Landscape design-build in San Jose, California
Landscape Design & Build in San Jose, CA
San Jose is the city where Sequoia Outdoor has completed the most work outside the Peninsula: seven completed construction projects since 2023, one of them written up in full with its cost rows published, and three more photographed below in Carson Meadows, West Valley and a fenced back garden under mature trees. We design and build the whole yard as one coordinated project: pavers, walls and steps, decks and pergolas, outdoor kitchens, planting, drainage and lighting.
San Jose is big enough that the answers change across it, and three rules catch landscape work more often than people expect. A retaining wall needs a permit above two feet, not the four feet most cities allow. Removing a native tree of 38 inches around means planting five replacements. And any grading between 1 October and 30 April needs an approved erosion control plan, which is a scheduling question as much as a cost. 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.
San Jose snapshot
Service area
San Jose & the South Bay
Completed San Jose construction projects since 2023
7, from company project records
Documented San Jose work
1 published case study and 3 photographed builds
Construction project minimum
$25,000
Review footprint
80 review listings and recommendations across six platforms as of 2026-08-30
Three San Jose Builds, Photographed on Site
Three of the seven completed San Jose construction projects in our records, photographed after completion, each with the completion month and the project size the record gives where it has one. None of these three has a written case study yet, so no scope beyond the photographs and no price is quoted for them here. A fourth San Jose project is published in full below, with its cost rows.
How to read these. A published range on this site is the sum of a written-up project’s cost rows, rounded from its signed proposal, which is why the case study below carries one and these three do not. Browse every documented Sequoia project.
One San Jose case study, and two more in the hills above it
The first of these is a San Jose project, which makes this one of the few town pages on this site that can show a local range rather than borrowing one. Each range is the sum of that project’s published cost rows, rounded from its signed proposal, and it is that project’s price rather than a rate for another property. See the full case-study library.
San JoseA San Jose Backyard Rebuilt Around Turf, Pavers, Planting, and Gathering Space
Pavers, steps and hardscape, artificial turf, planting and a pool-deck surround across the back yard, completed October 2023. The one San Jose project written up in full.
Los AltosBelgard Pool Deck, Turf Lawn and Drought-Friendly Planting in Los Altos
A Belgard pool deck, a 384 sq ft synthetic turf lawn, drought-friendly planting and drainage, completed October 2024.
Los Altos HillsPaver Terrace, Pet Turf Dog Run and DG Courtyard in Los Altos Hills
A Belgard paver terrace and walkway, a decomposed-granite dog run with pet turf and a pea-gravel courtyard, completed June 2026.
Planning a Landscape Around Your San Jose Property
Six things worth settling before materials are chosen. The two-foot retaining wall threshold and the tree replacement ratios are the two that most often change a budget after a design is agreed.
Thirty-eight inches around, and five back for one
On private property San Jose requires a permit to remove a street tree, a heritage tree, an ordinance-size tree whether it is alive or dead, or any tree at all on multifamily, commercial, industrial or mixed-use property. Ordinance size is measured around rather than across: 38 inches or more in circumference at four and a half feet above ground for a single trunk, or the combined circumferences of multiple trunks adding to 38 inches at that height. That is about twelve inches across, so it catches most mature garden trees. The part that moves a budget is the replacement ratio. Take out a native tree of that size and the City asks for five replacement trees; a non-native, four; minimum size fifteen gallons in both cases. An arborist report is not automatic, and staff say on review whether one is needed. The City also publishes a list of species it considers unsuitable for single-family lots, including eucalyptus, liquidambar, pine, tree of heaven, tulip tree and palms with exceptions, which is worth reading before a replacement is chosen. We do not employ a certified arborist; where a report is required it comes from a private arborist. Tree removal permits.
Yours to maintain, not yours to cut
The tree between your sidewalk and the kerb is governed separately, and by a different department. Under Municipal Code Section 13.28 the owner of any property adjacent to a street is responsible for the care and maintenance of any tree, shrub, hedge or landscape within the public right of way, so the maintenance is yours; but the permit to prune or remove it comes from Transportation rather than Planning, and those permits are free. Pruning is capped at a quarter of the canopy in any year, with clearances of 14 feet over the street and 8 feet over the sidewalk, and topping is prohibited outright. Removal needs a demonstrated hazard or a conflict with infrastructure, a 14-day public notice period and, if anyone objects, a protest hearing. A frontage design that assumes the street tree can simply come out is the most common way a driveway programme slips. Street tree permits.
Two feet, not four
This is the San Jose rule that surprises people who have built elsewhere on the Peninsula. A retaining wall needs a permit once it is greater than two feet in height measured from existing grade, where most cities start at four. A raised planter, a seat wall holding a terrace, a low wall squaring up a sloping lawn: all of them cross two feet easily. Above four feet, or where the wall supports a surcharge such as a driveway or a structure above it, a Grading Permit from Public Works is needed as well as the building permit. 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. Fences and retaining walls.
Three feet at the front, seven at the sides
Without a permit a fence may reach three feet in the front yard and seven feet in the side and rear yards. On a corner lot the three-foot limit applies both to the front and to the side that faces the street, and heights have to stay low enough to preserve sightlines to the street from the driveway, which is a real constraint on a corner property where a screen was the whole point of the project. Anything above those limits needs both a building permit and a planning permit, which is two reviews rather than one and belongs in the programme accordingly. Fence heights.
Every dig is recorded, and October changes the paperwork
San Jose asks anyone excavating, grading, installing onsite storm drainage or building retaining walls to obtain either a Grading Permit or a Notice of Exemption, so even work that turns out to be exempt is formally recorded rather than simply started. The finished grade has to drain properly without pushing water onto neighbouring property or creating erosion. And there is a seasonal clause worth planning around: any grading between 1 October and 30 April requires an approved erosion control plan. A winter build is entirely possible, it just carries an extra approved document, so the decision to start in November rather than May is a scheduling decision made at design stage. Grading and drainage permits.
Three retailers, one rebate administrator
San Jose is large enough to have more than one water company, and which one bills you depends on where in the city you live. The San Jose Municipal Water System serves Evergreen, North San Jose, Alviso, Edenvale and Coyote, supplying more than 100,000 people and ranking as the fourth-largest retailer in Santa Clara County. San Jose Water covers south and east San Jose among other areas, delivering a mix of groundwater, water purchased through the Santa Clara Valley Water District and locally treated surface water. The useful part for a planting plan is that landscape rebates for the county are administered by Valley Water rather than by whichever retailer sends the bill, so the programme is the same across the city even though the bill is not. Programmes and funding change by year, so confirm what is open before the design assumes one. San Jose Municipal Water System, San Jose Water sources and Valley Water rebates.
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 before construction. Local guidance reviewed 6 September 2026 on sanjoseca.gov, sjwater.com and valleywater.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 San Jose 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 7 completed San Jose construction projects since 2023Median about $36,000From our own project records, so this includes the focused jobs that never get a case study. The smallest was about $20,000, a back-garden retaining wall completed November 2024. Five of the seven were at or above the $25,000 construction minimum that now applies. Seven projects is a small base, so read the median as a marker rather than a rate.
The San Jose project published in full$145,000 to $165,000Pavers, steps and hardscape, artificial turf, planting and a pool-deck surround, completed October 2023, with every cost row published on its own page. That range is the sum of those rows, rounded from the signed proposal.
The eventual price depends on scope, access, grading, drainage, materials, structures, utilities, planting, approvals and other property-specific requirements. In San Jose the two items most likely to move a budget after a design is agreed are a retaining wall crossing two feet, which brings a permit and sometimes a grading permit with it, and a mature native tree, where removal means five replacement trees rather than one.
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 6 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 San Jose projects. Read the review archive. The license is CSLB #1099847, verifiable on the state board’s register. The project counts and figures 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.
San Jose landscape design and build FAQs
Does Sequoia Outdoor work in San Jose?
Yes. Sequoia Outdoor is based in San Mateo and has completed seven San Jose construction projects since 2023, more than in any other city outside the Peninsula. One is published in full as a case study with its cost rows, and three more are photographed on this page.
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 San Jose cost?
Across the seven completed San Jose construction projects in our records the median signed value is about $36,000, the smallest about $20,000, and the largest is published in full as a case study at $145,000 to $165,000. Five of the seven were at or above the $25,000 construction minimum that now applies. Seven projects is a small base, so treat the median as a marker rather than a rate.
Which trees need a permit in San Jose?
On private property, a street tree, a heritage tree, an ordinance-size tree whether alive or dead, or any tree on multifamily, commercial, industrial or mixed-use property. Ordinance size is 38 inches or more in circumference at four and a half feet above ground, or multiple trunks whose combined circumferences reach 38 inches there. That is roughly twelve inches across.
How many trees do I have to replant if one is removed?
For an ordinance-size native tree, five replacement trees for the one removed. For a non-native, four. The minimum size is fifteen gallons in both cases. The City also publishes a list of species it considers unsuitable for single-family lots, including eucalyptus, liquidambar, pine, tree of heaven, tulip tree and palms with exceptions, so the replacements have to be chosen from outside that list.
Do I need a permit for a retaining wall in San Jose?
Yes, once it is greater than two feet in height measured from existing grade, which is lower than most cities on the Peninsula. At four feet or taller, or where the wall supports a surcharge such as a driveway above it, a Grading Permit from Public Works is required as well. A raised planter or a seat wall holding a terrace crosses two feet more easily than people expect.
How tall can a fence be in San Jose?
Three feet in the front yard and seven feet in the side and rear yards without a permit. On a corner lot the three-foot limit also applies to the side facing the street, and heights must stay low enough to keep sightlines to the street from the driveway. Anything higher needs both a building permit and a planning permit.
Can you build in winter in San Jose?
Yes, with one extra document. Any grading between 1 October and 30 April requires an approved erosion control plan. Separately, anyone excavating, grading, installing onsite storm drainage or building retaining walls must obtain either a Grading Permit or a Notice of Exemption, so even exempt work is formally recorded. Both are planned for at design stage rather than discovered on site.
Who supplies the water, and are there rebates?
It depends where in the city you are. The San Jose Municipal Water System serves Evergreen, North San Jose, Alviso, Edenvale and Coyote, more than 100,000 people; San Jose Water covers south and east San Jose among other areas. Landscape rebates for the county are administered by Valley Water rather than the retailer, so the programme is the same wherever in the city you are, though the programmes and their funding change by year.
Does Sequoia guarantee the completion date?
Sequoia publishes an On-Time Schedule Credit policy. The scheduled completion date is confirmed after the preconstruction walkthrough, not at the first consultation. Credits apply only to qualifying company-controlled delays and remain subject to the signed agreement, its exclusions and the complete published terms.
The Los Gatos page · Tree removal permits · Fences and retaining walls · Grading and drainage · When a building permit is required · Case studies · On-Time Schedule Credit terms
San Jose and the Towns Around It
Three things are worth confirming for your own address before design begins, because each can change a budget or a programme after a design is agreed: whether any wall in the plan crosses two feet, whether any tree near the work reaches 38 inches around, and whether the build will be grading between October and April.
Let’s Plan Your San Jose 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.