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Sierra Madre · Building on your lot

Grading and erosion control in Sierra Madre

Sierra Madre's own rules on grading and erosion control, with the code text for every value.

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

What Sierra Madre's code says

Sierra Madre code What Sierra Madre's code adds
Steepest cut or fill slope
  • Compacted fill slopes may be no steeper than 2 horizontal to 1 vertical.
    Applies: The city council may allow steeper slopes up to 15 feet high with soils engineer and geologist reports.
    § 15.48.180 · code text
    No compacted fill shall be made which creates an exposed surface steeper in slope than two horizontal to one vertical.
  • Fill slopes may be no steeper than 2½ horizontal to 1 vertical.
    Applies: Applies to fills not compacted to the code's compaction standard.
    § 15.48.180 · code text
    Slopes of fills which are not compacted in accordance with Section 15.48.160 may not exceed two and one-half horizontal to one vertical.
Grading without a permit
  • Digs under 2 feet deep, or cut slopes under 5 feet high and flatter than 1½:1; small fills.
    Applies: Fills: under 1 foot on terrain flatter than 5:1, or under 3 feet; not supporting structures, 50 cubic yards per lot maximum, drainage unblocked.
    § 15.48.040 · code text
    A. An excavation which (1) is less than two feet in depth, or (2) creates a cut slope less than five feet in height with less than a one and one-half horizontal to one vertical slope. B. A fill (1) less than one foot in depth, and placed on natural terrain possessing a slope flatter than five horizontal to one vertical; or (2) less than three feet in depth, not intended to support structures, which does not exceed fifty cubic yards on any one lot and does not obstruct a drainage course.

Who this affects

HomeownersContractorsDesigners

Frequently asked questions

What are the grading rules in Sierra Madre?

Sierra Madre's code: Digs under 2 feet deep, or cut slopes under 5 feet high and flatter than 1½:1; small fills. (Fills: under 1 foot on terrain flatter than 5:1, or under 3 feet; not supporting structures, 50 cubic yards per lot maximum, drainage unblocked.) (§ 15.48.040); Compacted fill slopes may be no steeper than 2 horizontal to 1 vertical. (The city council may allow steeper slopes up to 15 feet high with soils engineer and geologist reports.) (§ 15.48.180).

General information, not legal advice.

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Sierra Madre Municipal Code — full text