City or County: which office reviews a Santa Clarita Valley kitchen

Los Angeles County publishes a list of its unincorporated areas. Newhall, Saugus, Canyon Country and Valencia are all on it. Those are the same four names the City of Santa Clarita uses for neighborhoods inside its limits, which is why the name settles nothing.

Updated September 2026. Every rule checked at its own source, listed at the end.

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Short answer

Your street address settles it and nothing else does. Valencia, Saugus, Newhall and Canyon Country are communities inside Santa Clarita city limits, and a kitchen at one of those addresses goes to the City. Castaic and Stevenson Ranch are unincorporated Los Angeles County and go to LA County Building and Safety. All four of those city community names also appear on the County's own list of unincorporated areas, so the name on your mail is not the answer to this question.

Stage 04 of 06, where this sits

The same four names appear on both lists

Open the County of Los Angeles list of unincorporated areas and read down it. Newhall is there. So are Saugus, Canyon Country, an entry reading Saugus/Canyon Country, and Valencia, each of them in the Fifth Supervisorial District, sitting in the same column as Castaic, Stevenson Ranch, Placerita Canyon, Bouquet Canyon, Val Verde, Acton and Agua Dulce (the County list of unincorporated areas).

Those are the same four community names the City of Santa Clarita uses for neighborhoods inside its own limits, and the City's building code covers every one of them (Santa Clarita Building Code). Both statements are true at once, because a community name in this valley describes an area, and the area runs across the city line (LA County unincorporated areas listing).

The practical consequence is small and expensive. A homeowner who says the house is in Valencia has not yet said which building department reviews the kitchen, which fee schedule applies to it, or which inspector comes out. Anyone quoting a permit fee before the address is checked is guessing at which of two governments they are quoting (LA County unincorporated areas listing).

Render of a plain metal mailbox on a wooden post at the edge of a sidewalk, a house blurred behind it. — **Render** · Where the mail goes is not where the permit goes.

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Community names as the City of Santa Clarita uses them and as the County of Los Angeles lists them, read at both sources in September 2026. Every County entry shown sits in the Fifth Supervisorial District.
Community name	Used by the City	On the County list	Who reviews a kitchen there
Valencia	Yes	Yes	City or County, the street address decides
Saugus	Yes	Yes	City or County, the street address decides
Newhall	Yes	Yes	City or County, the street address decides
Canyon Country	Yes	Yes, and again as Saugus/Canyon Country	City or County, the street address decides
Castaic	No	Yes	LA County Building and Safety
Stevenson Ranch	No	Yes	LA County Building and Safety

What actually settles it

The street address. The City publishes an address based residency check and links it from its building codes and design criteria page, under a line asking whether your property is within the City. That page also links the City's GIS mapping system. One address, one answer, before anyone prices anything.

A ZIP code will not do the job. The City's main residential ZIP codes are 91321, 91350, 91351, 91354, 91355 and 91387, and that list sorts mail. It does not sort jurisdiction. A ZIP code alone does not settle whether an address sits inside the city (the County ZIP code listing).

Nor does the mailing city printed on a utility bill, which follows a post office delivery route and ignores the city boundary. The two agree most of the time in this valley, and the question only matters on the days they do not (LA County ZIP code listing).

Homes in mobile home parks follow a state permit route instead, which the Canyon Country page sets out.

Render of metal house numbers on a textured stucco wall, seen at a steep angle beside the eave. — **Render** · The street address is the thing that settles it.

If the address is inside the city

The City of Santa Clarita issues the permit. Applications go through the City's eService portal or over the counter at the City of Santa Clarita Permit Center, City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd, Suite 140.

The rules are the 2025 California codes as the City amends them, for applications received on or after January 1, 2026 (Santa Clarita Building Code). Several of those amendments belong to the City alone, and a kitchen meets four of them.

The fees are the City's, and there is no flat kitchen remodel fee anywhere in them. The building permit fee and the plan check fee scale with the job valuation, and electrical, plumbing, mechanical and sewer items are charged per item (the City fee brochure effective August 24, 2026). The brochure covers city limits, which is the whole point of settling the address first.

Inspections are the City's too, requested on its 24 hour hotline before 2:30 p.m. one working day ahead (City of Santa Clarita Building and Safety).

Continued: what the city needs a permit for

Render of two hands holding a level on new drywall and drawing a pencil line where the kitchen cabinets will hang. — **Render** · Marking where the cabinets will hang.

If the address is unincorporated county

Castaic and Stevenson Ranch are unincorporated Los Angeles County, outside Santa Clarita city limits (the County list of unincorporated areas). A kitchen at one of those addresses is permitted by LA County Building and Safety rather than by the City.

The County runs a Santa Clarita Valley building office, listed on its own contact page and reachable on (661) 222-2940 (the County office contact listing). The name on the door is the confusing part: a County office serving the Santa Clarita Valley is not part of the City of Santa Clarita.

This site publishes no County fee and no County review time. The City documents cited throughout these pages say on their face that they cover city limits, and a figure from them carried across the line would be wrong in both directions. Ask the County office for the County numbers (City of Santa Clarita building fee brochure).

Render of a street where the last row of single story houses ends and open dry hillside begins. — **Render** · One side of a line is a city.

Two governments, one boulevard

Santa Clarita City Hall, where the Permit Center sits, is at 23920 Valencia Blvd (City of Santa Clarita Permit Center). The Los Angeles County Fire Prevention Bureau that reviews fire triggers for this area is at 23757 Valencia Boulevard (the City residential agency referral list). Being on Valencia Boulevard tells you nothing about which government you are dealing with either.

That second address matters for a reason beyond the trap. Inside city limits the City issues the building permit, and fire review still belongs to Los Angeles County, reached through EPIC-LA, whenever plan review hits a fire trigger. The triggers listed are fire sprinklers, an increase in roof area, fire access, and additions over 3,600 square feet in total. A kitchen that stays inside the house usually hits none of them (City of Santa Clarita residential agency referral list).

On the City's residential referral list, revised January 5, 2026, no box fits a strictly interior kitchen remodel on its own. The Edison, asbestos, septic, fire sprinkler and exterior boxes can still apply to a particular job, and City staff decide which. Additional clearances are settled during plan review. An HOA and its recorded restrictions run on their own track and are the owner's job throughout (City of Santa Clarita residential agency referral list).

Render of a wide boulevard with a planted median and a low institutional building on each side. — **Render** · Two offices can share one street.

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What to have ready before anyone quotes a fee

The street address, written the way the deed has it. That one line decides which building department, which code amendments, which fee schedule and which inspector applies to the kitchen (the City address check).

The community name and the ZIP code come along for the ride and neither carries any weight here. Check the address first, then read the rest of this site knowing which half of it applies to you (LA County ZIP code listing).

Render of a forearm carrying a plain folder and a rolled drawing, seen from the side. — **Render** · One folder, before anyone quotes a fee.

Next in the sequence

The four address questions

My mail says Valencia. Does the City handle my kitchen permit?

Probably, and the mail is not what decides it. Valencia is a community inside Santa Clarita city limits, and it is also an entry on the County of Los Angeles list of unincorporated areas, in the Fifth Supervisorial District. The same is true of Saugus, Newhall and Canyon Country. So a Valencia address may be reviewed by the City of Santa Clarita or by Los Angeles County, and the street address is what separates the two. The City links an address based residency check from its building codes page, which answers it in one step (LA County unincorporated areas listing, City of Santa Clarita building codes and design criteria).

Is the ZIP code enough to tell which office reviews the job?

No. The City's main residential ZIP codes are 91321, 91350, 91351, 91354, 91355 and 91387, and a ZIP code alone does not settle whether an address is inside the city. ZIP boundaries are drawn for mail delivery and they cross city limits wherever it suits a carrier route. Use the address (LA County ZIP code listing).

We are in Castaic. Who reviews a kitchen remodel there?

Los Angeles County. Castaic and Stevenson Ranch are unincorporated county territory, outside Santa Clarita city limits, so a kitchen there is permitted by LA County Building and Safety, and the City has no part in it. The County runs a Santa Clarita Valley office for this area, reachable on (661) 222-2940. County fees and County review times are the County's to publish, and the City fee brochure this site cites elsewhere says on its face that it covers city limits (LA County unincorporated areas listing, LA County Building and Safety, LA County Building and Safety office contacts).

Does the County review anything on a kitchen inside city limits?

Fire review, when a fire trigger comes up. Inside city limits the City issues the building permit, while fire review belongs to the Los Angeles County Fire Prevention Bureau and runs through EPIC-LA. The triggers on the City's own referral list are fire sprinklers, an increase in roof area, fire access, and additions over 3,600 square feet in total, so a kitchen that stays inside the existing house usually hits none of them. The same list has boxes for Edison, asbestos and septic that a particular job can still land in, and City staff decide which apply during plan review (City of Santa Clarita residential agency referral list).

Sources

Every rule on this page was read at the document that states it, in September 2026, rather than taken from another remodeling website. City rules and City fees cover addresses inside Santa Clarita city limits.