We should’ve moved 20 years ago (my father said we probably should’ve moved out after 4 years, so about 1978 — since this turned into a transient area by the ‘80s, people using it as a stepping stone from lower-class inner-city areas to more upper-class areas outside the county), but it’s a bit late now, and we have the added problem that we’re going to have a real problem unloading our property. It ought to be worth $300k (would be if it were in another neighborhood), and we’d be lucky to get $90-100k for it — for a whole damn acre and an 1800?sq ft house on a street that might expand to 4 or 5 lanes within a decade. We paid the mortgage company MORE than it was worth today by the early ‘90s (when it was worth maybe $140k or so). If it ever got rezoned commercial, that’d be the only way to unload it, but that’s unlikely to happen.
In my area we have Code Enforcement. I would think you would too. Block walls over 3 feet high need a permit. 6 foot walls on the side and back yard are typical but the front yard can not be over 3 feet without getting a waiver from your neighbors. If they are retaining walls, they need engineering.