Backyard & Outdoor Living in Venice

Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS). Building, grading and pool permits are issued by LADBS because this is part of the City of Los Angeles, but nearly the whole community sits inside the coastal zone. The Venice Local Coastal Program is still not fully certified — a Land Use Plan certified in 2001 is in place while an updated plan is being drafted with the California Coastal Commission — so projects need a coastal development permit through Los Angeles City Planning, and city decisions remain appealable to the Commission. Most projects also require a Venice Coastal Zone Specific Plan (Ordinance No. 175,693) determination or specific plan exemption before a building permit can be issued. In the mapped dual permit jurisdiction area a separate Coastal Commission permit is required as well, so entitlement duration varies widely. We prepare the drawings, make the submittal and handle plan-check corrections ourselves, so you are not the one chasing the city.

Unusually narrow lots, many around thirty feet wide, on walk streets, canals and alley-loaded blocks, with small deep rear yards and minimal street frontage. In practice that means groundwater near the canals and the beach can be met within a few feet of grade, requiring dewatering during excavation and hydrostatic relief in the finished pool shell..

All of it, including The Venice Canals, Oakwood, Milwood, East Venice. We are based in Los Angeles at Cahuenga Pass, so Venice 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.