Rendering
Valencia, Saugus, Newhall, Canyon Country
Gate installation in Santa Clarita
Steel, wrought iron and electric gates for hillside lots, oak yards and flat tract driveways. Tell us about the gate and we connect you with one licensed installer who works under the city code.
We are a referral service. A licensed contractor quotes and does the work. This site is not run by the City of Santa Clarita; it summarizes the code and links to it.
What the installer looks at on your lot
The slope of the drive, how close the posts land to an oak, and where the street yard ends. Those three set the gate before any style does.
Santa Clarita's oak ordinance says the valley's beauty is greatly enhanced by its oaks (17.51.040), and the code gives hillside lots their own section (17.51.020). A gate that looks simple on paper can need a different leaf, a different post spot or a shorter run once someone stands on the actual slope with a tape.
Three things your lot decides before the gate does
Same city code from Valencia to Canyon Country. Different answers street by street.
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01 Oak nearby
Footings near a protected oak
The protected zone starts 5 ft past the dripline and is never under 15 ft from the trunk. On a house lot, a post, slide track or opener trench in its inner half needs an oak tree permit. The outer half counts as a minor encroachment and is exempt. Size barely matters: on a house lot, only scrub oak and oaks under 12 1/2 in around the trunk are left out.
From SCMC 17.51.040(A)(2) and (B)(2)
Oak trees and gates -
02 Slope
A driveway that climbs
A swing gate fights a slope; a slide gate needs a level track. On a fill retaining wall, only an open safety fence up to 3 1/2 ft may go on top. Lots that average a 10 percent slope or more are hillside lots, and hillside projects get their own review under section 17.51.020.
From 17.57.070(G)(2) and 17.51.020(C)(1)
Slopes and retaining walls -
03 Street yard
42 inches by the street
42 in next to a street, 48 in for open pipe or rail, 6 ft on interior side and rear lines. Measured from the highest average ground within 3 ft of either side. On uneven ground the top can rise or dip 6 in, but its average may not pass the limit.
From Walls and Fences, 17.57.070(A), (B) and (H)
Driveway gate heights
The gates installers here are asked for
Steel and wrought iron only. Each has its own page with what it involves on a Santa Clarita lot.
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01
Driveway gate installation
Driveway gates
Swing or slide, sized to the drive and the slope in front of it. A double swing covers most drives; a single slide works where the ground beside the drive stays level. Where the gate goes matters as much as what it looks like, because a tall gate inside the street yard runs into the 42 inch limit.
Street yard limit: 17.57.070(B)
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02
Iron gates
Wrought iron gates
Open picket iron for the street yard, where solid walls stop at 42 inches. Open iron is also on the city's list of fences that need no building permit up to 6 ft, where Planning allows it.
Permit exemption list: SCMC 18.02.030
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03
Electric gates
Electric gates
Openers, keypads and safety sensors, plus the power run from the house. That run is a trench, so near an oak it follows the same protected zone rule as a post. Low voltage intercom and keypad wiring is on the city's permit exemption list; the opener's power circuit is not, so expect an electrical permit.
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04
Gate repair
Repairs
Sagging leaves, a gate that drags on the slope, an opener that stops halfway. A leaf that drags on a sloped drive is often a hinge or post problem rather than a bad gate, and an installer can tell which on the first look.
Which rulebook covers your street
A Santa Clarita mailing address does not always mean city rules. Check before anyone digs.
Valencia, Saugus, Newhall, Canyon Country
Unified Development Code, Title 17. The oak, slope and height rules on this site apply.
Stevenson Ranch, Castaic
LA County rules, not the city code. The line runs street by street, so check your own address first.
In a Valencia tract, your HOA may have its own gate rules on top of the city's. Ask for them before choosing a style.
How the match works
No need to call around every gate company in Santa Clarita. You reach one licensed installer.
Call the installer
Your call rings straight through to a licensed gate installer. No call center or answering service sits in between.
Or send the details
Size, steel or iron, manual or electric, and a photo of the spot. They go to that one installer, who calls you back within one business day.
The installer visits
They check the slope, any oak and the street yard, then give you a written quote.
Questions people ask
How much does gate installation cost in Santa Clarita?
We found no government, trade or university source that prices gates in Santa Clarita, so this site does not quote a range. Your quote comes down to things you can see on your own lot: how wide the opening is, whether the gate swings or slides, the metal and its finish, how far the opener sits from the house power, how steep the drive is, and whether posts or a trench land near an oak. When the written quote comes, California caps the down payment on a home improvement contract at $1,000 or 10 percent of the price, whichever is less (Business and Professions Code 7159.5).
Does a driveway gate need a permit in Santa Clarita?
Santa Clarita's building code lets an open wrought iron fence up to 6 ft go in without a building permit, where Planning allows it and outside a flood hazard area or pool barrier (SCMC 18.02.030). The list names fences, not gates, so confirm your gate with Building and Safety. Masonry pilasters over 42 in do need one. An opener's new power circuit is not on the city's exemption list, so expect an electrical permit. The zoning height limits apply either way.
Can a gate go near an oak tree?
Often, with care. The protected zone runs from 5 ft past the dripline in to the trunk, and never less than 15 ft from it. On a house lot, footings or a trench in the inner half need an oak tree permit; the outer half is exempt as a minor encroachment (17.51.040). Digging in the zone without a permit is a misdemeanor, so the post layout comes first.
How tall can a front gate be?
In a required yard next to a street, 42 in, or 48 in for open pipe or rail fencing (17.57.070(B)). Height is measured from the highest average ground within 3 ft of either side, and may vary up to 6 in on a slope while the average keeps within the limit. Whether an iron gate counts as pipe or rail is a question for Planning. Set back outside the required yards, a gate can reach 6 ft; taller needs the Director's approval (17.57.070(C)).
Swing or slide on a sloped driveway?
A swing leaf needs fairly level ground across its whole arc. On a drive that climbs toward the house, the leaves hit the rising ground unless the gate is raised or hung to rise while it swings. A slide calls for a level run beside the drive at least as long as the opening. Which one fits comes down to where the flat ground is.