Skagit County, WA Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

SCC Chapter 14.28 governs required distances from structures to property lines in unincorporated Skagit County, and SCC 14.28.040 lists the structures that chapter exempts from those setback rules altogether. Subsection (1)(c) exempts retaining walls and rockeries four feet in height or less, with height measured from the bottom of the wall's footing to its top, a specific measurement point the code spells out so that walls built on sloped grade cannot be measured only from the uphill or downhill face. A retaining wall or rockery taller than four feet falls outside the exemption and must instead meet the zone's regular front, side, or rear setback the same as a building, per SCC 14.28.030(1), which requires every project permit application to observe the minimum setback adopted for its zone.

SCC 14.28.030(8)(f) also folds in the applicable building code adopted under SCC Title 15, meaning a taller retaining wall needs the structural review that comes with a building permit, not just a setback check. The area within any required setback, including next to a retaining wall built at the limit, must be kept free of junk under SCC 14.28.030(2)(b). Where a retaining wall sits in a critical area or its buffer, the setback exemption in SCC 14.28.040 does not override the separate review required under SCC Chapter 14.24, Critical Areas, which SCC 14.28.030(8)(b) lists as an additional setback source.