In unincorporated Pierce County, retaining walls may be built within required setbacks to a maximum height of 6 feet under zoning. A building permit is required once a wall exceeds 4 feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top, or whenever it supports a surcharge.
PCC 18A.15.040.B.2.d treats retaining walls like fences for setback purposes, allowing them within required yards up to 6 feet. Separately, the county's adopted building code in PCC 17C.30.040 exempts only retaining walls not over 4 feet high (measured bottom of footing to top of wall) unless they support a surcharge such as a driveway or slope load. A fence placed on top of a retaining wall or berm is measured from the high side of that structure. Taller or surcharge-loaded walls need an engineered building permit.
Constructing a retaining wall over 4 feet, or any surcharge-loaded wall, without a permit is a violation. Enforcement can require engineering, correction, or removal, and unpermitted walls can complicate property sales.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Lakewood, WA
Lakewood prohibits noise that disturbs the peace under LMC Chapter 8.36 (Noise Control). Residential quiet hours are 10 PM–7 AM weekdays and 10 PM–9 AM weeke...
Lakewood, WA
Lakewood has no local aircraft noise ordinance. Aircraft operations at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) adjacent to Lakewood are governed by federal law and m...
Lakewood, WA
Lakewood prohibits frequent, repetitive, or continuous animal sounds that disturb the peace under LMC Chapter 8.36. Excessive barking is a noise control viol...
Lakewood, WA
Construction noise in Lakewood is restricted to weekday hours of 7 AM–10 PM and weekend/holiday hours of 9 AM–10 PM under the LMC Chapter 8.36 noise control ...
Lakewood, WA
Abandoned vehicles in Lakewood are subject to code enforcement as a nuisance. Lakewood Police Department handles abandoned vehicle reports for public streets...
Lakewood, WA
Lakewood street parking is governed by city traffic codes consistent with Washington State law. Standard rules apply regarding curb distance, fire hydrant cl...
See how Lakewood's retaining walls rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.