Lakeville, MN Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Lakeville City Code section 10-3-2.D.20, part of the preliminary grading plan requirements for subdivisions, provides that all modular block retaining walls constructed as part of a subdivision grading plan must meet Minnesota Department of Transportation (MN/DOT) requirements. A registered engineer must design any retaining wall with a combined height greater than four feet (4'). The building official must approve the retaining wall plans, and each retaining wall is subject to issuance of a separate building permit, distinct from any grading or subdivision approval. This sits within the broader preliminary grading, drainage, and erosion control plan that a developer must submit under section 10-3-2.D, prepared and signed by a Minnesota licensed engineer, which also covers drainage calculations, infiltration basin design, and stormwater pollution prevention measures.

Because the retaining wall permit requirement is triggered by height rather than by material or location, a property owner or developer proposing a wall taller than four feet anywhere on a subdivided lot needs engineered plans stamped by a registered engineer before the building official will issue the required permit; walls at or under four feet fall outside this engineered-design and separate-permit trigger. The provision traces to Ordinance 866, section 14, adopted May 17, 2010, as part of a broader update to the city's subdivision grading standards.