Milpitas, CA Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Section B.22.180 of the Milpitas Municipal Code, within Chapter B.22 governing the 'H' Hillside Combining District, sets design standards for grading in the city's hill areas east of the valley floor. Subsection C.11 requires streets to generally follow natural contours and land form to minimize cut and fill, and caps exposed walls, fences facing roadways, and retaining walls at six feet in height, while allowing crib walls that fence a roadway to reach fifteen feet. The same section requires cut-or-fill slopes greater than three-to-one adjacent to a public right-of-way to be professionally landscaped and maintained, prohibits grading on natural slopes steeper than 40 percent, and generally protects trees with a six-inch or greater trunk diameter, requiring 5:1 replacement when the Planning Commission permits their removal.

Review is tiered by volume: the Community Development Manager approves grading under 500 cubic yards, the Planning Commission reviews grading between 500 and 1,500 cubic yards, and any grading over 1,500 cubic yards needs a Planning Commission recommendation followed by City Council approval. This six-foot cap is specific to the Hillside Combining District; it does not apply to retaining walls built on valley-floor lots elsewhere in Milpitas, which fall instead under the citywide fence, wall, and hedge standards of Section C.2.040.