Landscape design-build in Redwood City, California
Landscape Design & Build in Redwood City, CA
Redwood City is a short drive down the Peninsula from Sequoia Outdoor’s base in San Mateo, and our project records show 10 completed Redwood City construction projects since 2023, with another under construction: paver patios and courtyards, turf lawns, stone walls, pergolas and outdoor kitchens in Redwood Oaks, Mount Carmel, Palm Park, Roosevelt and Centennial. We design and build the whole yard as one coordinated project: pavers, walls and steps, decks and pergolas, outdoor kitchens, planting, drainage and lighting.
The city runs from the lagoons of Redwood Shores, across the flat central neighborhoods, up to the hills on the west side, and each is a different site: fill and a high water table by the Bay, base and drainage on the flats, grade and walls in the hills. 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.
Redwood City snapshot
Service area
Redwood City, from the Shores to the hills
Completed Redwood City construction projects since 2023
10, from company project records, and 1 under construction
Documented Redwood City work
8 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
Eight Redwood City Builds, Photographed on Site
Eight separate Redwood City properties from our project records, each photographed after completion. Where our records give a completion month and a project size, they are shown. None of these has a written case study yet, so no scope beyond the photograph and no price is quoted for any of them; the nearby case studies below carry published ranges because they have write-ups. Between them the eight cover most of what a Redwood City yard asks for: paver patios, courtyards and paths, artificial turf and sod lawns, a stone wall, pergolas, an outdoor kitchen and a water feature.
Why there is no Redwood City 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 eight has a write-up yet. What our records do show for all ten completed Redwood City construction projects is in the pricing section below. Browse every documented Sequoia project.
Four published case studies in the neighboring cities
San Carlos borders Redwood City to the north, Atherton and Menlo Park to the south. 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 Redwood City pricing and not a quote for another property. See the full case-study library.
San CarlosTurf Lawn, Paver Patio and Raised Fire Pit
A backyard renovation combining a paver patio, artificial turf, planting-bed improvements, drainage and lighting, with updates to an existing fire pit and seating area.
San CarlosFront-and-Back Paver Driveway, Walkway and Turf Yard
New driveway and walkway paving, backyard artificial turf, planting, drainage and lighting coordinated across the property, with some existing pavers cleaned and re-jointed rather than replaced.
AthertonFire Pit Terrace, Cobble Rock Channel and Sport-Court Surround
Boulders and a cobble channel, a paver terrace, planting, lighting and a rebuilt fire pit around a sport court, completed December 2025.
Menlo ParkOutdoor Living, Garden Paths and Greenhouse
Stone paths, lawn and planting, irrigation and drainage, a greenhouse water feature and landscape lighting, completed June 2025.
Planning a Landscape Around Your Redwood City Property
Six things worth settling before materials are chosen. A flat lot in Roosevelt or Centennial does not need the process a hillside lot on the west side does, and an Emerald Hills address is not in the city at all.
Flat lots, hillside lots and the Shores
Most Redwood City yards are flat, and there the question is the base and the drainage under a patio or driveway. On the west side the ground climbs, and the City’s residential grading and drainage guidelines say what changes: a grading permit for excavation of more than 50 cubic yards or on slopes over 10%, an erosion control plan on sites over 10% slope, a certified soils report from a geotechnical engineer on hillside lots, and a permit for any retaining wall over four feet measured from the bottom of the footing. Two rules apply to every lot: drainage must not flow onto a neighboring property, and it is conveyed to the street through a storm drain or an approved system. In Redwood Shores, work that could affect the stability of a lagoon bank, including repairs to what is already there, falls under the Lagoon Bank Policy. 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. Grading and drainage guidelines and the Lagoon Bank Policy.
Twelve inches, measured low
Under Redwood City’s Tree Preservation Ordinance a tree larger than 12 inches in diameter, measured at the thickest point between six and 36 inches above the ground, is protected, and a permit is required before it is pruned or removed. City-owned trees, typically the ones between the sidewalk and the curb, need a permit for any pruning or removal. The City treats removal as the last resort, approves pruning to the ANSI A300 standard, and normally conditions a removal permit on planting at least one new tree for each one removed. Because the threshold is a diameter and not a species list, a landscape plan should measure every trunk near the work before the layout is fixed. We do not employ a certified arborist; where an assessment is required it comes from a private arborist. Pruning and removing trees.
Driveway approaches, sidewalks and drains to the street
No work of any nature in, on, under or over a public right-of-way or City property starts without an encroachment permit from the City’s Engineering Division. For a landscape project that means a new or widened driveway approach, sidewalk or curb work, and a drain line to the gutter. The application asks for general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 naming the City as additional insured, and a deposit, so it belongs in the schedule before the driveway does. Engineering permits and fees.
Inside the city, almost none; in the hills above it, Very High
In the 2025 state hazard maps for the City’s own jurisdiction no Redwood City parcel is mapped Very High (60 parcels High and 6 Moderate, as reported at the Council’s first reading in May 2025), so for most of the city there is no fire-zone rule on a landscape plan. The Fire Department still recommends the ember-resistant zone: non-combustible materials and no mulch in the first five feet from the house. Emerald Hills and the other unincorporated pockets west of the city are a different case: they are in the Woodside Fire Protection District, whose 2025 maps include Very High zones with 100-foot defensible space and Wildland-Urban Interface construction standards. No landscape makes a property fireproof. Check your address on the state viewer before the design assumes either way. Wildfire preparedness, the 2025 map report, Woodside Fire hazard zones and the state viewer.
A city-run utility and the rebates it carries
Redwood City runs its own water utility through Public Works, serving more than 24,000 customers in the city and parts of San Carlos, Woodside and unincorporated county, so conservation rebates are claimed as a Redwood City water customer. Through BAWSCA’s Lawn Be Gone program the City pays $2 per square foot of lawn replaced with low-water planting, with a $300 rain garden option; the program publishes a separate artificial turf fact sheet, so confirm eligibility before the design assumes a rebate. Rain barrels and cisterns are rebated up to $200 combined for San Mateo County residents through BAWSCA and the countywide program (the City’s own page still says up to $100 per barrel), a Rachio controller is offered at an instant discount, and WaterSense sprinkler rotors, spray heads and drip components carry equipment rebates. 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. Conservation programs, Redwood City water and Lawn Be Gone and rain barrel rebates.
Online only in the city; the County for Emerald Hills
Redwood City accepts building permit and plan applications electronically only, through its eTRAKiT portal, where fees are also paid. Which permits a landscape project needs depends on the scope: retaining walls above the four-foot threshold, decks and pergolas, gas and electrical for an outdoor kitchen, grading and drainage connections and tree impacts can each involve a different review, and a building-permit exemption does not remove an encroachment or tree permit. Emerald Hills, Emerald Lake Hills and the other unincorporated pockets have Redwood City addresses but County jurisdiction: 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. Redwood City permit submittal, eTRAKiT, 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 redwoodcity.org, smcgov.org, sanmateocountytrees.org and woodsidefire.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 needs an encroachment permit.
Retaining walls and steps
Level changes evaluated alongside drainage and structural requirements rather than after them; walls over four feet from the footing need a City permit.
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 Redwood City 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 10 completed Redwood City construction projects since 2023Median about $50,000From our own project records, so it includes the focused jobs that never get a case study. Half signed for less than that and half for more. The smallest was a wall and steps at about $17,000, completed December 2023; the largest, at about $120,000, rebuilt a front and back yard with pavers, an outdoor kitchen, a fire pit and a pergola, completed March 2026. The construction minimum is $25,000.
The four published case studies nearby$50,000 to $120,000Two San Carlos backyards at $50,000 to $60,000 and $70,000 to $80,000, an Atherton fire-pit terrace at $96,150 to $106,360 and a Menlo Park outdoor-living build at $105,000 to $120,000, each range the sum of its own published cost rows. Not Redwood City 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. On a west-side hillside lot the walls, the soils report and the drainage can cost as much as the finishes; on a flat lot the base and the drainage decide how long a patio lasts; and an encroachment or tree permit adds time before it adds cost.
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 Redwood City 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.
Redwood City landscape design and build FAQs
Does Sequoia Outdoor work in Redwood City?
Yes. Sequoia Outdoor is based in San Mateo and serves Redwood City from there. Since 2023 our project records show 10 completed Redwood City construction projects, with another under construction, and this page shows eight 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 Redwood City cost?
Across the 10 completed Redwood City construction projects in our records since 2023, the median is about $50,000; the smallest was a wall and steps at about $17,000 and the largest a $120,000 front-and-back rebuild with pavers, an outdoor kitchen, a fire pit and a pergola. No Redwood City project has a published case-study range yet; the four nearby case studies on this page are published at $50,000 to $120,000, each the sum of its own cost rows. Construction projects start at $25,000.
Do I need a grading permit or a soils report for a hillside lot in Redwood City?
Often. The City’s residential grading and drainage guidelines call for a grading permit when excavation exceeds 50 cubic yards or the slope exceeds 10%, an erosion control plan on sites over 10% slope, and a certified soils report from a geotechnical engineer on hillside lots. A retaining wall over four feet from the bottom of its footing needs a permit. On any lot, drainage may not flow onto a neighbor’s property and is conveyed to the street through a storm drain or an approved system. Sequoia does not provide geotechnical engineering; where it is needed it comes from a licensed professional named in the scope.
Which trees are protected in Redwood City?
Any tree larger than 12 inches in diameter, measured at the thickest point between six and 36 inches above the ground, under the City’s Tree Preservation Ordinance. Pruning or removing one needs a permit first, and city-owned trees between the sidewalk and the curb need a permit for any pruning or removal. Removal is treated as the last resort, and a removal permit normally requires planting at least one new tree for each one removed.
Do I need a permit for a new driveway approach, sidewalk work or a drain to the street?
Yes. Any work in, on, under or over the public right-of-way needs an encroachment permit from the City’s Engineering Division. The application asks for general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 naming the City as additional insured, and a deposit.
Is Emerald Hills part of Redwood City?
No. Emerald Hills, Emerald Lake Hills and the other unincorporated pockets west of the city have Redwood City mailing addresses but County jurisdiction: building permits go to San Mateo County Planning and Building, the County’s Protected Tree Ordinance applies (every tree 12.1 inches in diameter at 4.5 feet, with an arborist report for a removal or pruning permit), and fire code is the Woodside Fire Protection District’s. We have a separate Emerald Hills page for those properties.
Is my Redwood City property in a Fire Hazard Severity Zone?
Inside the city limits, probably not: the 2025 state maps for the City’s jurisdiction mapped no Redwood City parcel as Very High, with 60 parcels High and 6 Moderate, as reported at the Council’s first reading in May 2025. The Fire Department still recommends an ember-resistant first five feet around the house, with non-combustible materials and no mulch. Emerald Hills and the hills above the city are in the Woodside Fire Protection District, whose 2025 maps include Very High zones with 100-foot defensible space. Check your address on the state viewer. No landscape makes a property fireproof.
Can I see examples of your Redwood City work?
Yes. Eight Redwood City 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. Four nearby case studies in San Carlos, Atherton and Menlo Park are published in full, with before-and-after photographs, cost rows and published ranges.
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 Emerald Hills page · Redwood City tree permits · Redwood City permit submittal · Engineering permits and fees · Case studies · On-Time Schedule Credit terms
Redwood City 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 the lot is inside the city limits or in an unincorporated pocket such as Emerald Hills, whether it slopes enough to need walls, a soils report and a grading permit, and whether any tree near the work measures more than twelve inches across.
Let’s Plan Your Redwood City 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.