Landscape design-build in Burlingame, California
Landscape Design & Build in Burlingame, CA
Burlingame is the next city north of Sequoia Outdoor’s base in San Mateo, and our project records show five completed Burlingame construction projects since 2024, with two more under construction: paver terraces and patios, artificial turf, an outdoor kitchen, a cedar pergola and planting in Oak Grove Manor and Mills Estates. We design and build the whole yard as one coordinated project: pavers, walls and steps, decks and pergolas, outdoor kitchens, planting, drainage and lighting.
Burlingame is a city of protected trees, and its rule is the one that catches hardscape: any tree 14 inches across is protected, and cutting more than 15% of its roots needs a permit, so a patio or a driveway near a mature tree is designed around the roots before it is designed around the pattern. Below El Camino Real the lots are flat and the questions are base and drainage; above it the ground climbs and the walls, the water pressure and the fire map change with it. Whether you want a focused improvement or a full outdoor living build, the process begins with the site, your priorities and a realistic scope.
Construction projects start at $25,000. Design is quoted separately. Qualifying design fees may be credited toward construction.
Burlingame snapshot
Service area
Burlingame, from the Bayfront to the hills
Completed Burlingame construction projects since 2024
5, from company project records, and 2 under construction
Documented Burlingame work
3 photographed builds; written case studies pending
Construction project minimum
$25,000
Review footprint
80 review listings and recommendations across six platforms as of 2026-08-30
Three Burlingame Builds, Photographed on Site
Three separate Burlingame properties from our project records, each photographed after completion, with the completion month and the project size where our records give them. None of the three has a written case study yet, so no scope beyond the photographs and no price is quoted for any of them; the case studies from next door below carry published ranges because they have write-ups. Two of the three are in Oak Grove Manor.
Why there is no Burlingame price here. A published range on this site is the sum of a written-up project’s cost rows, rounded from its signed proposal. None of the three has a write-up yet. What our records do show for all five completed Burlingame construction projects is in the pricing section below. Browse every documented Sequoia project.
Three published case studies in San Mateo and Hillsborough
San Mateo borders Burlingame to the south and Hillsborough to the west. Each has its own tree, drainage and permit rules, and each range is the sum of that project’s published cost rows, rounded from its signed proposal: not Burlingame pricing and not a quote for another property. See the full case-study library.
San MateoA Cleaner Front Yard With Stronger Edges
A corner-lot front and side yard rebuilt with a curved paver walkway, artificial turf, river-rock borders, drainage, irrigation, path lighting and planting, completed January 2026.
San MateoLayered Pavers, Walls, Lighting and Planting for a San Mateo Home
Calstone pavers across the driveway, side yard and rear patio, garden walls, drainage, irrigation, path and uplighting, sod and planting, completed November 2024.
HillsboroughPavers, Turf and Walls in Hillsborough
Belgard paving, artificial turf, retaining walls, drainage, lighting and planting areas across the property, completed July 2024.
Planning a Landscape Around Your Burlingame Property
Six things worth settling before materials are chosen. The tree rule applies to almost every Burlingame lot; the hillside and fire items apply above El Camino; and a Burlingame Hills address is not in the city at all.
Fourteen inches across, and the root rule
Under Municipal Code Chapter 11.06 every private tree in Burlingame is protected once it measures 44 inches in circumference, 14 inches in diameter, at 54 inches from natural grade, and any tree planted as a replacement is protected regardless of size. A permit is required before structurally altering a protected tree, pruning more than 25% of it, pruning more than 15% of its roots, or removing it. The root clause is the one a landscape project meets: excavating for a patio base, a driveway or a wall footing inside a mature tree’s root zone is root pruning, so the layout is drawn around the roots first. Removal applications are inspected by the City Arborist; a healthy, structurally sound tree is generally denied, and a denial can be appealed to the Beautification Commission. Street trees are the Parks Division’s under Chapter 11.04. We do not employ a certified arborist; where an assessment is required it comes from a private arborist. Trees and urban forest and the private protected tree FAQ.
Flat below El Camino, climbing above it
Most Burlingame lots east of El Camino Real are flat, and there the question is the base and the drainage under a patio or driveway. West of it the ground climbs toward Hillsborough and the unincorporated Burlingame Hills, and the City’s own water system marks the change: above 120 feet of elevation the Water Division runs closed systems and reservoirs rather than the pressure that comes straight off the SFPUC lines, which is worth knowing before an irrigation design assumes a pressure. On a sloped lot, walls that hold the grade and drain lines behind them come before any finish. Substantial grading, drainage changes, walls or structures may need review or professional input. We design and build landscapes; we do not provide geotechnical engineering, and where that expertise is needed it comes from a licensed professional named in the scope. Burlingame water system.
Any paving or pipe in the street needs a permit
Municipal Code section 12.10.020 is blunt: no one may construct or place an encroachment within, on, over or under a City right-of-way without first obtaining a permit, and an encroachment includes any paving, pipe, fence, structure or object of any kind. For a landscape project that means a new or widened driveway approach, sidewalk or curb work, and a drain line to the gutter. The city engineer grants the permit subject to conditions, and applications go through the Public Works online permitting portal, which also issues the Stormwater Construction Pollution Prevention Permit for construction sites. Encroachment permits, Chapter 12.10 and the Public Works permitting portal.
Central County Fire and the 2025 map
Fire code in Burlingame is enforced by Central County Fire, which also serves Hillsborough and Millbrae. It publishes the 2025 state hazard map for the city’s own jurisdiction, adopted at a public hearing, and the City posts the map. Where a parcel is mapped Very High, 100-foot defensible space is mandatory, Wildland-Urban Interface building standards apply to new construction and renovations, and the designation is disclosed when the property is sold. The practical effect on a landscape plan is what goes in the first five feet against the house: non-combustible surfaces rather than mulch and planting. No landscape makes a property fireproof. Check your address on the map before the design assumes either way. Burlingame fire hazard map, Central County Fire and the state viewer.
SFPUC water, City mains, and a rebate that excludes turf
Burlingame buys all of its water from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and maintains the mains itself, including parts of Burlingame Hills, so conservation rebates are claimed as a Burlingame water customer. Through BAWSCA’s Lawn Be Gone program the City pays $2 per square foot of lawn converted to a water-efficient landscape, up to $500 per household, and the City’s page says plainly that artificial turf is not eligible. Qualifying rain barrels are rebated up to $200. Qualifying new or rehabilitated landscapes tied to a permit may fall under the state Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance as the City applies it, so plant selection, hydrozones and irrigation are designed together. Lawn Be Gone and City rebates.
eTRAKiT in the city; the County for Burlingame Hills
Burlingame takes building permit applications for every permit type online through its eTRAKiT portal, and right-of-way and stormwater permits through the separate Public Works portal. Which permits a landscape project needs depends on the scope: retaining walls above the code threshold, decks and pergolas, gas and electrical for an outdoor kitchen, drainage connections and tree impacts can each involve a different review, and a building-permit exemption does not remove an encroachment or tree permit. Burlingame Hills has Burlingame addresses but is an unincorporated community outside the city: building permits go to San Mateo County Planning and Building through the County’s online portal, and the County’s Protected Tree Ordinance protects every tree 12.1 inches in diameter at 4.5 feet, with an arborist report required for a removal or pruning permit. Confirm the set for your address before construction. Burlingame online permitting, the City’s boundaries, County permits and County protected trees.
Requirements depend on the property and the proposed work, and not every item above applies to every project. Confirm what applies to your address with the City, or the County, before construction. Local guidance reviewed 5 September 2026 on burlingame.org, ecode360.com (Burlingame Municipal Code), ccfd.org, smcgov.org and sanmateocountytrees.org.
One coordinated plan for the entire outdoor space
Each linked page carries the scope it covers, its pricing floor and the completed projects behind it. Mowing, cleaning and ongoing garden maintenance are not services we sell.
Design, backyard and front yard
How the design phase works and what it costs, then gathering spaces, planting, lawn areas and circulation drawn as one scheme rather than a list of features.
Pavers: driveways, patios, walkways and pool decks
Base, drainage and levels settled before the pattern is chosen. A driveway approach or a drain to the gutter is an encroachment and needs a City permit.
Retaining walls and steps
Level changes evaluated alongside drainage and structural requirements rather than after them, and around any protected tree’s roots.
Outdoor kitchens, bars and fire
Cooking, serving and fire features placed within the layout, with gas and electrical routed during base work.
Lighting, shade and water
Evening use, shade and sound considered as part of the plan, not added at the end.
Artificial turf
Where a low-water lawn makes sense and where it does not, including rebate eligibility.
Budget and design fees
What does a Burlingame landscape project cost?
Construction and design are contracted separately, so they are quoted separately and shown separately here.
Sequoia Outdoor offers a free initial one-hour onsite consultation, and the presentation that follows it is free as well. Concept plans start at $1,000, and more detailed design work is quoted according to the project. Construction projects have a $25,000 minimum, and qualifying design fees may be credited toward construction: if you enter into a construction contract with us within 30 days of your final design being delivered, an amount equal to the design fee is deducted from that contract.
All 5 completed Burlingame construction projects since 2024Median about $50,000From our own project records, so it includes the focused jobs that never get a case study. The smallest was pavers, a wall, drainage and lighting at about $19,500, completed December 2024; the largest, at about $161,000, rebuilt the front, side and back yards with paver terraces, turf and a walkway, completed May 2026. Five projects is a small base, so read the median as a marker, not a rate. The construction minimum is $25,000.
The three published case studies next door$75,000 to $275,000A San Mateo corner-lot front yard at $75,000 to $90,000, a San Mateo front-and-back paver refresh at $180,000 to $205,000 and a Hillsborough pavers, turf and walls project at $240,000 to $275,000, each range the sum of its own published cost rows. Not Burlingame pricing and not quotes for another property.
The eventual price depends on scope, access, grading, drainage, materials, structures, utilities, planting, approvals and other property-specific requirements. In Burlingame the item most likely to move a budget is a protected tree: designing a patio or driveway around a root zone, or paying for an arborist assessment, costs less than the permit a cut root would have needed.
Ask for the split before you commit. A proposal should separate design services, construction, specialist work such as arborist input or engineering, and anything excluded. If those sit in one number, you cannot tell what a change to one of them costs.
What 16 signed proposals cost shows the full spread across the Peninsula and South Bay.
Pricing reviewed 5 September 2026.
From first visit to completed landscape
- 01
Initial consultation
The property, your priorities, intended use, timing and investment expectations.
- 02
Site discovery
Access, grade, drainage, existing trees, utilities, structures and the other visible constraints.
- 03
Concept and design
Layout, features, materials and planting direction, to the design scope you selected.
- 04
Scope and construction proposal
The work Sequoia will perform, with assumptions, allowances and exclusions identified.
- 05
Approvals and preparation
Which City or County, fire, utility, engineering, arborist or other approvals may apply, and which of those services are inside the scope. Sequoia does not perform every specialty itself.
- 06
Construction and walkthrough
The approved scope coordinated, progress communicated, and the finished work reviewed with you.
The scheduled completion date is confirmed after the preconstruction walkthrough, not at the initial consultation. Schedule credits apply only to qualifying company-controlled delays and remain subject to the signed agreement and its exclusions. Read the schedule-credit terms.
Every claim here links to the thing that backs it
Sequoia Outdoor’s website currently reports 80 review listings and recommendations across six platforms as of 2026-08-30. That is a count of listings and recommendations, not of customers and not of Burlingame projects. Read the review archive. The license is CSLB #1099847, verifiable on the state board’s register. The project counts and the median on this page come from our own project records and are stated as such. The on-time schedule credit is subject to its complete published terms.
Burlingame landscape design and build FAQs
Does Sequoia Outdoor work in Burlingame?
Yes. Sequoia Outdoor is based in San Mateo, the next city south, and serves Burlingame from there. Since 2024 our project records show five completed Burlingame construction projects, with two more under construction, and this page shows three of the properties in photographs. Design deliverables and construction work are defined and priced through their respective agreements.
Is the initial consultation free?
Yes, and so is the presentation that follows it. The initial one-hour on-site visit and the live walkthrough of your options and pricing are both free. Design work is separate, with concept plans starting at $1,000 and further deliverables quoted for the project.
What does a landscape project in Burlingame cost?
Across the five completed Burlingame construction projects in our records since 2024, the median is about $50,000; the smallest was pavers, a wall, drainage and lighting at about $19,500 and the largest a $161,000 front, side and back yard rebuild with paver terraces, turf and a walkway. Five is a small base. No Burlingame project has a published case-study range yet; the three case studies next door in San Mateo and Hillsborough are published at $75,000 to $275,000, each the sum of its own cost rows. Construction projects start at $25,000.
Which trees are protected in Burlingame?
Every private tree that measures 44 inches in circumference, 14 inches in diameter, at 54 inches from natural grade, under Municipal Code Chapter 11.06, plus any tree planted as a replacement. A permit is required before structurally altering a protected tree, pruning more than 25% of it, pruning more than 15% of its roots, or removing it. The City Arborist inspects removal applications and generally denies them for a healthy, structurally sound tree; a denial can be appealed to the Beautification Commission.
Can you build a patio or driveway near a protected tree?
Often, if the design starts from the roots. Excavating inside a mature tree’s root zone is root pruning, and pruning more than 15% of a protected tree’s roots needs a City permit. So the base, the edge and the drainage are laid out around the root zone, sometimes on a raised or permeable section, before the pattern is chosen. We do not employ a certified arborist; where an assessment is required it comes from a private arborist named in the scope.
Do I need a permit for a new driveway approach, sidewalk work or a drain to the street?
Yes. Municipal Code section 12.10.020 requires a permit before any encroachment, including any paving, pipe, fence, structure or object of any kind, is placed within, on, over or under a City right-of-way. The city engineer grants it subject to conditions, through the Public Works online permitting portal.
Is Burlingame Hills part of Burlingame?
No. Burlingame Hills has Burlingame addresses but is an unincorporated community outside the city limits. Building permits go to San Mateo County Planning and Building, and the County’s Protected Tree Ordinance applies: every tree 12.1 inches in diameter at 4.5 feet is protected, with an arborist report required for a removal or pruning permit. The City’s Water Division does maintain the mains in parts of Burlingame Hills.
Is my Burlingame property in a Fire Hazard Severity Zone?
Check the map. Central County Fire, which serves Burlingame, Hillsborough and Millbrae, publishes the 2025 state hazard map for the city’s jurisdiction and the City posts it. In a Very High zone, 100-foot defensible space is mandatory, Wildland-Urban Interface building standards apply to new construction and renovations, and the designation is disclosed on sale. For a landscape plan the first five feet against the house matter most. No landscape makes a property fireproof.
Can I get a rebate for replacing my lawn in Burlingame?
Yes, for a planted conversion. Through BAWSCA’s Lawn Be Gone program the City pays $2 per square foot of lawn converted to a water-efficient landscape, up to $500 per household, and the City’s page states that artificial turf is not eligible. Rain barrels are rebated up to $200. We install both planted landscapes and artificial turf, so the rebate is part of the decision, not an afterthought.
Can I see examples of your Burlingame work?
Yes. Three Burlingame properties are shown on this page as photographs, with the completion month and the project size where our records give them, and no scope or price beyond that. Three case studies next door in San Mateo and Hillsborough are published in full, with before-and-after photographs, cost rows and published ranges.
The Hillsborough page · Burlingame protected trees · Burlingame online permitting · Public Works permits · Case studies · On-Time Schedule Credit terms
Burlingame and the Cities Around It
Three things are worth confirming for your own address before design begins, because each changes who reviews the work: whether any tree near the work measures fourteen inches across, whether the lot is inside the city limits or in Burlingame Hills, and whether it sits above El Camino where the grade, the water pressure and the fire map change.
Let’s Plan Your Burlingame Landscape
Tell us what you want to change, how you hope to use the space, and the investment range you are considering. We will visit the property, discuss the appropriate design scope and explain the next step.
Construction projects start at $25,000. Design is quoted separately.