Glen Cove, NY Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

2, added in 2010, governs every retaining wall in Glen Cove. A wall that rises above the grade of the public right-of-way or adjacent property must set back one foot for every foot of height, while a wall built below that grade needs a 10-foot setback or one foot per foot of height, whichever is greater. The maximum height allowed is 12 feet, and no retaining wall's top-of-wall elevation may exceed the elevation of the principal structure on the same lot, a limit meant to keep a wall from towering over the house it serves.

Any wall over three feet that's visible from the road or an adjacent property can't be built of smooth concrete; the code requires natural materials or textured concrete instead, with the treatment shown on the site plan, so the visual impact stays minimized. A wall over five feet also needs a safety fence at least four feet tall along its top. The code doesn't let a retaining wall substitute for good site design either: it may only be used where site constraints rule out slope shaping and seeding to stabilize the ground.

Every wall must be engineered to address foundation bearing capacity, sliding, overturning, drainage, and loading, designed by a licensed engineer, and approved by the Director of Public Works, not just the Building Department. Owners also have an ongoing duty to inspect their walls and fix any tipping, clogged drains, or soil subsidence immediately. Decorative walls that aren't built to stabilize a slope fall outside this section altogether.