Hendersonville, TN Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

21 sets three retaining wall standards. The height-stacking rule in item 1 addresses the common case of a wall placed close to a house: if the face of a new building sits within five feet of a retaining wall, the wall's height counts toward the building height calculation, and the combined height of the wall plus the building above it cannot exceed the district's maximum building height limitation, closing off a workaround where a tall wall effectively adds unpermitted height to a structure. Item 2 sets a five-foot property-line setback for any retaining wall taller than five feet, keeping larger walls off the boundary itself even where a lower wall could sit closer.

Item 3 protects neighboring land directly: no footing for a retaining wall may extend past a property line unless the property owner obtains a specific easement from the adjacent, impacted property owner, so a wall's underground support structure cannot encroach onto a neighbor's lot without that neighbor's documented consent. The ordinance cross-references the Subdivision Regulations, noting that additional retaining wall requirements, such as engineering specifications, appear in Appendix G of those regulations, so a wall tied to a subdivision plat may carry engineering standards beyond these three zoning conditions.