The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County UDO does not set a special retaining-wall height table for the unincorporated county; walls are regulated under the adopted North Carolina Building Code, which requires a permit for walls retaining a surcharge or over four feet measured from the bottom of the footing.
Retaining walls in unincorporated Forsyth County are handled by Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Inspections under the North Carolina State Building Code (which adopts the International Residential Code). A permit and engineered design are generally required when a wall retains more than about four feet of unbalanced fill or supports a surcharge such as a driveway. Like fences, walls must stay out of recorded easements and rights-of-way, and out of corner-lot sight triangles. Because engineering depends on soil and site conditions, confirm requirements with the Inspections Department before building. The county sets no separate UDO wall-height cap distinct from the building code.
Building a regulated retaining wall without a permit or engineered design violates the state building code; Inspections may require permitting, engineering review, or removal.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Forsyth County's retaining walls rules stack up against other locations.
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