Fence or deck costs in Stockton

Thinking chain link for the yard in Stockton? Check the code first. The city's fence chapter, rewritten by ordinance in June 2025, prohibits chain-link fencing in residential districts and for residential uses anywhere else.

The front of the lot is tight. In the front and street-side setbacks, fences, walls and dense hedges stop at three feet. A fence that's at least a third see-through can go to four. Open wrought iron or tubular steel can reach five feet, or six inside the Magnolia Historic overlay district. That exception doesn't stretch to wood, woven wire or solid walls.

Behind the front setback, and in interior side and rear setbacks, you can go up to eight feet. Stockton measures height from the highest finished grade on either side. If your neighbor's yard sits a foot above yours, the fence is measured from their side, and it will look taller from yours.

Permits follow the building code, and Stockton adds conditions to the fence exemption. A fence skips the permit only if it's seven feet or less, isn't doubling as a pool, spa or hot tub barrier, and, if it's concrete or masonry, stays at four feet or under above the finished grade next to it. A six-foot block wall between two backyards needs a permit.