Luxury Remodeling in San Dimas
Design-build for San Dimas hillside and horse properties, planned around SF-H grading, corral setbacks and fire zone mapping.
Building in San Dimas
Foothill pools, horse-property backyards and ADUs in San Dimas.
San Dimas rises from the hills around Via Verde and Bonelli Park, across a level town center, into the Northern Foothills, and its zoning still makes room for rural habits: on qualifying SF-A lots a household may keep horses, a few goats and sheep, and even a single young calf. On the hillside, the SF-H zone asks for the reverse of flat-land development, with houses designed to fit the landform rather than the landform regraded to fit the house, split-level plans, and landmark rock outcroppings and prominent trees left in place. Under the city's development plan rules, pools, spas, ADUs and matching one-story additions are approved at Planning Division staff level, while new homes and additions of more than one story go to the Director of Community Development. Knowing which zone a lot sits in, and how the fire hazard map treats it, is the first step of any design here.
Residential lots here fall under zones with very different rules. The SF-A agriculture zone permits horses on lots of 16,000 square feet or more, while in the SF-H hillside zone new subdivisions need at least 25,000 square feet of net lot area where the average slope is under 20 percent and a full acre at 20 percent or steeper, with a 140-foot minimum lot width and lot coverage capped at 35 percent.
One team designs, permits and builds every project, and our own crews self-perform the work, so the people who plan your San Dimas project are the people on site building it.
Part of our service area in Los Angeles County.
Local Conditions
What building in San Dimas involves
Permits in San Dimas
City of San Dimas Community Development Department, Building and Safety Division
Under Municipal Code Chapter 18.12, no building or structure may be built, altered or enlarged until its development plan has been reviewed and approved. Planning Division staff approve pools and spas (with or without retaining walls), ADUs and junior ADUs, and one-story additions designed to match the existing house; new homes, additions of more than one story, and patios, gazebos or ground-level decks that use cantilevers or retaining walls and are visible from a public right-of-way go to the Director of Community Development. The Director can send a staff-level project to a higher level of review when it could be incompatible with, or adversely affect, surrounding property. In the SF-H Single-Family Hillside Zone, a development plan must be approved before any grading or building, and grading or building permit applications there must include site plans, conceptual house elevations and grading plans.
Permit details checked September 2026 against San Dimas Municipal Code. Rules change, so we confirm them again for your parcel.
What we plan for here
- Staff-level development plan review for pools and ADUs
- SF-H grading plans and split-level terracing
- Corral setback planning on horse-zoned lots
- Ember-resistant detailing in foothill fire zones
CAL FIRE's Local Responsibility Area map dated March 24, 2025 places much of the Northern Foothills, including the canyon terrain around Horsethief Canyon Park and the San Dimas Canyon Nature Center, in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and the southern hills around Via Verde and Bonelli Park carry a mix of Very High, High and Moderate designations, while the level ground around downtown sits largely outside the mapped zones.
In the SF-H hillside zone, cuts and fills on housing sites, exposed or retained by walls, should not exceed twelve feet from toe to top, and exposed cut and fill slopes may be no steeper than 2:1, limits that favor stepped terraces over a single large graded pad.
Every SF-H development plan must show a patio or deck area on the hillside lot, formed by cut and fill, retaining walls or cantilevered decks, so the outdoor living space is located on the plans even if it is built later.
In the SF-A agriculture zone, horses are allowed on lots of at least 16,000 square feet, two per lot at that minimum size, and no part of a corral, box stall or stable may sit within 35 feet of a habitable structure on the same lot or within 80 feet of one on an adjacent lot, so additions and new living space have to be planned around the corral.
Neighborhoods we work in
- Via Verde
- Northern Foothills
- Downtown San Dimas
San Dimas Services
Everything we build in San Dimas
Each page covers permits, costs and the build process for that work in San Dimas.
Pool & Spa Remodeling in San Dimas
We design and build pools and spas with our own crews, start to finish.
Backyard & Outdoor Living in San Dimas
Outdoor living, hardscape, and curb appeal, designed and built to outlast the SoCal sun.
ADUs & Additions in San Dimas
We design, permit, and build ADUs and additions that actually add value.
Also available in San Dimas
San Dimas Guides
Remodeling guides for San Dimas
Local planning notes, costs and design direction for San Dimas homeowners.
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: A Builder's Guide to South of the Boulevard Lots
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 Backyard Transformation: Wind, Slope and What It Costs
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
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