Walton County, FL Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

01(B)(9), because a retaining wall's backfill and drainage directly affect how a lot handles runoff. The rule scales the required property-line setback to the wall's vertical height: a retaining wall under two feet tall needs only a one-foot setback from the nearest property line, while any wall taller than that needs a two-foot setback. Once a wall's vertical height passes three feet, the Code requires it to be designed by a Professional Engineer registered by the State of Florida, a threshold meant to catch the walls most likely to fail or shift soil onto a neighbor's lot.

The same subsection adds two drainage-specific conditions: backfill drains behind a retaining wall have to be designed so stormwater runoff can't bypass the site's stormwater management system, and downspout collectors may be required to keep rooftop runoff from passing straight through the wall drainage onto a neighboring property. No impoundment of water on adjacent land is allowed, so the stormwater system has to include a diversion swale or an equivalent feature sized for the required design storm. The Code closes the loop by extending every one of these requirements, setback, height threshold, and drainage design, to masonry screen walls as well as retaining walls, so a decorative block wall built to hold back a slope is covered exactly like a structural retaining wall in unincorporated Walton County.