Gilbert, AZ Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)
Key Facts
- Terrace trigger
- walls within 5 ft of each other
- Terrace width
- 5-foot planted landscape strip
- Height measurement
- top of highest wall to toe of lowest
- Right-of-way walls
- barred absent a Technical Variance
Summary
Gilbert's Land Development Code bars retaining walls from reading as a single flat surface and caps them at the base zoning district's maximum wall height. Walls stacked within five feet of another wall trigger a mandatory five-foot planted terrace between them, with height measured from the top of the highest wall to the toe of the lowest.
Retaining walls shall not appear as one solid surface and shall not exceed maximum wall height. When retaining walls are located within five (5) feet of each other or another wall a five (5) foot landscape planter, with vegetation, shall be provided as a terrace between the walls. Retaining walls and terraced retaining walls shall be measured from the highest elevation of the top of wall to the lowest elevation of the grade at the toe of the last/lowest wall.
Full Breakdown
4 Landscape, requires that retaining walls not appear as one solid surface and prohibits any retaining wall from exceeding the maximum wall height set for the property's base zoning district. Where a developer stacks retaining walls, placing one within five feet of another wall, the Code requires a five-foot-wide landscape planter with vegetation as a terrace separating the two, so grade is stepped down rather than held back by one tall face. Wall height is measured from the highest elevation at the top of the wall down to the lowest elevation at the grade of the toe of the lowest wall in a terraced series, which keeps a project from understating a wall's true visual height by measuring only the topmost segment.
D, governing Retention Basins, bars retaining walls from sitting within a public right-of-way or a required street landscape area at all, unless the Town Engineer approves a Technical Variance to the Engineering and Construction Standards, and even then, a variance does not excuse the project from otherwise complying with the intent of the Zoning Code. Together the two sections push retaining walls back from street frontages and force taller grade changes into stepped, landscaped terraces rather than one unbroken wall face, enforced through the Town's Design Review and site plan approval process before a grading or building permit issues.
Violations & Fines
Because these are development standards, the Town enforces them at Design Review and site plan review rather than through after-the-fact citations: a plan showing an unterraced wall over the district's height cap, or a retaining wall placed in the right-of-way without an approved Technical Variance, is rejected by Planning & Development Services and cannot proceed to permitting until revised.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I build one tall retaining wall instead of stepping it?
How does Gilbert measure the height of a terraced retaining wall?
Can a retaining wall sit in the street right-of-way?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Gilbert
Compare Gilbert to another location·View the Arizona fence regulations overview
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Retaining Walls in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Maricopa County handle retaining walls.