Does a low fence in a Cotati flood zone need a permit?

Yes. Any fence in a FEMA flood hazard area needs a building permit in Cotati, whatever its height. Elsewhere in the city, a fence only needs one above 7 feet. Ask Community Development whether your parcel is mapped, and file through Cloudpermit before work starts.

Can a Cotati front-yard fence go higher than 42 inches?

Yes. With Administrative Design Review, a front-yard fence can run between 42 and 72 inches, and RR zones allow up to 6 feet. Chain link isn't allowed in front or street-side setbacks, and at street and driveway corners the limit drops to 3 feet.

What should I know about fence posts in Cotati?

Much of the ground near the Laguna de Santa Rosa and Washoe Creek is alluvium, with artificial fill in places, and it's worth knowing what's under a post before you set it. At a repair, we look at why a post moved before choosing how to reset it. One reviewer noted that Gil picks posts one at a time.

Where can chain link go on a Cotati property?

Behind the front and street-side setbacks, since the city doesn't allow chain link inside them. That leaves interior side and rear lines open for a dog run or a utility area. For the street side, wood, vinyl, wrought iron and aluminum are the options that fit the rules.

Lattice-top redwood privacy fence with dark-stained posts and kickboard along a grassy backyard under trees

Cotati Fence Repair, Down to the Posts

Leaning posts, tired boards and new fence lines in Cotati, set with the Laguna's valley ground and the city's flood-area permit rule in mind.

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Cotati, CA

Can you fix my fence in Cotati, or build a new one?

We do both. In Cotati we straighten leaning fences, replace rotted posts and broken boards, rehang gates, and build new wood, vinyl, metal and deer fences. Ground along the Laguna and Washoe Creek is stream and valley alluvium, with artificial fill in spots, so we check the soil before deciding how each post gets set.

Cotati is a small city of about 7,600 built around a hexagonal downtown plaza, California Historical Landmark No. 879. A gap in the coastal hills near Petaluma lets summer fog in, so a wood fence here spends more of the season under cool, gray skies than one in Santa Rosa or Sebastopol.

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Redwood board-and-batten privacy fence with dark posts and kickboard along a concrete patio with a gravel strip

Cotati service area

Do you work all over Cotati, or just near downtown?

All over. Our area takes in every street in Cotati's 94931 ZIP code: the blocks around the hexagonal downtown plaza, the homes along the Laguna de Santa Rosa and Washoe Creek, and out to the south, where the Petaluma River watershed starts. For a specific address, call (707) 396-8940.

Cotati sits in the Laguna de Santa Rosa basin, between Rohnert Park and Petaluma. When a post leans near the Laguna or Washoe Creek, we dig it out to see what the ground is doing before we reset it.

The city asks for a building permit for any fence in a FEMA flood hazard area, whatever its height, so it pays to know your flood zone early. When only part of a run is damaged, fence repair can save the sound sections and replace the rest.

Services in Cotati

Should a Cotati fence be repaired or replaced?

Repair it if the boards are sound and only the posts have moved, since resetting posts can keep a leaning Cotati fence in service. Replace it with new wood or vinyl when the boards are gone too, and add an open top of lattice or wrought iron to reach 8 feet. Chain link can't go out front.

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Permits and rules

What triggers a building permit for a Cotati fence?

Height over 7 feet, or a location inside a FEMA flood hazard area. Interior side and rear fences can be 7 feet, or 8 when everything above 7 feet is open, like lattice or wrought iron, while front and street-side setbacks allow 42 inches. You can read the rule itself in Cotati's fence code.

Before you build in Cotati:

Contact Community Development at (707) 665-3636 or permits@cotaticity.gov; applications are submitted through Cloudpermit.
Administrative Design Review can allow a front-yard fence between 42 and 72 inches, and RR zones permit up to 6 feet out front.
Building in a FEMA flood hazard area means pulling a building permit for the fence, at any height.
Chain link is off the table in front and street-side setbacks, and fences at street and driveway corners stay 3 feet or lower.

Lattice-top redwood privacy fence with a matching double gate across the back of a yard, under a cloudy blue sky

Close-up of new redwood board fence with kickboard beside a concrete pad and an arched wood side gate

Redwood privacy fence with framed panels and dark posts along a concrete side yard

Long run of new redwood privacy fence with a lattice top and dark-stained posts across a dry backyard, seen from beside a work ladder

FAQ

Cotati FAQ

Nearby areas

Just outside Cotati? Which nearby cities do we cover?

We also work in Rohnert Park, which borders Cotati along the Laguna de Santa Rosa, in Petaluma on the other side of town, and throughout Santa Rosa. Their fence limits differ from Cotati's, sometimes by a full foot, so look up the right town on our service areas page before you plan.

Fence leaning in Cotati?

Tell us where it's leaning and how old it is, and we'll come see what the posts are doing. Or call (707) 396-8940.

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