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Corte Madera · Building on your lot

Building on a hillside in Corte Madera

Corte Madera's own rules on building on a hillside, with the code text for every value.

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

What Corte Madera's code says

Corte Madera code What Corte Madera's code adds
Soils or geology report
  • A geologic report is required.
    Applies: Hillside overlay: sites with large areas of 30% or steeper slopes, or mapped 3 or 4 for slope stability. Other development may need one.
    § 18.18.105 · code text
    A geologic investigation and report by a qualified engineering geologist may be required for any proposed development, and shall be required for any proposed development on a site containing significant areas with slopes of thirty percent or more, and/or any site designated as "3" or "4" in the map entitled "Interpretation of the Relative Stability of Upland Slopes in the Tiburon Peninsula, Sausalito, and Adjacent Areas, Marin County, California, 1976," prepared by the California Division of Mines and Geology, which map forms the basis of Figure 11, Relative Slope Stability, in the general plan.
When hillside rules apply
  • Hillside rules apply to slopes of more than 10%.
    Applies: Hillside overlay district: mapped hillside parcels on the Corte Madera, Meadowsweet or Tiburon Peninsula ridges.
    § 18.18.100 · code text
    The hillside land capacity overlay district established by this chapter is intended to apply to hillside parcels with a potential for substantial additional development, with a slope of more than ten percent, and which comprise any part of the ridges, sideslopes or extensions of Corte Madera Ridge, Meadowsweet Ridge or Tiburon Peninsula Ridge.
  • Slopes of 30% or more need a geologic report and may not be developed unless the report refines the boundaries.
    Applies: Applies in the hillside land capacity overlay district.
    § 18.18.105 · code text
    A geologic investigation and report by a qualified engineering geologist may be required for any proposed development, and shall be required for any proposed development on a site containing significant areas with slopes of thirty percent or more, and/or any site designated as "3" or "4" in the map entitled "Interpretation of the Relative Stability of Upland Slopes in the Tiburon Peninsula, Sausalito, and Adjacent Areas, Marin County, California, 1976," prepared by the California Division of Mines and Geology, which map forms the basis of Figure 11, Relative Slope Stability, in the general plan.

Who this affects

HomeownersContractorsDesigners

Frequently asked questions

What extra rules apply to a hillside lot in Corte Madera?

Corte Madera's code: Hillside rules apply to slopes of more than 10%. (Hillside overlay district: mapped hillside parcels on the Corte Madera, Meadowsweet or Tiburon Peninsula ridges.) (§ 18.18.100); A geologic report is required. (Hillside overlay: sites with large areas of 30% or steeper slopes, or mapped 3 or 4 for slope stability. Other development may need one.) (§ 18.18.105).

General information, not legal advice.

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Corte Madera Municipal Code — full text