Garland, TX Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Garland's fence article, Chapter 4, Article 8 of the Development Code, does not set a stand-alone height limit for a retaining wall. Instead, § 4.106(A) caps fence height at eight feet on residentially zoned property, ten feet in nonresidential districts generally, and twelve feet in the Industrial (IN) district, and § 4.106(B) tells you where to start measuring when a retaining wall is part of the picture: if the fence is constructed on top of a retaining wall, it is measured from the highest grade at the retaining wall. In practice that means stacking a six-foot fence on a two-foot retaining wall on a residential lot pushes the combined structure right up against, or over, the eight-foot cap, because the code measures from the wall's high point rather than from the ground at its base.

The wall itself still needs its own building permit. The City's Master Fee Schedule lists a flat 'Retaining wall requiring a permit' fee of $70.00 for single-family residential work, referenced at Code of Ordinances § 30.301(C), separate from the per-linear-foot fee charged for fences and screening walls. If the resulting fence-and-wall height exceeds the § 4.106(A) cap, § 4.109 lets the Board of Adjustment grant a Development Variance to §§ 4.104 through 4.107 on a showing of undue hardship, the same relief route used for fence setback and gate disputes in this article.