Bensalem, PA Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Section 232-583(c) of the Bensalem Township Zoning Code allows retaining walls to be built in a yard area, but sets a specific height ceiling where the wall abuts a residential district: the maximum permitted exposed height is either the distance to the nearest building on an adjacent parcel or eight feet, whichever number is smaller. That comparison means a wall next to a home built close to the shared line has to be shorter than eight feet, while a wall facing a distant house can rise to the full eight-foot cap.

The same subsection requires the wall to sit no closer than three feet from any property line, unless the owner produces construction and maintenance easements from the abutting property owners that allow work closer to the line. Because Section 232-583 groups retaining walls with the yard-exception rules for garages, accessory buildings, and fences, the same permit requirement in subsection (e)(1) applies: no wall goes up without a permit from the Township Department of Building and Planning, and the same severability and repealer clauses in subsections (e)(2) and (e)(3) govern the whole section. The rule targets walls abutting residential districts specifically; walls elsewhere in a nonresidential district are not subject to this eight-foot ceiling under subsection (c).