Freehold Township, NJ Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Before touching the grade or building a retaining wall anywhere in Freehold Township, get sign-off from the Municipal Engineer's office. Township Code § 190-121 opens by tying every lot-grading rule to stormwater control: lots must be graded to provide proper drainage, prevent stormwater from pooling, and avoid pushing runoff onto neighboring properties, and no one may alter the grading of a lot without first securing the Municipal Engineer's approval. Subsection C extends that approval requirement specifically to retaining walls, gabion walls, crib walls, or similar slope-control structures: none of them may be installed until the Municipal Engineer signs off on lot grading and drainage.

The rule reaches beyond formal subdivisions too. Subsection D lets the Construction Official or Zoning Officer refer even an addition to an existing single-family home, or a new accessory building, to the Municipal Engineer for drainage review whenever the work disturbs more than 500 square feet of land, which routinely captures a sizeable retaining wall project. Taller walls carry an extra layer of scrutiny. Under the Township's steep-slope article, § 190-124, any retaining wall of four feet or greater built to stabilize a steep slope, defined as a grade of 12% or more with a rise of five vertical feet or more, must be designed and certified by a professional engineer licensed in New Jersey (§ 190-124C(3)).

Slope-area measurements are then calculated as though the retaining wall were never built, so a wall cannot be used to manufacture a flatter grade on paper. Steep-slope areas themselves are generally required to stay in an open, undisturbed condition and cannot carry new structures at all (§ 190-124D).