Luxury Remodeling in Alhambra
Pools may sit as close as three feet to property lines shared with neighbors.
Building Here
Period Homes on a Gently Sloping Plain
Alhambra has long played on its Moorish name: the Lindaraxa Tract, platted in 1911, took its name from Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra, and one block of Sherwood Avenue in the northwest corner is still lined with Spanish Colonial Revival houses from the 1920s and 1930s.
The city incorporated in 1903 on the western edge of the San Gabriel Valley and grew tract by tract, from the Craftsman houses of the Ramona Park Tract to the Tudor Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival homes of the 1929 Mayfair tract. Its ground is a mostly flat alluvial plain that slopes gently to the southeast, so grade seldom decides where a pool or terrace goes.
What does shape a project is the zoning code: its pool setbacks, the thresholds that send an addition to the Design Review Board, and whether a house appears on the city's Inventory of Historic Resources.
Early tract lots ran deep: 1906 advertisements for the Alhambra Park Tract listed an average lot of 50 by 150 feet, and original lots on South 2nd and 3rd Streets in the Ramona Park Tract measured 110 feet wide by 160 feet deep, some since split.
In the RL low-density zone a house is limited to two stories, 25 feet and a 0.40 floor area ratio behind a 25-foot front setback, with a rear setback of 20 percent of lot depth up to 15 feet, and detached accessory structures top out at 15 feet.
The team that plans your Alhambra project is the team that builds it.
Part of our service area in Los Angeles County.
Local Conditions
The Ground Rules in Alhambra
Permits in Alhambra
City of Alhambra Community Development Department, Building Division
The Building Division of the Community Development Department handles building plan check, permits and inspections, including for pools and spas, and applications and inspection requests go through the city's online Permit Portal. Under Alhambra's zoning code, new homes, all two-story and second-story additions, additions that enlarge a house by more than 50 percent, and exterior alterations visible from a public street that need a building permit go to the Design Review Board, as do fences and walls in a front or street side yard facing the street.
Pools, spas and pool equipment may not sit in a required front yard and must be at least three feet from any property line in an interior side or rear yard, or five feet in a street side yard, with setbacks measured from the water line. For a house listed on the city's Inventory of Historic Resources as a potentially eligible individual resource, a major alteration first requires a historic resource assessment by a qualified professional, and if the house is found eligible the work needs a Certificate of Appropriateness reviewed by the Historic Preservation Commission.
Permit details checked September 2026 against City of Alhambra. Rules change, so we confirm them again for your parcel.
What We Plan For
- Design Review Board packages for second-story additions
- Pool and equipment layout to the three-foot setback
- Remodels of homes on the historic inventory
- Two-story ADUs matched to the main house
- Front-yard wall and fence design review
Alhambra sits on an alluvial plain formed from the weathering of the San Gabriel Mountains, sloping southeast at about 1.05 feet per 100 feet from 580 feet in the northwest corner to 380 feet in the southeast, on gravelly loams, sandy loams and clays that the General Plan says do not have a high potential for collapse or expansion.
Most of the city is flat, but the General Plan identifies small hillside areas in the western and southwestern parts of town as potentially subject to landslides, so pool and terrace plans there call for a closer look at slope and soils.
No active fault is known to cross Alhambra and the city lies outside any Alquist-Priolo zone. Regional flood-control improvements have removed it from the 100-year flood zone, and the General Plan limits flooding problems to local spots where drainage systems cannot handle intense rain.
Oaks and California native trees taller than 15 feet or more than 12 inches in trunk diameter, and mature trees taller than 20 feet or more than 24 inches across, need a Tree Permit to be removed or materially altered, although trees in side and rear yards in the RL and RM zones are exempt.
Neighborhoods We Serve
- Midwick Tract
- Emery Park
- Lindaraxa Park
- Mayfair
- Ramona Park
- Bean Tract
Services
What We Build in Alhambra
Each page covers permits, costs and the build process in Alhambra.
Pool & Spa Remodeling in Alhambra
Build a new pool and spa, or give yours fresh tile and plaster.
Backyard & Outdoor Living in Alhambra
We build patios, outdoor kitchens and fire pits for long evenings outside.
ADUs & Additions in Alhambra
Convert the garage, build a backyard ADU or add a second story.
Also Available in Alhambra
Before You Build
Alhambra Remodeling Guides
Costs, planning and design ideas for Alhambra homes.
Whole-Home Remodel Sequencing: What to Do First
A whole-home remodel done in the wrong order costs 15 to 25 percent more. Here is the correct sequence, from structural and roof through to paint, and why each stage has to precede the next.
Read guideIndoor-Outdoor Living Conversions in Southern California
A 16-foot multi-slide door runs $18,000 to $45,000 installed. Here is how the full indoor-outdoor conversion works, from structural header to flush threshold to covered patio tie-in.
Read guideTarzana Outdoor Living: Costs by Lot Type
Tarzana backyards run hot and deep. A working outdoor living build here (shade, hardscape, kitchen, lighting) typically lands between $85,000 and $220,000, and the ground drives most of the number.
Read guidePorter Ranch Backyards: Wind, Slope and Fire Zones
A full backyard transformation in Porter Ranch runs $95,000 to $280,000. Wind exposure, slope, HOA review and fire-zone material rules shape the design before anything about style enters the conversation.
Read guideStart Your Project
Plan Your Alhambra Project
Tell us about your home and what you want from it. We call you back within one business day.
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