West Bloomfield, MI Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

The Township Board addresses retaining walls inside the grading and drainage plan specifications of Sec. 8-312 rather than in a separate wall ordinance. Sec. 8-312(a)(22) requires that "all proposed retaining walls shall be shown on the grading and soil erosion plan," and that calculations by a registered civil engineer must accompany any retaining wall of thirty inches or greater in height. Sec. 8-312(a)(23) then adds a safety-railing rule: retaining walls forty-two inches or taller that sit adjacent to driveways, walkways, patios, or similar structures must include a safety railing at least thirty-six inches high, with spindles spaced no more than four inches apart, built to Michigan Building Code standards; walls without those adjacent conditions may not need the railing unless the development services department deems it appropriate.

Because the retaining wall requirement is embedded in Sec. 8-312's broader plan, the wall must also be reflected on the plan drawn by a licensed engineer or surveyor under Sec. 8-312(a), with grades and setbacks labeled, and the plan is reviewed alongside the rest of the grading and drainage permit application under Sec. 8-310, which carries its own thirty-day departmental review clock under Sec. 8-310(c), and the plan itself must be prepared by a licensed, registered civil engineer or surveyor, signed and sealed, since Sec. 8-312(a) states no hand-drawn plans shall be accepted.