Bowie, MD Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Chapter 26, § 26-2 folds retaining walls into Bowie's fence and wall standards rather than giving them a separate section. Subsection C(3) makes clear the chapter's general restrictions on fence placement do not override a safety requirement: nothing in § 26-2 prevents installing a required guard or fence on top of a retaining wall or other structure, so a wall that needs a protective rail for safety can have one regardless of the yard fencing limits. The operative height and setback control is subsection J: a retaining wall taller than six feet may not sit in any required yard of the lot and must instead meet the same setback distances that apply to the main building, meaning it has to be pulled back to the building line rather than placed at the property line the way a shorter wall could be.

Because Prince George's County, not the City, administers grading and structural engineering standards for retaining walls through the county's Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement, a Bowie property owner building a wall over six feet needs both the county's structural sign-off and compliance with § 26-2J's setback before the wall goes in. The Board of Appeals can grant a variance from the six-foot and setback rule under the procedures in § 26-15, and a wall that already existed on November 24, 1992 and does not meet the current rule is grandfathered as nonconforming under § 26-2G, provided it is only repaired and not relocated or resized. Code Compliance in Community Services handles enforcement for retaining walls the same as any other fence violation under this chapter.