fence Companyin Apple Valley, CA
In Apple Valley a solid fence is limited to 6 feet outside the required front yard and to 48 inches within 12 feet of the street. Walls over 3 feet go to Planning review, chain link is barred from front yards in R-SF and R-EQ, and Town approval is required before any Joshua tree is disturbed.
Apple Valley covers 78 square miles and was laid out on rural estate lots, so most fence jobs are long. ACS 2024 one-year estimates count 27,627 homes (plus or minus 2,058), 78.9 percent of them single-family detached, and residential minimum lots run from 18,000 square feet to 5 acres. The Ranchos Land Co. sold its first lot on February 22, 1946, the Town incorporated after the November 8, 1988 Measure K vote, and the Mojave River along the west edge and dirt shoulders on many streets shape where a line can go.
On a fence, MDG Builders (CSLB #1040337) plays the general contractor: we settle the line and the height, ask the Town which review applies and book a licensed fence subcontractor, with a separate masonry subcontractor when the wall is block. The fencing page holds our sourced prices, the Apple Valley overview lists every trade we manage here, and the guides for Victorville and Hesperia show how the nearest High Desert cities treat the same work. Permits come from the Town's Permit Center. Municode refused our requests, so the fence text below comes from GoCodebook, a third-party mirror of the Development Code (text as of October 4, 2026). Confirm each rule with the Town.
What Apple Valley's Development Code, protected plant chapter and pool handout say about fences
Where fencing permits come from in Apple Valley: Town of Apple Valley Permit Center (Building and Safety Division).
- Fence and wall height (Development Code 9.28.120, Apple Valley Municipal Code, third-party GoCodebook mirror, 2026-10 edition, text as of 2026-10-04): in the residential districts a solid wall or fence is limited to 6 feet outside the required front yard and at least 12 feet from the right-of-way in the street side setback; solid walls in the front yard or street side setback within 12 feet of the right-of-way are limited to 48 inches (or CC&R height), while open wrought iron with decorative pilasters or spires can reach 6 feet and chain link does not count as decorative. Combination retaining and privacy walls in side or rear yards are capped at 8 feet from the lowest grade unless the Planning Commission approves a Development Permit.
- Corner lots and sight triangles (Development Code 9.28.120, Apple Valley Municipal Code, third-party GoCodebook mirror, 2026-10 edition, text as of 2026-10-04): nothing may exceed 30 inches within the clear sight triangle (30 feet from the intersection, 10 feet at driveways) and trees there are trimmed to 6 feet above the street; walls above 4 feet in rear or street side yards must sit at least 28 feet from the curb of a Major road and 24 feet from a Secondary road; walls cannot cross easements.
- Fence materials and review (Development Code 9.28.120, Apple Valley Municipal Code, third-party GoCodebook mirror, 2026-10 edition, text as of 2026-10-04): barbed wire, razor wire and electrified fences are prohibited; chain link is prohibited in the front yard and the street side yard of corner lots in the R-SF and R-EQ districts; and all walls, including retaining and perimeter walls, over 3 feet in height are subject to Planning Division review. New subdivisions in the rural, estate, equestrian and single-family districts cannot place perimeter walls opposite front yards on local streets in existing neighborhoods.
- Fees and special cases: the FY 2023-24 fee schedule lists a Residential Wire and/or Wood Fence (single lot) permit fee of $60.64 per lot, with other fences, masonry fences and retaining walls priced by valuation or through the Table A factor and Table B; separately, the Town's Wall/Fence Height Permit (Resolution 2023-33, $47.00 application fee) lets Planning allow 6 to 8 foot walls only where a commercial or industrial use adjoins residential property, with adjacent owner signatures and a building permit for any wall over 6 feet.
- Pool barriers (Building and Safety handout 'Barriers for Swimming Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs'): barriers are required for any pool, spa or hot tub holding water over 18 inches deep; fences or walls must be 60 inches above grade, with no more than a 2-inch gap under (4 inches over solid surfaces) and openings that stop a 4-inch sphere; gates must be self-closing and self-latching and swing away from the pool; and doors from a dwelling or garage that open to the water need an alarm sounding for 30 seconds at 85 decibels or more (UL 2017), or a self-closing, self-latching door for new construction.
How much fence does an Apple Valley lot need, and which setbacks apply to it?
More than most buyers expect. The minimum lot is 18,000 square feet (0.4 net acre) in R-SF and R-EQ, 1 acre in R-E, 2.5 acres in R-A and R-LD and 5 acres in R-VLD. A square 18,000 square foot lot has about 540 feet of boundary and a square 5-acre lot about 1,870, so the price per foot matters more than any 100 foot sample.
Setbacks decide where buildings sit relative to a fence line. R-SF and R-EQ lots use 30 feet in front, 25 in the rear, 15 on one side, 10 on the other and 25 on a street side. Zoning-map districts shown in parentheses fall under the Ranchos Residential Overlay, where setbacks are fixed tract by tract and follow old recorded tract maps and CC&Rs. Tract 2851, lots 1 to 25, lists 50 feet in front and on the street side and 15 feet at the interior side and rear.
Setbacks on maps recorded in San Bernardino County between March 1, 1948 and January 1, 1987 can control as well. The code text we read states these lines for buildings, so ask Planning whether a tall wall near a front or street side line is measured against them.
Get the lot's zoning district and any overlay letter in writing before drawing the fence.
Does a Joshua tree on my Apple Valley lot change where I can build a fence?
Yes, and the rule reaches every lot. Development Code 9.76.040 says no Joshua tree on any property in any zoning district may be disturbed, moved, removed or destroyed until the Town reviews and approves it. Trees that are 40 years old by record, 15 feet wide, 15 feet tall or 12 inches across the trunk at 4 feet must stay in place unless removal is approved. Whether a post hole near a trunk counts as disturbance is a question for Planning. State law adds a layer, since the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act needs CDFW authorization for take, and we could not verify whether CDFW delegated permitting to the Town.
The code can bend to save a tree. The Planning Commission may trim a front setback by up to 10 percent (not more than 7.5 feet) and side and rear setbacks by up to 20 percent. A violation is a misdemeanor charged once per tree, and the court can order a bonded replacement program. Other natives, including Mojave yucca, barrel cactus, mesquite with stems 2 inches or thicker and creosote rings 10 feet across, need a permit under 9.76.020.
Clearing a fence line has its own gate. Appendix J, section J113, bars clearing or grubbing a vacant lot, or a developed lot larger than one half acre, without a Town clearing permit, which is denied if clearing would cause significant blowing dust.
How tall can a fence be in an Apple Valley front, side or rear yard?
In the residential districts a solid wall or fence is limited to 6 feet outside the required front yard, and in a street side setback it must also sit at least 12 feet from the right-of-way. Within 12 feet of the right-of-way, solid walls in a front yard or street side setback are limited to 48 inches, or the CC&R height. Open wrought iron with decorative pilasters or spires can reach 6 feet, and chain link does not count as decorative. A 7 foot privacy fence is over the line in the text we read.
Combination retaining and privacy walls in side or rear yards are capped at 8 feet from the lowest grade unless the Planning Commission approves a Development Permit.
Corner lots add sight rules. Nothing may exceed 30 inches inside the clear sight triangle, which runs 30 feet from the intersection and 10 feet at driveways, and trees there are trimmed to 6 feet above the street. Walls above 4 feet in rear or street side yards must sit at least 28 feet from the curb of a Major road and 24 feet from a Secondary road, and walls cannot cross easements.
Ask Planning to mark the sight triangle and the curb distance on your plot plan.
What do blowing dust, clay soils and a dry lake mean for Apple Valley fence posts?
Soil changes across town. The General Plan's geotechnical element says young alluvial soils can collapse when wetted, especially where heavy irrigation sits beside a foundation, that clay-rich older fan soils are moderately expansive and that the fine silts and clays of the Apple Valley Dry Lake are likely expansive. The Town's frost depth and design wind speed did not turn up in anything we read, so there is no local figure to copy a footing depth from.
Wind is the other lever. The same plan lists strong winds associated with the Cajon Pass, acting on sandy surface soils, as a wind-erosion and dust hazard, and NOAA's Victorville normals show about 54 days a year with a low at or below 32 F. Solid panels catch more wind than open ones, which is an engineering point, not a code citation. The proposal should state footing depth and width, post spacing and how wood meets soil, with the reason for each. We read no fence rule for lots in the dry lake flood overlay, so ask if yours is.
- Footing depth and width written into the proposal
- Post spacing on solid panels
- Treated wood or concrete where posts meet soil
- A drainage plan if the fence crosses a wash
Does an Apple Valley fence need a permit, and which materials are banned?
The Town's list of exempt fences did not turn up, so call (760) 240-7000 before treating any fence as exempt. What we did read: every wall over 3 feet, retaining and perimeter walls included, is subject to Planning Division review. The fee schedule has a separate line for a single-lot wire or wood fence and prices masonry fences and retaining walls by valuation, but the schedule we found is for FY 2023-24, so we quote no amounts. The Wall/Fence Height Permit (Resolution 2023-33) lets Planning allow 6 to 8 foot walls only where a commercial or industrial use adjoins residential property, with adjacent owner signatures and a building permit for any wall over 6 feet.
Barbed wire, razor wire and electrified fences are prohibited, and chain link is barred from the front yard and the street side yard of corner lots in R-SF and R-EQ. New subdivisions in the rural, estate, equestrian and single-family districts cannot put perimeter walls opposite front yards on local streets in existing neighborhoods.
Skipping a permit has a price: none is issued until past-due enforcement costs are paid, and a Notice of Pendency can be recorded against the property.
What fence rules apply to horse property, pools and rentals in Apple Valley?
Horse property has its own spacing. Buildings and roofed structures for farm animals sit behind the house, at least 10 feet from the rear line and at least 65 feet from any off-site habitable structure, while open unroofed enclosures may stand 5 feet from side and rear lines if they are 65 to 70 feet from off-site homes. A home built later within 65 feet makes the structure legal nonconforming, and commercial stables and arenas need at least 5 acres. Newer streets such as Ocotilla Ranch, with 18,000 to 29,000 square foot lots and a horse path, are built with this in mind.
The Town's pool barrier handout covers any pool, spa or hot tub holding water more than 18 inches deep. The fence or wall must be 60 inches above grade with no more than a 2-inch gap underneath (4 inches over solid surfaces) and openings that stop a 4-inch sphere. Gates are self-closing, self-latching and swing away from the pool, and a door from a dwelling or garage opening to the water needs an alarm sounding 30 seconds at 85 decibels or more.
A single-family rental needs an annual property maintenance certificate under Chapter 8.34, so ask which exterior items the inspector checks.
How much does fence installation cost in Apple Valley, and who pays for a shared fence?
We found no Apple Valley survey, so the numbers are Los Angeles yardsticks. Angi's guide, updated August 4, 2026, shows $3,051 on average and about $29 a linear foot inside a $15 to $60 span, and HomeGuide's $20 to $60 and Thumbtack's $23 to $57 overlap it. We budget $25 to $55 per foot for 6-foot wood or vinyl privacy fencing, $12 to $30 for chain link and $35 to $85 for aluminum or ornamental iron. On a 540 foot perimeter, wood at those rates is roughly $13,500 to $29,700. That is arithmetic, not a quote, and we found no reliable price for block walls.
Fencing is CSLB class C-13, which excludes masonry, and block walls are C-29, so one job can need two subcontractors. Under Civil Code 841, neighbors who share a boundary fence are presumed to share its cost, with written notice 30 days before spending. Federal data put fence erectors in the Los Angeles area at a $28.00 hourly mean in May 2025, which is pay, not a billing rate. Our license guide and subcontractor guide explain who is on site.
Fence photos from Apple Valley and nearby communities
Fence scenes tied to Apple Valley places such as Town Hall, Norm Schmidt Park and the airport area, and to nearby Victorville and Spring Valley Lake, from post footings and slat panels to gates and pool barriers.
Where these Apple Valley fence figures come from
The table on the fencing page sets each fence price beside its publisher and date, and the sources differ enough that the page shows where. A fence often travels with other exterior work, and the Town's rules for those jobs are on the roofing page, the painting page and the kitchen remodeling page. To see how a Los Angeles County city sets its own fence limits, read the fence guide for Glendale.
| What it covers | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Wood or vinyl privacy fence, 6 feet | $25 to $55 per linear foot |
| Chain-link | $12 to $30 per linear foot |
| Aluminum or ornamental iron | $35 to $85 per linear foot |
| Typical 100-foot backyard run | $2,500 to $5,500 total |
| Block walls, horizontal slat fences, gates and openers, hillside lots | Set by the written proposal |
Other work we manage in Apple Valley
Apple Valley fence questions, answered
Do I need a permit to build a fence in Apple Valley?
Possibly, and the Town's exempt list did not turn up, so call (760) 240-7000. We did read that any wall over 3 feet, retaining walls included, goes to Planning Division review, and a wall over 6 feet needs a building permit under the height permit rules. Ask about wood and wire fences by name.
How tall can my front fence be in Apple Valley?
Solid front-yard walls within 12 feet of the right-of-way are limited to 48 inches, or the CC&R height. Open wrought iron with decorative pilasters or spires can reach 6 feet, and chain link is barred from front yards in R-SF and R-EQ. Ask Planning to confirm your district before you design.
Can I put up a 7 foot fence in Apple Valley?
Not as an ordinary solid fence in the text we read, which caps solid walls and fences at 6 feet outside the required front yard. Combination retaining and privacy walls in side or rear yards can reach 8 feet from the lowest grade with a Planning Commission Development Permit.
How much does fence installation cost for 100 feet?
Angi's Los Angeles guide lists $2,100 to $2,350 for 100 feet, and our planning rates of $25 to $55 a foot for a 6-foot wood or vinyl privacy fence give $2,500 to $5,500. Gates, old fence removal, slopes and block walls change the total. We found no Apple Valley survey.
Does my neighbor have to pay for half the fence in California?
Usually the cost is presumed shared. Civil Code 841 treats neighbors who benefit from a boundary fence as equally responsible, and asks for written notice 30 days before you spend. The presumption can be rebutted, so keep the notice, the quote and photos of the existing fence.
Can I remove a Joshua tree to build a fence in Apple Valley?
Only with the Town's approval first. Development Code 9.76.040 covers every Joshua tree on any property in any zoning district, and large or old trees must stay in place unless removal is approved. Violations are misdemeanors, one per tree. State law adds a CDFW layer, so design the line around the tree.
What are the pool fence requirements in Apple Valley?
A barrier is required for any pool, spa or hot tub holding water over 18 inches deep. It must be 60 inches above grade, with gaps under 2 inches (4 inches over solid surfaces), openings that stop a 4-inch sphere and self-closing, self-latching gates swinging away from the pool. Door alarms sound 30 seconds at 85 decibels or more.
How far must a horse barn or corral sit from neighbors' homes?
Buildings and roofed structures for farm animals must be at least 65 feet from any off-site habitable structure, behind the house and 10 feet from the rear line. Open unroofed enclosures may stand 5 feet from side and rear lines if they are 65 to 70 feet from off-site homes.
Do you need a permit to build a block wall in California?
The state model list exempts fences up to 7 feet but not necessarily masonry, and local rules govern. In Apple Valley, any wall over 3 feet is subject to Planning Division review, and block is CSLB class C-29, not fencing. Confirm the building permit question with the Permit Center.
Is chain link allowed in an Apple Valley front yard?
No in the R-SF and R-EQ districts, where chain link is prohibited in the front yard and in the street side yard of corner lots. The code does not treat chain link as decorative, so it cannot take the 6 foot open-fence allowance. Barbed wire, razor wire and electrified fences are prohibited everywhere.
Ask for a fence estimate in Apple Valley
Tell us the lot size, the length, the material and whether the line meets a street, a neighbor, a horse area or a pool. Before we call, we check the height rule, the zoning district and any Joshua trees on the lot.