Concrete Companyin Burbank, CA
A concrete company in Burbank works inside zoning limits more than permit ones: no more than 45 percent of an R-1 front setback may be paved, driveway width at the curb stops at 25 percent of the lot or 15 feet, and front yard retaining walls stop at 30 inches. Plain driveways and walks under 30 inches high are exempt.
Burbank's concrete follows its growth. The City's 2009 Historic Context Report says the 1920s industrial boom turned farmland around downtown into tracts, among them Benmar Hills at the foot of the Verdugo Mountains and Magnolia Park in the southwest, where lots averaged 50 by 135 feet. The wartime houses that followed on the west and southwest side came with attached garages, and the Census estimate that about 60 percent of housing units predate 1970 describes a lot of aging driveways, garage slabs and walks.
MDG Builders, CSLB #1040337, is a general contractor in Tarzana, so we measure the lot, read the zoning table, ask the permit questions and run the schedule, while a licensed concrete subcontractor forms and pours. Our concrete guide covers slabs and finishes in general, the Burbank overview lists the other trades we manage here, and the same lot may also need deck building or new flooring.
What Burbank's zoning table and exempt-work sheet say about concrete
Where concrete permits come from in Burbank: City of Burbank Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division (Permit Counter).
- Sidewalks and driveways not more than 30 inches above adjacent grade (and not over a basement or story below or part of an accessible route) are exempt from a building permit on the City's sheet, as are retaining walls up to 4 feet unless they carry a surcharge. The sheet notes that zoning rules such as the hardscape caps below still apply.
- In R-1 zones no more than 45 percent of the required front yard or street-facing side yard setback area may be hardscaped (cement concrete, asphalt, brick, pavers and similar surfaces), plus 5 percent for decorative paving inside landscaping. Hardscape is limited to the driveway, pedestrian pathways and encroachments the code allows, no paving may sit next to a driveway to create one continuous hard surface, and no vehicle may park in the front yard except on the driveway (Section 10-1-603(G)(5)).
- Driveway width at the curb may not exceed 25 percent of the lot width and no single driveway may exceed 15 feet, and within the front yard setback a driveway can be up to 20 feet wide only when the garage sits behind the main dwelling and the 45 percent hardscape cap is still met. Circular drives are allowed only on lots 100 feet or more wide (Section 10-1-603(G)(5)).
- Section 10-1-603(C)(7) allows only modest grade changes during foundation work (6 inches outside the hillside area, 12 inches in it), bars placing fill in front and rear yards to raise the allowable height, and requires a stamped pre-demolition topographic survey, grading plan and final surveyor certification for any grading beyond those amounts.
- Burbank's flood hazard amendment (Section 9-1-2-1612.3) fills in January 20, 1999 as the date of issuance in the CBC 1612.3 flood hazard area language.
- The Fire Department's Burbank Maps page links the Los Angeles County Flood Zone Determination Map and the FEMA Flood Map Service Center for checking whether an address is in a flood zone, plus a Fire Hazard Severity Zone map from the State Fire Marshal.
How much of a Burbank front yard can be paved for a driveway or patio?
Less than half. In R-1 zones, Section 10-1-603(G)(5) of the zoning code allows no more than 45 percent of the required front yard or street-facing side yard setback to be hardscaped, whether with concrete, asphalt, brick or pavers, plus 5 percent for decorative paving inside landscaping. Hardscape is limited to the driveway, walkways and the encroachments the code allows, no paving may sit beside a driveway to make one continuous hard surface, and no vehicle may park in the front yard except on the driveway.
Width rules shape the driveway itself. At the curb a driveway may not exceed 25 percent of the lot width, and no single driveway may exceed 15 feet. On a 50 foot lot, the width of an average Magnolia Park lot, 25 percent works out to 12.5 feet. Inside the front setback a driveway may reach 20 feet only where the garage sits behind the main dwelling and the 45 percent cap still holds, and a circular drive needs a lot at least 100 feet wide.
- What is the area of the required front setback, and how much is paved today?
- Does the plan show paving beside the driveway that would join it?
- How wide is the lot at the curb?
The 45 percent test is arithmetic on two numbers, the setback area and the paving area, so ask for both on the drawing before a price is given.
Do you need a permit to pour a driveway, patio or walkway in Burbank?
Often not a building permit, never a skipped zoning check. The City's work-exempt sheet exempts sidewalks and driveways not more than 30 inches above adjacent grade, not over a basement or story below and not part of an accessible route, and notes that zoning rules such as the hardscape caps still apply. A patio slab is not named, so ask Building & Safety at (818) 238-5220 about anything that is not a plain drive or walk.
The City sorts permits into Tier 1, simple work with no plan check, and Tier 2, work that needs plan check, such as a slab for an addition or an ADU, which runs through the ProjectDox system. A permit becomes void if work has not started within 180 days of issuance (Section 9-1-1-105.5.1), so line up the pour crew before the permit is pulled, not after.
Work that needs a permit and starts without one brings an investigation fee equal to the permit fee under Section 9-1-1-109.4, and the City asks owners and contractors to request each inspection one day ahead through its online portal. We found no Burbank rule for public sidewalk or curb repair, so ask the City before touching concrete in the right of way.
Get the permit answer by email before the truck is booked, because a delivered load cannot be sent back.
How tall can a retaining wall be in a Burbank yard without a permit?
The exempt line is 4 feet, counted from the base of the footing to the top of the wall, as long as the wall carries no surcharge. Zoning is tighter up front. Section 10-1-603(H) limits retaining walls in an R-1 front yard setback to 30 inches, requires them to sit 18 inches back from the sidewalk with a planting strip, and allows only two.
Elsewhere on the lot, exposed retaining walls are limited to 4 feet, an additional wall must be set back twice the exposed height of the wall below it, and no wall may stand above a retaining wall in the front or street-facing side yard. In the hillside area, exceptions to the front yard design standard for retaining walls go through the Hillside Development Permit process.
Pour or block decides the trade. CSLB's C-8 class covers forming, pouring and finishing concrete, C-29 covers concrete block walls, and the C-13 fencing class excludes masonry. We match each wall to the class that fits and ask for the license number before the quote.
What grading limits apply when concrete work changes the ground level in Burbank?
Section 10-1-603(C)(7) allows only modest grade changes during foundation work, 6 inches outside the hillside area and 12 inches inside it, bars placing fill in front and rear yards to raise the allowable height, and calls for a stamped pre-demolition topographic survey, a grading plan and a final surveyor certification for anything beyond those amounts.
In the hillside area, a Hillside Development Permit comes before the building permit for projects that create or expand a pad or involve any grading, and the City's single-family guide counts pools, patios, driveways and yards among them. The area lies north of Sunset Canyon Drive and Bel Aire Drive and is bounded by the Glendale and Los Angeles city limits, Walnut Avenue, Cambridge Drive, Kenneth Road and Scott Road. Seismic design provisions apply on slopes steeper than 1 to 3.
The Sunset Canyon area, 4.23 square miles of the Verdugo foothills, was annexed in 1926, so many foothill lots carry decades of cut and fill. Ask Planning at (818) 238-5250 whether a planned slab or wall touches any of these triggers.
- Does the work change the grade by more than 6 inches, or 12 on a hillside lot?
- Is the lot inside the hillside boundary?
- Who orders any survey or grading plan?
Does flood or soil risk change how concrete is poured in Burbank?
On some lots, yes. In our sample of 32 evenly spaced points inside the city against the County's hazard layers, 2 fell in a FEMA 100-year Zone A area described as contained in channel, 14 in a State liquefaction zone and 5 in an earthquake-induced landslide zone, and none in an Alquist-Priolo fault zone. That is a sample, not a parcel map. The Fire Department's Burbank maps page links the County and FEMA flood viewers for checking an address.
Burbank's flood amendment (Section 9-1-2-1612.3) names January 20, 1999 as the date of its flood maps, another reason to check current ones. We found no Burbank rule that fixes slab thickness, mesh or joint spacing, so those belong in the subcontractor's written specification, along with whether a soils question applies on a slope.
About 82 percent of the year's 13.91 inches of rain falls from December through March, and the airport station sees 53.9 days a year at or above 90 F. Rain and heat both affect placing and curing, so ask how the crew handles a forecast change; we sourced no rule for either.
What does concrete work cost for a Burbank driveway, patio or walkway?
No Burbank price study with a stated method turned up, so these are Los Angeles ranges. Angi's 2026 city pages and HomeGuide overlap on plain flatwork, and we work from about $8 to $14 per square foot for a 4 inch slab with a broom finish on an easy site, roughly $3,200 to $5,600 for 400 square feet. We rate that medium in confidence.
Surface treatments add cost. Stained, stamped and exposed aggregate finishes run $15 to $30 per square foot in the same sources, and replacing a driveway including demolition of the old slab runs $9 to $20, a low-confidence range. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the mean cement mason wage for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area at $33.67 an hour in May 2025.
We print no per-foot price for retaining walls, because Angi's Los Angeles average of $7,140 sits inside a $2,674 to $11,842 range that turns on height, drainage and engineering. In Burbank, ask for a drawing that shows the paved area against the front setback cap before any figure is given, and for the permit answer to appear in the same proposal.
Concrete photos from Burbank and nearby neighborhoods
Concrete work around Burbank and its neighbors, from driveways, walks and finished patios to forms, rebar and block walls. Tap any photo to enlarge it.
What concrete costs around Burbank
These are the Los Angeles ranges behind our concrete page, not a Burbank quote. Demolition and haul-off, rebar, any survey or soils work and permit fees are separate lines in a proposal. A slab for a backyard unit belongs to the project in our ADU cost guide, and our license check guide shows how to verify a bidder. Related pages: concrete work in Glendale, concrete work in Pasadena, concrete in Los Angeles fence installation in Glendale, roofing in Pasadena and painting in Glendale.
| What it covers | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Patio, walkway or slab, broom finish, 300 sq ft or more | $8 to $14 per square foot |
| Decorative: stained, stamped or exposed aggregate | $15 to $30 per square foot |
| Driveway replacement, with demolition of the old slab | $9 to $20 per square foot |
| 20 by 20 foot plain patio (400 sq ft) | About $3,200 to $5,600 |
| 20 by 20 foot decorative patio (400 sq ft) | About $6,000 to $12,000 |
| Small jobs under 300 sq ft | Usually above the per-foot range |
| Retaining walls | Set by the written proposal |
Burbank concrete questions, answered
Can I pour a concrete patio without a permit in Burbank?
Possibly. The City's exempt sheet covers sidewalks and driveways up to 30 inches above grade but does not name a patio slab, and it warns that zoning limits still apply. A patio in the front setback counts toward the 45 percent hardscape cap. Ask Building & Safety at (818) 238-5220 before you order concrete.
Can I expand my driveway without a permit in Burbank?
Check zoning first. A plain driveway may be exempt from a building permit, but width at the curb is limited to 25 percent of the lot and 15 feet, paving beside a drive to widen it is not allowed, and front setback paving is capped at 45 percent. Planning at (818) 238-5250 answers the zoning side.
How wide can a driveway be in Burbank?
At the curb, no more than 25 percent of the lot width, and no single driveway may exceed 15 feet. Inside the front setback a drive can reach 20 feet only where the garage sits behind the main dwelling. A circular drive needs a lot at least 100 feet wide. All of it must still meet the 45 percent paving cap.
What is the maximum height of a retaining wall without a permit in Burbank?
Four feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, if it carries no surcharge. That is the City's exempt line. In an R-1 front yard setback zoning allows only 30 inches, set back 18 inches from the sidewalk. Walls on hillside lots also face the Hillside Development Permit process.
How much should a 20x20 concrete patio cost in Burbank?
A 20 by 20 foot patio is 400 square feet, so the Los Angeles flatwork range of $8 to $14 per square foot works out to about $3,200 to $5,600 for plain concrete, and the $15 to $30 decorative range to $6,000 to $12,000. These are sums from sourced ranges, not a quote, and small jobs often come with a minimum charge.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in Burbank?
We found no Burbank study, so use Los Angeles figures: about $9 to $20 per square foot for a replacement driveway including demolition of the old slab, a low-confidence range from Angi's 2026 pages. Slope, access, thickness and finish move it, and a written proposal after a site visit sets the real price.
Is 4 inches of concrete thick enough for a driveway?
Four inches is a common residential choice, but we found no Burbank or state citation that fixes it, so treat it as practice, not rule. Vehicle loads, soil and reinforcement can call for more. Ask the subcontractor for thickness, base and rebar in writing, and expect a soils question on slopes.
Who can do concrete work in Burbank, and what license do they need?
A California contractor license is required for concrete work of $1,000 or more or any job needing a permit, under Business and Professions Code 7048. Burbank issues permits only to licensed contractors, with an owner-builder exception. The specialty class is C-8 for poured concrete and C-29 for block walls, and CSLB lets you check any number online.
Do you replace cracked or sunken concrete in Burbank?
Yes, through a licensed concrete subcontractor that we manage. The first job is finding why the slab moved, whether tree roots, drainage or a poor base, because new concrete over the same cause cracks again. Sidewalk and curb repair in the public right of way is a City question, so ask before work starts.
Send the address and a photo of the area
Tell us the street, the size of the slab, wall or drive, the slope of the lot and whether it is new work or a repair. We read the zoning table before we call you back.