Apple Valley, CA Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

120(B)(4) sets the height rule for retaining walls in Apple Valley: where there is a grade difference between two adjoining lots, or between a Town right-of-way and an adjoining lot, the height of a retaining wall built along the property line or right-of-way is measured from the lowest finished grade at the wall, not from the higher side. 17. A combination wall inside the required front yard setback area does not get this eight-foot allowance; it must instead meet the ordinary front yard height limits, meaning 30 inches in the Clear Sight Triangle and 48 inches elsewhere in the front yard.

Subsection (B)(6) adds a safety requirement: a retaining wall outside the Clear Sight Triangle that does not exceed its permitted height may carry a protective guardrail when the Uniform Building Code requires one. That guardrail cannot exceed 42 inches above the top of the retaining wall and must be wrought iron with intermediate rails, or another ornamental pattern, built so that a four-inch sphere cannot pass through it. As with any wall over three feet, retaining walls fall under the Planning Division review required by subsection (D).