Backyard & Outdoor Living in Pasadena

City of Pasadena Planning & Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division. Residential permits are issued through the Permit Center of the Building & Safety Division, with entitlements and design review handled inside the same Planning & Community Development Department.

Certain projects on lots in the city's Hillside Overlay Districts, including major renovations, require a Hillside Development Permit under Zoning Code Chapter 17.29. Properties inside a landmark district or individually designated need a Certificate of Appropriateness evaluated against the Secretary of the Interior's Standards.

The Tree Protection Ordinance (PMC 8.52) requires a permit before removing protected trees, including native oaks over eight inches in diameter, and northern foothill parcels fall inside a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. We prepare the drawings, make the submittal and handle plan-check corrections ourselves, so you are not the one chasing plan check.

Parcels range from compact bungalow lots near the historic districts to large estate grounds in Oak Knoll and the San Rafael Hills. Rear yards are often deep but narrow, with alley or single-drive access. One local condition that shapes the work: Arroyo-side and foothill lots sit on coarse alluvial fan deposits, so excavation for pools and sunken patios often hits cobble and boulder layers that slow digging and raise export costs.

All of it, including Bungalow Heaven, Madison Heights, Linda Vista and San Rafael Hills. Our crews run every job out of our Cahuenga Pass base in Los Angeles, with our own people on site.

Full backyard transformation: generally $50,000 to $250,000+ across Southern California. 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.