Battle Creek, MI Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Section 1260.02(d)(6) of the Battle Creek Codified Ordinances sets the City's only retaining wall standard in the Fence Ordinance. It begins by taking retaining walls out of the fence rules: for purposes of the chapter, retaining walls are not considered a fence. That means the fence height limits, such as four feet in a residential front yard and six feet in a residential side or rear yard under § 1260.02(e)(2), are not applied to the wall itself.

The same sentence then adds a safety requirement. Any retaining wall exceeding four feet in height requires a minimum four-foot-tall fence erected along the highest elevation of the wall. The fence goes at the top edge, where a person could fall.

Terraced walls get their own test. For a terraced retaining wall, any section that is over four feet in height where there is less than a three-foot-wide landing must have a minimum four-foot-tall fence erected along the highest elevation of the subject property grade. A wide enough landing, three feet or more, removes the requirement for that section.

The fence that protects a tall wall is still a fence for permit purposes. Under § 1260.02(c)(1), a permanent fence cannot be built in the City without a permit, and the fee is the amount established by the City Commission. The fence also has to meet the general provisions: it cannot sit in a public right-of-way, cannot be within 25 feet of the corner property line at a street intersection, and fence posts must be set firmly in the ground at a depth that supports the structure under § 1260.02(f)(2). The code printed in § 1260.02 sets no engineering or permit rule for the wall itself, so any structural review of the wall comes from the building code provisions in Part Fourteen rather than from this section.

The Planning and Zoning Administrator or their designee administers the Fence Ordinance for the City of Battle Creek in Calhoun County.