Who may draw a Santa Clarita kitchen layout change

Taking out a wall, moving the sink or adding an island turns a kitchen job into one the City wants drawn. This page covers who may prepare that drawing, what the City asks to see on it, and where a licensed stamp comes in.

Checked September 22, 2026, at the City and state sources listed at the end.

Disclosure: this site makes introductions. It holds no contractor license and sets no prices. How this works

Short answer

Nonstructural cabinetwork and interior changes that leave the structure alone need no architect under state law. The City's list names a one story house built by the conventional framing rules as the case where an unlicensed person may draw the architectural and structural plans. For structural work in a two story house or one with a basement, the City's code calls for documents stamped by a licensed architect or engineer, so confirm the scope with Building and Safety. Plumbing, electrical and mechanical sheets come from an engineer or the licensed trade contractor doing the work. City staff do not draw plans (Business and Professions Code 5538, City list of projects needing licensed plans, Santa Clarita Building Code 2025, City plan review page).

Stage 03 of 06, where this sits

The City's example plan is a kitchen with a new island

Building and Safety publishes one example plan for a small residential alteration, marked "NON-STRUCTURAL, NO ADDED SQUARE FOOTAGE." Its description of work begins "DEMOLISH NON-BEARING WALL AND EXPAND KITCHEN. ALL NEW KITCHEN CABINETS, PLUMBING FIXTURES, LIGHTING, AND ISLAND COUNTER" (City example plan).

The floor plan is drawn at a quarter inch to the foot. A legend tells walls that stay from the non bearing wall coming out and the new partition going in, and the new island counter is dimensioned along with the space around it (City example plan).

The sheet says of itself: "THIS PLAN IS AN EXAMPLE ONLY. DEPENDING ON THE NATURE OF YOUR PROJECT, BUILDING & SAFETY MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL PLANS AND/OR CALCULATIONS TO DEMONSTRATE CODE COMPLIANCE." Its dimensions describe one drawing. They set no minimum for your kitchen (City example plan).

Get a written price

Free to you. The contractor calls to set a visit.

What the City's example plan lists for the sheets themselves, read from the example plan in September 2026. The Building Official may ask for more.
On the plan	What the example asks for
Paper	Substantial paper, 11 by 17 inches or larger
Drawing	To scale, with legible text and numbered sheets
First sheet	What the work is, the owner, and the designer with contact details
Every sheet	The project address
Floor plan	The use of each room
The plans	All new work and the relevant existing work

Cabinetwork that leaves the structure alone

State law on architects does not stop anyone, working alone or with a contractor where the contractors' license law requires one, from furnishing labor and materials, with or without plans, "For nonstructural or nonseismic storefronts, interior alterations or additions, fixtures, cabinetwork, furniture, or other appliances or equipment." For changes to the building made to install them, it adds a condition: "those alterations do not change or affect the structural system or safety of the building" (Business and Professions Code 5538).

Whether a given island fits turns on the word nonstructural and on that condition. The sink, drain or outlet inside it is trade work, and moving a drain or adding piping or wiring sits outside the City's exempt repairs, as the permit page sets out.

The counter that goes on top, and the state rules for the shop that cuts it, are on the countertops page.

Render of new base cabinets along a wall with a stone top set on them and a sink cutout, in a room with bare drywall and cardboard on the floor. — **Render** · New cabinets and a top, with the walls left where they were.

One story houses, the case the City names for unlicensed drawings

The City's list, revised January 1, 2020, opens: "For most building projects, plans shall be prepared by a California licensed architect or engineer." Its examples include "Structural alterations (interior or exterior)," and each sheet is sealed and signed by the architect or engineer who prepared it (City list of projects needing licensed plans).

Among its examples, the same list names what an unlicensed person may prepare: "Architectural and Structural plans for Group R-3 residential buildings not more than one-story in height, designed in accordance with the prescriptive methods of the CRC Section R301.1.3.2, as amended, or the conventional wood-framed construction provisions of CBC Section 2308." (City list of projects needing licensed plans)

The City also publishes a standard sheet for conventional wood frame construction, based on the 2022 California Building Code (City wood frame construction sheet).

Render of a single story stucco house with a tile roof and a two car garage, seen from across a quiet street. — **Render** · A house on one level, seen from the street.

Two story houses and the stamp on structural documents

The City amended the Residential Code so that "The building official shall require structural construction documents to be approved and stamped by a California licensed architect or engineer for all dwellings of woodframe construction more than one story in height or with a basement" (Santa Clarita Building Code 2025, R301.1.3.2).

State law draws its own line one story higher. The laws on architects and engineers do not stop anyone from preparing plans for a wood frame single family house of not more than two stories and a basement. But if any part departs from substantial compliance with the conventional framing rules, the building official requires the plans or calculations for that part from, or under the control of, a licensed architect or engineer, bearing that licensee's stamp and signature (Business and Professions Code 5537, 6737.1).

Inside city limits, the City's rule is the one a plan is checked against. The amendment sits in the design criteria section of the Residential Code and does not name remodels in words, so confirm the scope of a two story job with Building and Safety before anyone draws it (Santa Clarita Building Code 2025).

Render of a hand pressing a round seal embosser onto a large sheet with a floor plan drawn in thin lines, beside a blank raised seal. — **Render** · A seal pressed onto a drawing, left blank here.

Want a written price for your kitchen?

Get a quote

Plumbing, electrical and gas on the plan

"Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing plans shall be prepared by a licensed engineer, or by the licensed contractor who will perform the work. The contractor must possess the specialty license in that specific discipline, and demonstrate the ability to prepare plans to industry design standards" (City list of projects needing licensed plans).

For gas, the City's residential plan guideline asks for the "Location, size, length and BTU demand of proposed gas lines," and for the location of gas meters and electrical panels, with amperage and any upgrade (City residential plan guideline). What goes on an electrical plan for a kitchen is on the appliances page.

Render of a wall opened to the studs, with water pipes and a drain rising from the floor and a new electrical box on a stud. — **Render** · Water, drain and a box, the trade work behind a sink.

What the City asks to see, and who prepares it

The residential plan guideline, dated March 1, 2023, asks for a "Fully dimensioned floor plan to include: wall section and detail references, partitions, doors, windows, the uses of all rooms." It says it is not a complete list for every project, that some items may not apply, and that more may be required (City residential plan guideline).

Under the City's building code, construction documents "shall be prepared by a registered design professional as outlined in the California Business and Professions Code or as determined by the Building Official." It adds: "Where special conditions exist, the Building Official is authorized to require the construction documents to be prepared by a registered design professional" (Santa Clarita Building Code 2025, 107.1).

The City is plain about its own role: "Construction plans must be prepared by a qualified person. Building & Safety staff does not prepare plans." For very small projects, it provides standard plans and details (City plan review page).

Next in the sequence

Asked before the first line gets drawn

Does adding a kitchen island need an architect?

Not under state law, when it is nonstructural cabinetwork that does not change or affect the structure (Business and Professions Code 5538). The plumbing or wiring inside it is separate trade work.

Will the City draw my kitchen plan?

No. The City says its Building and Safety staff do not prepare plans. The standard plans and details it offers are for very small projects (City plan review page).

Can I draw the plans for my own kitchen?

The City's list lets an unlicensed person draw architectural and structural plans for a one story house built by the conventional framing rules. Plumbing, electrical and mechanical plans come from an engineer or the licensed trade contractor doing the work (City list of projects needing licensed plans).

How much room does a kitchen island need around it?

No City or state source read for this page sets a figure. The City's example plan dimensions the space around its island, and calls itself "AN EXAMPLE ONLY" (City example plan).

Sources

Every rule on this page was read in the statute, City code or City handout that states it, in September 2026. The City handouts carry their own dates, printed beside them, and the Building Official decides what a given job needs.