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Retaining Wall Permit in Alpine, Utah

Required in Alpine City for retaining walls over 4 feet in exposed height under Development Code § 3.32; walls 2 feet or more (measured from top of footing to top of wall), or rock stacked steeper than 1.5:1, require engineering per Alpine's official Building Permit Instructions.

Verified 2026-07-08 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Retaining walls greater than 4 feet in exposed height require a separate Retaining Wall Permit under Alpine City Development Code § 3.32
  • Retaining walls 2 feet or more (top of footing to top of wall), or rock stacked steeper than 1.5:1, must be engineered
  • Slopes of 2:1 or greater require stabilization

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Retaining Wall Application FeeAlpine City Consolidated Fee Schedule (effective 11/11/2025), Section I.B.1.d: 'Retaining Walls — $300.'
$300
Retaining Wall Design Review FeeAlpine City Consolidated Fee Schedule, Section I.B.8: 'Retaining Wall Design Review Fee — $135/hr + mileage at current IRS rate.'
$135/hour + mileage at the current IRS rate

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Retaining Wall Permit permit actually take in Alpine?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Retaining Wall Inspection

    Inspection scheduled via the Building Inspection Line at (801) 756-0208.

See the full Alpine inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • Retaining walls 2 feet or more in exposed height, or rock stacked steeper than 1.5:1, must be engineered — be sure the construction site has been checked by the designer and the engineer of record before submittal.
  • The $135/hour Retaining Wall Design Review Fee is charged in addition to the $300 flat application fee for walls requiring engineered design review.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, if the wall exceeds 4 feet in exposed height, per Alpine City Development Code § 3.32. The application fee is $300, plus a $135/hour design review fee (plus mileage at the current IRS rate) for walls requiring engineering, per Alpine's Consolidated Fee Schedule.

In Alpine, the published Retaining Wall Application Fee is: $300. Additional published fees: Retaining Wall Design Review Fee — $135/hour + mileage at the current IRS rate. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Alpine does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Alpine City Building Department at (801) 756-6347 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Retaining Wall Application. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Alpine requires 1 inspection(s) for a retaining wall permit, in order: Retaining Wall Inspection. Schedule each through Alpine City Building Department ((801) 756-6347).

Apply through Alpine City Building Department at 20 North Main, Alpine, UT 84004. Phone: (801) 756-6347, email: mfox@alpineUT.gov. Office hours: Mon–Fri 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Official information: https://www.alpineut.gov/157/Building-Department.

Alpine, Utah has adopted: 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) — REMAINS CURRENT, Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(b) did not change this edition in the 7/1/2026 amendment; per Alpine City's official Building Permit Instructions (New Home Form #2, revised 4/9/2025): 'Structural design criteria must conform to the 2021 IRC.'; 2024 International Building Code (IBC), including Appendices C and J — CURRENT statewide as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(a); supersedes the 2021 edition Alpine City's official Building Permit Instructions (New Home Form #2, revised 4/9/2025) still cited as of live-check 2026-07-16: 'I understand that it is my responsibility to comply with Alpine City Zoning Ordinances and the I.B.C. 2021 code (including Appendix C and J) as adopted by Alpine City.'; 2021 IRC Appendix AL (Building Permit Fees) as amended by Alpine City — Alpine's Consolidated Fee Schedule (effective November 11, 2025), Appendix B, is expressly titled 'Building Permit Fees (2021 IRC Appendix AL, as amended)' and cites https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IRC2021P2/appendix-al-permit-fees. This is a local fee-table appendix reference, not the § 15A-2-103 construction-code edition, and is unaffected by the 7/1/2026 code-cycle update.; Utah statewide baseline construction code editions per Utah Code § 15A-2-103, effective 7/1/2026 (superseded 1/1/2027): 2024 IPC (§(1)(d)), 2024 IMC (§(1)(e)), 2024 IFGC (§(1)(f)), 2024 IECC as a single unsplit statewide edition (§(1)(h)), 2024 IEBC (§(1)(i)), and the residential provisions of the 2024 ISPSC (§(1)(n)) — none separately itemized in Alpine's own published materials (Consolidated Fee Schedule, Building Permit Instructions, Building Department page); added here per statute since Alpine's own documents omit them. The 2023 NEC (§(1)(g)) also applies statewide but is likewise not separately restated by Alpine — unchanged by the 7/1/2026 amendment.; NOTE (2026-07-16 re-verification): The Utah Code § 15A-2-103 version effective 7/1/2026 (superseded 1/1/2027) took effect 15 days before this re-verification. IBC/IPC/IMC/IFGC/IECC/IEBC/residential ISPSC are now 2024 statewide; IRC (2021) and NEC (2023) did NOT change. Alpine City's official Building Permit Instructions (New Home Form #2) — the sole cited source for Alpine's code editions — was live-checked 2026-07-16 by re-fetching the PDF directly and remains dated 'Revised 4/9/2025' with no update: it still states 'Structural design criteria must conform to the 2021 IRC' (correct, unchanged) and 'the I.B.C. 2021 code (including Appendix C and J) as adopted by Alpine City' (STALE — Alpine has not published an updated form reflecting the 2024 IBC as of this date). No newer Alpine-specific building-code publication was found on alpineut.gov. The Utah Code § 15A-2-103 citation added to the sources array below points to the current in-force version link.. Local amendments apply — see the Alpine overview page for the full list.

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-07-08.

Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Alpine building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.