Before You Build in Glendale, CA: Permit & Rule Checklist (2026)

In Glendale's ROS and R1R hillside zones, Municipal Code § 30.30.010(B) caps most retaining walls at five feet, with a two-foot bonus for decorative masonry or stone facing when a wall's toe sits within 15 feet of a street front or side property line. Stacked walls are capped at two, five feet apart, on a slope no steeper than 2:1.

Glendale does not require neighbor consent to build a fence on your property. California Civil Code Section 841 governs shared boundary fences and provides for equal cost-sharing between benefiting property owners.

Glendale limits residential fences and walls to three feet by right in the ROS, R1R and R1 zones; anything taller needs Design Review Board approval under Chapter 30.47. Ten residential, mixed-use and transit-oriented zones ban barbed wire, razor wire, chicken wire, fiberglass and electrified fencing outright, and chain-link is allowed only when vegetation-screened or serving tennis courts and recreational facilities.

Glendale requires all residential swimming pools to be enclosed by a barrier at least 5 feet high with self-closing, self-latching gates. California's Swimming Pool Safety Act (Health & Safety Code 115920-115929) mandates specific safety measures for all residential pools.

Swimming pool construction in Glendale requires a building permit routed through Planning for design review. Applications must show existing/proposed fencing, landscaping changes, and proximity to city or native trees. Occupancy before final inspection is a violation.

Glendale must approve accessory dwelling units on any lot zoned for single or multi-family housing as a ministerial building permit under Municipal Code § 30.34.080, with no discretionary hearing. New detached units are capped at 850 square feet, or 1,000 square feet with a second bedroom, and interior setbacks shrink to as little as four feet once the standard yard requirements would otherwise block construction.

A backyard shed, workshop or other accessory building in Glendale's residential zones is capped at 500 square feet of floor area under Table 30.11-A in § 30.11.020, and at 12 feet of height, or 15 feet with a pitched roof, under Table 30.11-B in § 30.11.030. A separate 15-foot cap applies to non-building accessory structures.

Glendale requires a director-issued permit before anyone cuts, removes, encroaches upon, or relocates a protected indigenous tree, meaning a California live oak, scrub oak, San Gabriel oak, valley oak, mesa oak, California bay, or California sycamore with a trunk six inches or more in diameter. Removing one without a permit is a misdemeanor.

Beyond Glendale's 100-foot brush-clearance rule, California Public Resources Code Sec. 4291 makes owners in the city's state responsibility area foothill parcels keep trees off their chimneys and roofs. Any tree limb within 10 feet of a chimney or stovepipe outlet must come down, trees and shrubs touching a building must be free of dead wood, and roofs must stay clear of leaves and needles.

Glendale's mandatory water conservation plan bans all outdoor irrigation between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. year-round, and under Phase III adds a two-day-a-week cap: Tuesdays and Saturdays only, for no more than 10 minutes per watering station, with exceptions for drip systems, new plantings and fire-prevention watering.