Fitchburg, WI Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Fitchburg regulates retaining walls as a landscape feature under § 22-56(1), the accessory-occupancy standards for the R-L Low Density District that also apply in the R-LM, R-M and R-H residential districts. Subsection (1)a sets the operative rule: a retaining wall must be set back at least one foot from the property line, with no separate height cap or engineering-certification clause written into this section. The city treats a taller garden wall differently: subsection (1)b requires that any solid wall extending three feet or more above the ground, for three or more feet of its length, stay at least two feet from any lot line, a stricter standard than the one-foot retaining-wall setback.

Because the code does not carve out a separate retaining-wall height limit or require a stamped engineering plan in this section, a wall tall enough to trigger a building permit under state construction-code standards would still need to satisfy the general building-permit process administered by the building inspector, in addition to the § 22-56 zoning setback. Rural Density (R-R) district lots follow the same § 22-56 accessory standards except where § 22-206(2) expressly exempts driveway, parking, structure-placement, fencing and small-lot animal rules; retaining walls are not among the R-R exemptions listed there.