Hot job leads · Los Gatos

Taking jobs in Los Gatos: the Town's license, permits and tree rules

Fence height, tree roots and the year a house was built decide a lot of jobs in Los Gatos. The Town's fence code tightens inside the Hillside Area, cutting a root or branch over 4 inches on a large protected tree needs a permit, and a house from before 1941 counts as a historic resource. The business license is the simple part: one flat fee, filed online through HdL.

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Business license
Flat fee for contractors, CPI-adjusted every January
Source: losgatosca.gov: Business Licenses (opens in a new tab)
Median year built
1971
Source: data.census.gov: ACSDT5Y2023 (opens in a new tab)
Construction hours
Weekdays 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Source: permits.losgatosca.gov: Schedule Inspection (opens in a new tab)
Protected trees
12 in. diameter; 8 in. in the Hillside Area
Source: losgatosca.gov: TreeRemovalApplication Fillable (opens in a new tab)

Working legally here

The Los Gatos business license, filed through HdL

Los Gatos requires a Town business license from any business located in town and from any business whose agent comes into town to do business, which takes in a contractor based in Campbell or San Jose. Retail, wholesale, manufacturing and jobbing pay on a sliding scale; every other business, contracting included, pays a flat fee under Town Code section 14.20.115 that adjusts each January 1 with the Bay Area consumer price index. Measure J, the program's first update since 1991, raised those flat fees by 30%. File or renew through HdL at LosGatos.HdLGov.com. A new license is pro-rated by quarter, every license expires December 31 and renewal is due by January 2, and the Building Division issues permits only to contractors holding a current Town license.

Town of Los Gatos, Business Licenses (opens in a new tab)

Permits

Los Gatos permits, fences and tree roots

  • What the online system covers

    The Town's online permits system handles a short list of residential permits: a water heater replaced with the same type in the same location, an electrical service panel of 200 amps or less, a copper repipe, water line repair or replacement, and a furnace or air conditioner swapped in place. Most other work starts as a pre-application in the Accela portal. The counter is open 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays, and inspection requests must be in by noon to get the next business day.

    Town of Los Gatos, Building Division (opens in a new tab)

  • Fence limits, in town and in the hills

    Town Code section 29.40.0315 caps fences at 6 feet plus 1 foot of lattice, and at 3 feet in a front or side yard along a street or in a driveway view area. Inside the Hillside Area the cap is a flat 6 feet, fencing within 20 feet of a street must be open view, chain link must be vinyl-coated green, brown or black on a wood frame, and solid, double and buck-and-rail fences are banned. On lots of an acre or more, perimeter fencing must be wildlife-friendly: 42 inches tall at most, with 18 inches clear underneath.

    Town of Los Gatos, Work Exempt from Permits & Fence Ordinance (opens in a new tab)

  • Protected trees and their roots

    A tree 12 inches in diameter is protected on developed residential property, 8 inches in the Hillside Area, and blue oak, black oak, California buckeye and Pacific madrone are protected from 8 inches on any developed residential lot. Pruning more than 25% of a protected tree in three years takes a permit, and so does cutting any root or branch over 4 inches on a large protected or heritage tree, meaning an oak, buckeye or madrone of 24 inches or any tree of 48. Plan post holes and trenches around that.

    Town of Los Gatos, Tree Removal and Pruning Permit FAQ (opens in a new tab)

The homes

Los Gatos homes in Census numbers

The Census Bureau counts 13,901 housing units in Los Gatos in its 2019-2023 American Community Survey, with a median year built of 1971. Owners occupy 62.5% of occupied homes. Detached houses make up 55.1% of units, attached townhouse-style units 13.3% and buildings of 20 or more units 13.5%. The 1970s added 26.0% of the stock and the 1960s 22.9%, yet 7.8% dates from 1939 or earlier, a larger old slice than Cupertino, Campbell or Saratoga have. That slice is what the pre-1941 rule touches: the Town treats a primary structure built before 1941 as a historic resource unless it has found otherwise.

U.S. Census Bureau (opens in a new tab)
The La Cañada Building in downtown Los Gatos
The La Cañada Building in downtown Los Gatos. Photo: Ramkumar Menon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Part by part

Los Gatos areas and the work they bring

  • Downtown and the old core

    The densest part of town wraps Highway 17 in the southwest, bounded roughly by Blossom Hill Road and Pine Avenue, Glen Ridge Avenue, College Avenue and Los Gatos Boulevard. Many houses here predate 1941, so plan exterior work as repair in matching material, and in the historic overlay remember that plastic fencing is banned and front-yard fences must be open view.

  • The Hillside Area

    The hills take up most of southern Los Gatos: larger wooded lots on private access roads, governed since January 2004 by the Hillside Development Standards and Guidelines. For a pro that means the stricter fence rules, the 8-inch tree threshold and long walks from wherever the truck can stop, so ask about access before you quote.

  • The Highway 17 corridor and Vasona

    Most of the Town's duplexes, condominiums and apartment buildings cluster along Highway 17, between Los Gatos Boulevard and the freeway and south of Vasona Lake County Park, with another pocket in the northwest corner next to Campbell. Jobs here tend to come through HOAs and property managers, and unit turnovers mean paint, patching and fixture swaps.

  • The North 40

    The roughly 44-acre North 40, between Highway 85, Lark Avenue, Highway 17 and Los Gatos Boulevard, was orchard when the Town approved Phase I on its southern half in 2017: 320 homes, 50 of them affordable senior units, and about 66,000 square feet of commercial space with a market hall. Ask whether a home there is under an HOA or a builder warranty before taking on repairs.

Getting around

A working day in Los Gatos

Highway 17 runs through the middle of town and Highway 85 along its northern edge, with Los Gatos Boulevard, Blossom Hill Road and Santa Cruz Avenue as the main local routes. The Town's permit center lists construction hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, with no work on Sundays or holidays. Overnight parking is banned in some residential permit districts and downtown lots, and a resident with a parking permit account can request temporary construction permits for workers, which take two business days to process, so arrange them before day one.

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Questions

Working in Los Gatos: what pros ask

Does a contractor based outside Los Gatos need a Town business license?

Yes, as soon as an agent of the business comes into town to do business. Contracting pays a flat, CPI-adjusted fee rather than the sliding scale used for retail, and the Building Division requires a current license before it will issue you a permit. File or renew at LosGatos.HdLGov.com, and expect every license to expire on December 31.

Can I replace an old fence that is taller than the code now allows?

Yes. Fences, walls, gates and hedges built before the current rules are nonconforming and exempt, and the Town Code lets them be maintained or replaced in kind, historic stone and river rock walls included. A new design, a different height or a new location has to meet today's limits or win an exception from the Community Development Director.

Is a job in Monte Sereno covered by Los Gatos rules?

No. Monte Sereno is its own city, almost entirely residential, and it requires its own business license of any business or contractor working there, with separate forms for general contractors and subcontractors and its own online building permits. Check which city the parcel sits in before you quote, because the Town's license and permits stop at its boundary.

Do I need a tree permit to dig post holes near a big oak in Los Gatos?

Only if the dig cuts something that counts. On a large protected or heritage tree, removing or cutting any root or branch over 4 inches in diameter needs a permit first, and an oak, California buckeye or Pacific madrone counts as large from 24 inches. The Town also asks you to check for active bird nests before removal or major pruning, particularly from February 1 through August 31.

What does a job text look like for handyman work in Los Gatos?

One text per new job as it goes on sale, giving the trade, the area and a link. The link opens the job with its price before you pay, and you pay only for the jobs you pick, with no subscription, bidding or commission. Texts are not limited to Los Gatos, so read the area line first; replying STOP ends them.

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Where these facts come from

Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and fees change: confirm license and permit requirements with the city before work starts.

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