Greenburgh, NY Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Town Code § 100-7B(4) lists "installation or repair of retaining walls less than four feet high" among the categories exempt from the Building Permit requirement that § 100-7A otherwise imposes on construction, alteration and similar work governed by the Uniform Code, Energy Code or Town Code. That means a retaining wall under four feet can go in without a permit application, but a wall at four feet or higher is treated as ordinary permit-required construction: the owner or an authorized agent must file a written application with the Building Inspector under § 100-7D, describing the work, providing the Tax Map number and address of the property, stating the occupancy classification of any affected structure, and, where applicable, a statement of special inspections plus three sets of construction documents defining the scope of work.

Section 100-7C makes clear the permit exemption for shorter walls does not excuse noncompliance with the substantive Uniform Code, Energy Code or Town Code standards that would otherwise apply to the wall's construction. The file reviewed here does not contain a separate structural-engineering certification requirement specific to retaining walls; § 100-7D's general construction-document and special-inspection provisions are what apply once a wall crosses the four-foot threshold.