Berkeley, CA Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

2 list of work exempt from a building permit. Item 4 on that list exempts retaining walls that stay at or under 4 feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, from having to pull a permit, as long as the wall isn't built to hold back a surcharge load or to impound Class I, II, or IIIA liquids; a wall doing either of those jobs needs a permit regardless of its height. 3 process used for any other building permit: a written application, construction documents, a stated valuation, and the applicant's signature.

020, define a retaining wall as a wall designed to contain and resist the lateral displacement of soil where that soil sits at a higher elevation on one side of the wall, the same definition used when the Zoning Ordinance regulates where such walls can sit relative to setbacks and lot lines. Because the exemption is measured off the footing rather than the visible face, a wall that looks short from the low side can still cross the 4-foot line once the buried footing depth is counted, and owners near the threshold should confirm the measurement with the Division before skipping the permit.