Excavation in Pasadena
Pasadena is a separate city bounded by the Raymond Fault, the San Rafael Hills and the San Gabriel Mountains, and its steeper lots fall under a Hillside Overlay District. The state has mapped Alquist-Priolo fault zones affecting the city twice, for the Raymond Fault in 2017 and for the Sierra Madre Fault Zone in November 2025.
None of the Los Angeles grading thresholds carry over here. The 50-cubic-yard exemption, the 1,000-cubic-yard haul hearing and the Baseline Hillside Ordinance are City of LA rules, and Pasadena writes its own. Grading permits come through the Permit Center, charged on the city’s own schedule of grading permit fees, and steeper lots answer to the Hillside Overlay District in Chapter 17.29 of the Zoning Code. On an overlay lot the Hillside Development Permit application itself asks for grading information, so a pad cut or a new driveway grade is reviewed alongside the house.
The state’s June 2017 map revision for the Raymond Fault listed Pasadena among the affected cities, along with Arcadia, San Marino, South Pasadena and others. A second release, dated November 20, 2025, zoned the Sierra Madre Fault Zone across the Pasadena and Mount Wilson quadrangles. A seller’s disclosure, soils report or feasibility study written before that date may not reflect the newer map. Checking a parcel in EQ Zapp takes a minute and is worth doing before digging for new foundations or an addition.
The Arroyo Seco runs through the west side of the city, and beyond it the San Rafael Hills rise along Linda Vista Avenue. Those are the parts of Pasadena where the slope categories on the hillside permit map, under 15%, 15 to 50%, and over 50%, stop being abstract. On a lot that falls into the steepest band, a retaining wall footing can be part of making a usable yard at all. Down on the alluvial slope that forms most of the city, the same Permit Center handles flatter work such as clearing and regrading a lot for an addition or a detached unit.
West over the San Rafael Hills is Eagle Rock, Glendale lies beyond it, and Highland Park sits down the Arroyo Seco.
Excavation and grading across the Los Angeles area:
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