Building on a hillside in Paso Robles: the local rules

Each rule below links to the section of the Paso Robles Municipal Code it was read from, with the code text one click away (checked October 2026). General information, not legal advice.

What Paso Robles's code says

Paso Robles code What Paso Robles's code adds
Grading and retaining walls	2:1 graded slopes, including any retaining wall face, at most 4 feet high. Applies: Hillside standards; residential lots of 7,000 square feet or less; side and front yards. § 21.81.040 · code text Lot size ≤7,000 sq. ft. \| 4 \| 6 \| 4 \| 6 \| 10 \| 6 \| unlimited 2:1 graded slopes, including any retaining wall face, at most 6 feet high. Applies: Hillside standards; residential lots of 7,000 square feet or less; rear yards. § 21.81.040 · code text Lot size ≤7,000 sq. ft. \| 4 \| 6 \| 4 \| 6 \| 10 \| 6 \| unlimited 2:1 graded slopes, including any retaining wall face, at most 8 feet high. Applies: Hillside standards; residential lots of 7,001 to 9,999 square feet; side, front or rear yards. § 21.81.040 · code text 7,001—9,999 \| 8 \| 10 \| 4 \| 8 \| 12 \| 6 \| unlimited 2:1 graded slopes, including any retaining wall face, at most 12 feet high. Applies: Hillside standards; residential lots of 10,000 square feet or more; side, front or rear yards. § 21.81.040 · code text ≥10,000 \| 12 \| 15 \| 4 \| 12 \| 18 \| 6 \| unlimited The exposed face of a building stem wall may average no more than 9 feet high. Applies: Hillside development standards. § 21.81.040 · code text The exposed face of a building stem wall shall not exceed nine feet in average height No grading or other disturbance on existing slopes over 35%. Applies: Hillside development standards, unless a modification is approved. § 21.81.040 · code text No area of disturbance is permitted on an existing slope greater than thirty-five percent.
When hillside rules apply	Individual pad grading is allowed where the existing slope is under 15%. Applies: Hillside standards; slope of the area to be disturbed. § 21.81.040 · code text Individual pad grading is allowed where the area of disturbance has an existing slope less than fifteen percent. 15% to 35%: no pad grading; engineered foundations like split levels, piles or stem walls are required. Applies: Hillside standards; slope of the area to be disturbed; a registered engineer or architect designs the foundation. § 21.81.040 · code text Where the area of disturbance has an existing slope of between fifteen and thirty-five percent, pad grading is not allowed. No new lot may require disturbance on existing slopes averaging more than 35%. Applies: Lots created by tract map, parcel map or lot line adjustment. § 21.81.060 · code text No new lots shall be created that would necessitate locating the area of disturbance on existing slopes with an average of more than thirty-five percent.

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What extra rules apply to a hillside lot in Paso Robles?

Paso Robles's code: Individual pad grading is allowed where the existing slope is under 15%. (Hillside standards; slope of the area to be disturbed.) (§ 21.81.040); 2:1 graded slopes, including any retaining wall face, at most 4 feet high. (Hillside standards; residential lots of 7,000 square feet or less; side and front yards.) (§ 21.81.040).

Building on a hillside in Paso Robles

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