Fountain, CO Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Chapter 16.12 of Title 16, Subdivision Regulations, sets Fountain's grading and retaining-wall standard. Section 16.12.080(B), Maximum Slopes and Retaining Walls, requires subdivision grading to hold a minimum slope of two percent and a maximum slope of three-to-one, and states plainly that retaining walls of a height greater than four feet shall require design by a structural engineer. Areas of fill must be adequately compacted for public safety. The provision traces to the 1987 Code Section 16.22.090 and was last amended by Ordinance No. 1412, Section 2, in 2008, so it predates the 2019 codification but has not been superseded.

The rule sits alongside the city's subdivision improvements requirements: Section 16.16.010(C) lists detention ponds and retaining walls among the improvements that must be completed and formally accepted by the city before it will issue a certificate of occupancy for a habitable structure, and the subdivider must post surety under the Subdivision Improvements Agreement to guarantee that construction. The city engineer inspects completed improvements under Section 16.16.050 and will not issue a certificate of acceptance until any defects are corrected. Because this standard is written into the subdivision design chapter, it applies most directly to walls built as part of a platted development. A wall over four feet built on an already-platted lot still needs an engineer's design to satisfy the same section and will be checked at building-permit review by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department under the adopted Pikes Peak Regional Building Code. Homeowners planning a wall near this height should get a Colorado-licensed structural engineer's stamped design before applying for a permit, since the four-foot threshold is measured from finished grade to the top of the wall.