Concrete work in Sierra Madre
Sierra Madre incorporated on February 2, 1907. It is small, 2.95 square miles with 11,268 residents in 2020, and sits at about 827 feet against the San Gabriels, taking in Lower and Upper Sierra Madre Canyons and Bailey Canyon. The city's 2021 to 2029 Housing Element counts about 28 percent of its homes as built in 1939 or earlier, so old walks, steps and narrow drives are a common starting point.
Who issues permits in Sierra Madre
| Office | Covers | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Planning and Community Preservation | Building permits, 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd, counter Mon to Thu 7:30 to 5:30 | 626-355-7138 |
| Public Works | Excavation and Encroachment Permit: sidewalk, curb, gutter, driveway apron | 626-355-7135 |
| Planning Commission | Historic preservation, Certificates of Appropriateness for landmarks | Through Planning |
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From the City of Sierra Madre Building and Safety and Public Works permit pages, read October 2026. Fees are on the city fee schedule; check with the city.
Hillside Management Zone rules for walls and grading
Sierra Madre's hillside lots sit in the R-H Hillside Management Zone, chapter 17.52 of the municipal code. Section 17.52.150 sets the numbers a retaining wall is designed around: walls upslope from a building may not exceed 4 feet, walls downslope may not exceed 3 feet from the daylight line, and no finished slope may be steeper than 2:1. Grading or building in the zone also takes a hillside development permit, administrative or full depending on the work.
Stepping a slope with short walls
With walls capped at 3 and 4 feet, a steep yard is usually terraced with several low walls and planted benches, and a front walk turns into concrete steps between them. Pasadena's hillside wall guide compares a neighboring city's approach.
Street trees, oaks and front yards
Sierra Madre's tree chapter (12.20) makes it unlawful to remove or substantially trim a street tree without a permit, and its definition of damage includes trenching, excavating and paving. Around oaks it goes further: no grade changes within the dripline, and on-grade patios or paving that cover more than a third of an oak's root feeding zone must be permeable. In front yards, section 17.20.121 asks for at least half the area landscaped and keeps circular driveways to 12 feet wide.
For landmark properties, the Planning Commission has acted as the preservation body since 2002, and exterior changes seen from public view need a Certificate of Appropriateness. The historic district guide shows how Pasadena handles the same kind of review.
After the Eaton Fire
The January 2025 Eaton Fire forced evacuations in Sierra Madre, and the city's After Action Report (June 30, 2025) says they were carried out safely with no loss of life. The city has not published a count of damaged homes. The heaviest rebuilding is next door in unincorporated Altadena, where Los Angeles County runs the permits; see the Altadena page.
Concrete prices for Sierra Madre
Grade sets the price in Sierra Madre. constructlytools' Los Angeles guide (updated May 19, 2026) prices flat lots at $8 to $12 per square foot, moderate slopes at $10 to $15 and steep hillside at $13 to $20 or more. Extra grading adds $2 to $5 a foot, and wheeling old concrete out by hand on a hillside runs $2.50 to $4.00 a foot. A new concrete driveway on a sloped lot lands in the middle band.
