Backyard & Outdoor Living in Long Beach

City of Long Beach Community Development Department, Building and Safety Bureau. The Building and Safety Bureau within Long Beach Community Development issues residential permits from the Permit Center on West Ocean Boulevard. The City's Local Coastal Program was certified in 1980, so local Coastal Development Permits for property in the Coastal Zone — generally south of Seventh Street, including Belmont Shore, Naples, Bluff Park and Alamitos Beach — are issued by the City before a building permit, with some decisions appealable to the Coastal Commission. Since January 2022, projects inside the designated methane zone over the Wilmington, Long Beach, Seal Beach and Long Beach Airport oil fields must submit soil gas testing and a mitigation plan prepared by a qualified professional when a grading, demolition or new construction permit is requested. Exterior changes in any designated historic district require a Certificate of Appropriateness. We prepare the drawings, make the submittal and handle plan-check corrections ourselves, so you are not the one chasing the city.

Mostly urban grid lots, often 40 to 50 feet wide with an alley at the rear, with larger parcels in Park Estates and Bixby Knolls and narrow waterfront lots along the canals. In practice that means methane zone parcels require soil gas probes and, where readings warrant, a vapor mitigation system beneath new slabs and structures..

All of it, including Naples, Belmont Shore, Belmont Heights, Bixby Knolls. We are based in Los Angeles at Cahuenga Pass, so Long Beach is a short run for our crews rather than a job we service from out of the area.

Full backyard transformation in this market generally runs $50,000 to $250,000+. What moves it is how much hardscape is involved, whether a pool or outdoor kitchen is included, grading and retaining, and the level of lighting and planting. We give line-item pricing after seeing the site rather than quoting a number over the phone.

A patio and turf refresh often finishes in three to five weeks. A full transformation with hardscape, an outdoor kitchen, structures and lighting typically runs ten to sixteen weeks, and longer if a pool is part of the same phase.

Pavers cost more up front but flex with ground movement instead of cracking, and individual units can be lifted and replaced. Poured concrete is cheaper initially, but a crack means cutting out and repouring a section that rarely matches. On most Southern California soil we recommend pavers for anything you will look at every day.

Yes, and on most projects we insist on it. Correcting grade and adding proper drainage while the yard is already open is far cheaper than retrofitting it after new hardscape is down.

Yes. Design, permits, hardscape, structures, kitchen, lighting and planting run through one team and one project manager, so nothing gets lost between trades.