Federal Way, WA Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

120 tells builders to work with existing topography to minimize the need for rockeries and retaining walls in the first place, but sets firm standards wherever they are used. On single-family residential lots, a rockery or retaining wall cannot exceed six feet in height as measured from finished grade at the base to the top of the wall, and must be built of brick, rockery, textured or patterned concrete, or another masonry product that complements the building, unless the community development director approves a different material.

Where a wall sits behind a house, the code requires a graduated setback of one foot for every foot of wall height, while still preserving a usable rear yard space equal to the standard rear yard setback. Commercial and multifamily lots get the same six-foot cap plus a minimum three-foot landscaped setback at the base of the wall. Terraces between stacked walls must be at least five horizontal feet wide to allow for landscaping and maintenance, and any wall visible from a public right-of-way or neighboring property must be finished in rock, brick, or another textured or patterned style approved by the community development director. 125 FWRC's landscaping standards, unless a private utility agreement lets the wall move closer to the property line.