Nashville, TN Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)
Key Facts
- Trigger
- Natural slope 15% or greater
- Applies to
- Multifamily hillside development in residential districts
- Requirement
- Screen wall with landscape buffer yard
- Buffer varies by
- Adjacent zoning or public street
- Not covered
- Ordinary single- or two-family retaining walls
Summary
Metro Nashville requires retaining walls that stabilize graded slopes on multifamily hillside development to be screened with a landscape buffer yard: the zoning code sets no blanket height or permit rule for an ordinary backyard retaining wall.
The use of retaining walls, rip rap or hydraulically applied concrete to stabilize slopes within multifamily developments shall be screened as follows: i. When oriented towards a lot or parcel zoned R/R-A or RS/RS-A, apply the next higher landscape buffer yard standard from Section 17.24.240; ... iii. When oriented towards a public street, apply landscape buffer yard Standard B from Section 17.24.240.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 53 | Charter: Republication 9).
Full Breakdown
Metropolitan Code § 17.28.030(A)(3)(b) applies where multifamily development is graded on hillside land within a residential zoning district that has natural slopes of 15 percent or more. If retaining walls, rip rap, or hydraulically applied concrete are used to stabilize the graded slope, the project must screen the wall with a landscape buffer yard under Section 17.24.240: the next higher buffer standard when the wall faces R, R-A, RS, or RS-A land, Standard A when it faces other RM-zoned land, and Standard B when it faces a public street. The rule targets grading disturbance on steep hillside sites, not wall height by itself, and does not reach an ordinary single- or two-family retaining wall built outside hillside development review.
Violations & Fines
A final site plan that omits the required buffer screening for a stabilizing retaining wall can be rejected; the planning commission or zoning administrator can require redesign or added landscaping before approval issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Metro Nashville set a height limit for retaining walls?
Do homeowners need a permit for a backyard retaining wall?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Nashville
Compare Nashville to another location·View the Tennessee fence regulations overview
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