Luxury Remodeling in Sunland-Tujunga
Design-build pools, outdoor living and ADUs for Sunland-Tujunga, planned around slope, oaks and the Scenic Preservation Specific Plan.
Building in Sunland-Tujunga
Foothill backyards, pools and ADUs beneath the San Gabriels in Sunland-Tujunga.
Sunland-Tujunga fills the northeast corner of the San Fernando Valley between the San Gabriel and Verdugo mountains, and its early character was set by Bolton Hall, the community center the Little Landers colony raised in 1913 from stone gathered in the Tujunga Wash. The same abundant fieldstone produced a number of Tujunga houses in the late 1910s and 1920s, from stone bungalows built on load-bearing stone walls instead of wood framing to a cubic, parapeted style unique to the town. Beyond the flat center the ground rises into the foothills, and much of that foothill land falls under the San Gabriel/Verdugo Mountains Scenic Preservation Specific Plan, with its own rules on oaks, ridgelines and planting. A backyard here starts with three checks: the slope, the fire map and whether the lot sits inside that plan.
Mostly low-density single-family. Postwar tracts on the gently sloping ground at the foot of the San Gabriels hold modest parcels, about 0.15 acre on Amanita Avenue and about 0.20 acre around Marnice Avenue, while the hillside Haines Canyon tract has irregular lots of roughly 0.4 to 0.85 acre set into the slope. Inside the Specific Plan, 20,000 square feet, about 0.46 acre, is where the oak rule begins and the single-family exemption ends, so lot size shapes a project as much as grade does.
One team designs, permits and builds every project, and our own crews self-perform the work, so the people who plan your Sunland-Tujunga project are the people on site building it.
Part of our service area in Los Angeles County.
Local Conditions
What building in Sunland-Tujunga involves
Permits in Sunland-Tujunga
Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS)
Private pools in the City of Los Angeles are permitted through a Combined Building-Mechanical permit, while pools serving more than two dwelling units need separate building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits. Using a City of Los Angeles standard plan on file with LADBS reduces plan check time. Nearly all of Sunland-Tujunga, its flat center included, lies inside the City's mapped Hillside Grading Area, so a pool here also needs its own LADBS grading permit. Much of the foothill ground on both sides of the valley falls inside the San Gabriel/Verdugo Mountains Scenic Preservation Specific Plan (Ordinance No. 175,736), where LADBS may not issue a building or grading permit for a Project, a term that includes any grading that needs a grading permit, until City Planning grants Project Permit Compliance. A single-family home on an existing site under 20,000 square feet, outside a Prominent Ridgeline Protection Area and any Equinekeeping District, falls outside the plan's definition of a Project, so it skips that review but must still meet the plan's ridgeline-silhouette rule where it applies and its prohibited-plant list. On plan-area lots of 20,000 square feet or more, a coast live oak or valley oak of eight inches or more, measured 4.5 feet above the ground, cannot be removed, cut down or moved without prior written approval from City Planning, and palms, Italian cypress, blue gum eucalyptus, California and Brazilian pepper trees, fountain grass and pampas grass are among the plants prohibited in new Projects.
Permit details checked September 2026 against LADBS and LA City Planning. Rules change, so we confirm them again for your parcel.
What we plan for here
- Specific Plan Project Permit Compliance review
- Oak protection and plan-compliant planting palettes
- Hillside grading permits and retaining walls
- Additions to load-bearing stone houses
- Fire-zone materials and wind-engineered shade structures
The generally flat center gives way to San Gabriel and Verdugo foothill slopes, where homes such as those on Haines Canyon Avenue sit into the hillside above masonry retaining walls and stone or brick stairs, so structure and drainage lead the build.
Long stretches of Oro Vista Avenue in Sunland and the hillside blocks of Haines Canyon and Hillhaven avenues in Tujunga are mapped Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone on the City's fire hazard map, which shapes material and planting choices around a pool or outdoor room.
All of Sunland-Tujunga lies in the City's mapped High Wind Area, and in March 1956 winds of 85 to 100 miles per hour drove a wildfire that engulfed seven homes in the then-new Manzanita Slopes tract on Haines Canyon Avenue, so pergolas and shade structures deserve real wind engineering.
Some of Tujunga's late-1910s and 1920s stone houses were built with load-bearing stone walls rather than wood framing, so an addition or a new opening in one of them is a structural question before it is a design one.
Neighborhoods we work in
- Sunland
- Tujunga
- Old Tujunga
- Haines Canyon
- Marnice Avenue
Sunland-Tujunga Services
Everything we build in Sunland-Tujunga
Each page covers permits, costs and the build process for that work in Sunland-Tujunga.
Pool & Spa Remodeling in Sunland-Tujunga
We design and build pools and spas with our own crews, start to finish.
Backyard & Outdoor Living in Sunland-Tujunga
Outdoor living, hardscape, and curb appeal, designed and built to outlast the SoCal sun.
ADUs & Additions in Sunland-Tujunga
We design, permit, and build ADUs and additions that actually add value.
Also available in Sunland-Tujunga
Sunland-Tujunga Guides
Remodeling guides for Sunland-Tujunga
Local planning notes, costs and design direction for Sunland-Tujunga 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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