Davie, FL Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

The Town of Davie's Land Development Code addresses walls mainly as screening and boundary structures rather than as engineered earth-retaining walls. For most zoning districts, a retaining wall is permitted as a structural project: the Building Division requires a building permit, and engineered walls are designed and inspected under the Florida Building Code (the same Building Division that reviews fence post-and-panel and special-inspector requirements). The code's masonry-wall provisions in Sec. 12-33(O) require screen walls to be finished on both sides with two coats of cement stucco or pre-cast concrete and painted on both sides (subsection 9). Decorative and screening walls are limited by the same height framework as fences. In the Rural Lifestyle area, Sec. 12-287(B)(6) is explicit: walls are prohibited within scenic-corridor buffers and limited to a maximum of three (3) feet in height elsewhere; wall sections may not exceed ten (10) linear feet and must be separated by landscaping; and no wall shall be placed atop a berm. Berms within 25 feet of a property line are capped at three feet with a maximum 3:1 slope. Because true structural retaining walls also involve drainage and grading, plans should account for any drainage-district easements noted on the Fence/site checklist. Confirm engineering and permit requirements with the Building Division before construction.