Buncombe County's Zoning Ordinance does not set a standalone retaining-wall height limit, but a wall that also functions as a fence follows the ten-foot setback-exemption rule. In the mountainous Steep Slope/High Elevation Overlay, grading limits and building-code engineering govern retaining structures.
The Buncombe County Zoning Ordinance treats a retaining wall as a structure. A wall of fence height (ten feet or less) is exempt from setbacks under Section 78-581; a taller wall must meet the district yard setbacks of Section 78-642. In the Steep Slope/High Elevation Overlay District (Sec. 78-644), grading, disturbance, and impervious-surface limits apply to hillside sites around Asheville, and structural retaining walls must meet North Carolina building-code engineering standards enforced by Permits and Inspections. The zoning ordinance itself sets no separate numeric wall-height cap, so engineering and permitting for a retaining wall run through the county building department.
A retaining wall built without required engineering, a permit, or in violation of overlay grading limits is enforced by Permits and Inspections and the zoning administrator, with civil penalties available under Section 78-583.
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