Retaining walls over 4 ft measured from bottom of footing to top of wall require a building permit and sealed engineered drawings. Walls with surcharge (driveway, pool, building above) require engineering at any height.
NYS Building Code and Mount Vernon Building Department require engineered plans for retaining walls over 4 feet in height and for any wall supporting a surcharge. Submissions must include soil conditions, drainage design, and a New York-licensed professional engineer's seal. Walls near property lines or right-of-way also need a survey.
Mount Vernon, NY
Mount Vernon operates alternate-side parking for street cleaning and enforces residential permit parking in several districts. Non-residents cannot park over...
Mount Vernon, NY
Driveways must be paved, properly permitted curb cuts, and cannot block sidewalks. Parking on front lawns or unpaved areas is prohibited in residential zones.
Mount Vernon, NY
Recreational vehicles, boats, and trailers are generally prohibited from parking on public streets and in front-yard setbacks in residential zones. Storage i...
Mount Vernon, NY
Chickens and livestock are prohibited in Mount Vernon residential zones. The city's dense urban character (~4 sq mi) excludes agricultural uses from zoning.
Mount Vernon, NY
Mount Vernon enforces the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (19 NYCRR Part 1225, incorporating the 2020 Fire Code of NYS), which requi...
Mount Vernon, NY
Mount Vernon is not in a wildfire hazard zone. It is a dense urban municipality with no CAL FIRE-equivalent fire-severity mapping. NY DEC issues statewide bu...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Westchester County.
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