Wyoming, MI Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Section 90-502 sorts site work into two levels of review. A sketch plan covers activities of a less intensive nature, and a full site plan is required for all new nonresidential uses and multiple-family residential uses. Subsection (1)(c) then says full site plan and sketch plan reviews and approvals are required for every activity listed in Table 90-502. The line for construction, relocation or erection of signs, retaining walls, fences, walls, waste receptacles, sidewalks, antennas, lights, poles, and cooling, heating or other mechanical equipment names one reviewer, the building official, abbreviated BO. Subsection (2) adds that site plan reviews by the city planner or the building official are administrative, so a freestanding retaining wall does not go to the planning commission (PC) or city council (CC). Those bodies handle other lines of the same table, such as multiple-family developments, planned unit developments and subdivisions.

Section 90-503 supplies the procedure. The owner or the owner's designated agent files the application with the plan and the review fees set by the city council, and a nonbinding pre-application conference with the city planner is encouraged. The building official reviews with input from other city departments, the applicant revises, and the plans are certified as approved with any conditions noted. Any decision by the city planner or building official can be appealed to the planning commission. A building permit application can be filed during review, but no permit issues until final approval, and if a variance from the board of zoning appeals is needed the plan review finishes first. Approval lapses if construction covering at least 25 percent of the gross floor area or site development area has not started within two years, with a one-year extension available on a written request filed before the expiration date.

Two neighboring sections shape the wall itself. Section 90-1913(a)(5) applies where a parking area sits more than three feet above or below grade at the lot line: a landscape buffer at least three feet wide is required at sidewalk grade, and a retaining wall exposed to view from the public realm must meet the wall screen standard of 36 to 48 inches in height and 80 percent opacity, built of concrete, brick or architectural block. Walls that act as protective barriers also fall under Section 90-312, which caps fences in a required yard at six feet and fences in a front yard at 36 inches.