Montgomery, AL Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

The city's adopted Building Code (Sec. " The parallel amendment to the Residential Code (Sec. 2) repeats the same 4-foot, footing-to-top measurement, dropping only the liquids clause and keeping the surcharge exception. 00 minimum. If the retaining wall is built as part of a larger permitted project, its cost rolls into that project's base building-permit fee rather than being billed as a separate line item. Because the exemption is measured from the footing bottom, not from finished grade, a wall that looks shorter than 4 feet above ground can still require a permit if its footing is buried deep enough to push the total wall height past the 4-foot threshold, so an applicant should confirm the footing depth with the Inspections Department before assuming the work is exempt.