Cameron County has no residential retaining-wall building code outside cities. In platted subdivisions, the county's Subdivision Rules require engineered drainage and grading so walls and lots do not push stormwater onto neighbors.
Texas counties cannot adopt a general building code, so there is no county permit or engineering standard for an ordinary backyard retaining wall in unincorporated Cameron County. Where a wall is part of a new subdivision, the county's Subdivision Rules and Regulations require drainage designed to standard engineering practice. The rules direct that lot and street drainage 'avoid concentration of storm drainage water from each lot to adjacent lots' and 'provide positive drainage away from all buildings.' A wall that blocks or diverts natural drainage can therefore run afoul of the subdivision drainage requirements and general Texas water-law liability for altering surface flow.
No county wall-permit fine. Diverting stormwater onto a neighbor can create civil liability; subdivision drainage defects can block plat approval.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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