Backyard & Outdoor Living in Whittier

City of Whittier Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division. Projects are first evaluated by the Planning Services Division, then go through plan review and permit issuance with the Building & Safety Division, both part of the Community Development Department. In the H-R Hillside Residential zone no building permit is issued until a hillside development plan is approved, and later buildings and structures must be found consistent with that approved plan. In the Hadley-Greenleaf, Central Park, College Hills and Earlham historic districts, alterations, additions and new improvements need a Certificate of Appropriateness, or a waiver, before a permit is issued. Additions or accessory structures under 500 square feet and ADUs of 800 square feet or less that are not visible from a public right-of-way can qualify for the waiver when they follow the preservation and design guidelines. We prepare the drawings, make the submittal and handle plan-check corrections ourselves, so you are not the one chasing plan check.

Hillside parcels in the H-R zone take their lot area, building site and building heights from each approved hillside development plan. Elsewhere, new R-1 lots generally must be at least 7,000 square feet and new R-E estate lots at least 15,000, buildings including accessory buildings may cover no more than 40 percent of the lot in either zone, and heights top out at 35 feet in R-1 and 30 feet in R-E. Where an R-1 neighborhood is predominantly single story, the city may limit or prohibit second-story additions. One local condition that shapes the work: In the H-R Hillside Residential zone, cuts and fills may not exceed 20 feet in height or a 2:1 slope, ground of 50 percent slope or steeper cannot be graded except to correct earlier grading, landslides or unstable soil, and each building and structure must fit the natural landform as closely as possible.

All of it, including Uptown Whittier, Hadley-Greenleaf, Central Park and College 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.