Framingham, MA Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Framingham City Code § 530-58(E), part of the subdivision of land regulations, sets the city's retaining wall standard for new roads and rights-of-way. Every retaining wall built along a road or way, or within its right-of-way, must be designed and constructed to the City of Framingham Department of Public Works Construction Standards for Retaining Walls, a standard amended April 4, 2024. Design has to enhance and incorporate elements of the natural and built environment rather than simply hold back a slope. Walls proposed within the embankment sections of a road's or way's right-of-way cannot proceed without written review and approval from both the Planning Board and DPW, giving the city discretionary sign-off over walls in the most sensitive road-edge locations.

The absolute height ceiling is six feet above finished grade for any single retaining wall. Developers can still manage a taller overall grade change by terracing: building a series of walls, provided each outside wall face sits at least four feet horizontally from the face of the next wall up the slope. Any terraced area created between those stepped walls must be landscaped, not left as bare cut soil. Because this section sits in the subdivision regulations, it governs retaining walls built as part of new roads and developments; the same DPW construction standards and Planning Board review chain apply through the site plan and subdivision approval process rather than a stand-alone building permit.