Rock/Masonry Walls

All properties are required to maintain drainage on their own property or to an approved drainage easement and to the public way. No water can find its way onto adjoining properties beyond the easement. Sloping lots will require special grading attention, including V-ditches, swales and rock/masonry walls. Slope cannot be greater than 2:1 (two horizontal to one vertical). Rock/masonry walls are required to be installed when slopes exceed 2:1.

If you are planning or add (or are required to add) a rock/masonry wall with 4’ or more of unbalanced fill (whether built with rock, brick, block, masonry, concrete, railroad ties, etc.), a permit is required. If you are building a wall less than 4’ tall but holding a surcharge, a permit is required.

Be aware that rock walls cannot be built in the front utility easement.

Please be aware that dumpsters and construction materials must not create an obstruction to the public.

Requirements for submitting a permit application for a rock/masonry wall

Rock/Masonry Wall Permit Application
Site plan (see sample Site Plan diagram) showing where on the property the wall will be placed using small circles. Note the type of wall(s), height and length of wall(s) and the valuation of the project. Show how drainage will flow with arrows. Also be sure to include drawings of any structures or other items on your lot or neighboring properties that may be within the surcharge area of a wall (see surcharge information below).
Surcharges: Any structure (or other item in the list above) within the 45-degree plane of a rock wall causes a surcharge on that wall, which may cause the failure of the wall (as shown in the second diagram above). Any wall holding a surcharge, regardless of height, will require engineering to prevent failure (see item #3).
Engineering from a Utah state licensed geotechnical engineer with electronic engineer’s stamp.
Special Inspection Agreement (except when building a block or poured-in-place concrete wall, in which case, Herriman Building Inspectors will do the footing and foundation or bond beam inspections).
If wall(s) will be constructed in a public utility easement, first obtain easement waiver from all Utilities (see Public Utility Easements) and submit copies with your permit application.

Submit signed application and plans to the Building Department by email at building@herriman.org. If your plans are too large to email, please provide a shareable link to where we can download your plans from such as Dropbox, Google Drive or other online service.

Plan review will take approximately 10-15 business days, after which we may require additional information or with corrections that need to be made to your plans. The permit fee is $129.47. We will email the invoice when fees are due. The permit will be issued after plans are approved and all fees are paid.

Remember to have the geotechnical engineer who designed the wall or the designated special inspector to inspect the wall and submit their certification letter or report to our office for final approval. This may be submitted in person or by email at building@herriman.org. The wall permit will remain open and non-compliant until we receive this letter or special inspection report. If building a block or poured-in-place concrete wall, please call the Building Department at 801-446-5327 to schedule the footing and foundation or bond beam inspections before 4:00 p.m. for the following business day or after.

Rock/Masonry Walls

Requirements for submitting a permit application for a rock/masonry wall

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