Alexandria, VA Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Sec. 11-403(C), part of Article XI's site plan chapter, makes it unlawful to alter the grade of land "in such a manner as to change existing contours in excess of two feet within ten feet of adjacent land, or in excess of three feet elsewhere," and separately lists building "any retaining walls," along with constructing streets, alleys, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, off-street parking, drains, or sewers, and diverting stormwater, as activities that require an approved site plan before work begins. Because retaining walls appear as their own listed item rather than as a subset of the grading threshold, the requirement reaches any retaining wall, not only ones tied to a two- or three-foot grade change.

A handful of exemptions in Sec. 11-404 narrow this. New buildings under 3,000 square feet skip the site plan only if there is "no excess alteration of the grade as set forth in section 11-403(C)", so a small addition that still needs a substantial retaining wall can lose that exemption. Sec. 11-404(F) exempts city improvements, including municipal retaining walls built as part of street, alley, or sewer work, but that carve-out runs to the city, not to private property owners.

When a site plan is required, Sec. 11-406(B) requires it to be prepared under the responsible charge of a professional engineer or land surveyor licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia, submitted in at least 20 prints at a scale of 100 feet to the inch, and Sec. 11-406(E)(13) specifically calls for a "general indication of proposed grading, surface drainage, terraces, retaining wall heights, grades on paved areas."