Santa Clara, CA Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Chapter 18.34 of Santa Clara's Title 18 Zoning Code sets the rules that govern retaining walls citywide. Section 18.34.040(B) caps a retaining wall itself at three feet in height, but allows a six-foot fence to sit on top of the wall, plus one additional foot of open lattice, for a combined envelope the City illustrates in Figure 3-5 (Retaining Wall Height Measurement). Where the grade differential between two properties exceeds four feet, the strict three-foot cap can be waived and a taller retaining wall built, but only with the Community Development Director's approval; there is no by-right taller option.

Height is measured under § 18.34.030 as the vertical distance from finished grade to the top edge of the wall, and the code specifically bars artificially raising the adjacent grade to squeeze in a taller wall than the table allows.

Retaining walls do not stand alone from the rest of the fence and wall standards: Table 3-1 in § 18.34.040(A) caps any fence, wall, hedge or screen in a required front setback or street-side setback at three feet, and at six feet (plus one foot of lattice) everywhere else on the parcel, so a retaining wall combined with a fence above it in a front setback cannot exceed the three-foot table limit unless the grade-differential exception applies. Before building, most residential retaining walls also need Architectural Review under Chapter 18.120 per § 18.34.020(A); parcels zoned R1-6L, R1-8L, and R2 are exempt from that review only if the wall is built strictly to the § 18.34.030 measurement and § 18.34.040 height standards. Building Code review also applies to retaining walls of engineered height regardless of zoning.