KITCHEN REMODELING IN HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA

Section 17.07.040 is the city's amended version of the Residential Code's list of work exempt from a permit. One of its items can matter in a kitchen: it exempts replacement doors and windows when the waterproofing membrane is not altered and emergency egress dimensions are equal to or better than the original permitted layout. A new, larger or relocated window over the sink is a different job.

The same section says an item in a Floodplain Overlay District or Environmentally Sensitive Area, or one that needs discretionary Planning Division approval, is not exempt. If you are not sure whether that describes your lot, check the flood information on the city's Planning & Zoning pages or ask Building & Inspections.

Much of a typical kitchen remodel changes a system or the structure: moving the sink or dishwasher, adding a gas line for a range, new circuits for a cooktop or wall oven, new recessed lighting, a rerouted range hood duct, or taking out a wall. Plan on a permit for that work.

• City of Huntington Beach: Municipal Code Section 17.07.040, CRC Chapter 1, Division II, Section R105.2 Work Exempt From Permit, amended (opens in a new tab)
• City of Huntington Beach: Municipal Code Chapter 17.07, Residential Code (Section 17.07.040, Work Exempt From Permit) (opens in a new tab)
• City of Huntington Beach: Municipal Code Chapter 17.44, Plumbing Code (opens in a new tab)
• City of Huntington Beach: Municipal Code Chapter 17.48, Electrical Code (opens in a new tab)
• City of Huntington Beach: Flood Information (Planning & Zoning) (opens in a new tab)

We have summarized two items from Section 17.07.040, not the whole list, and relied only on the titles of the plumbing and electrical code chapters. Confirm with Building & Inspections which permits your kitchen needs before work starts.

Three sets of state rules shape most kitchen remodels, whichever city you live in. The California Energy Commission's 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Title 24, Part 6) apply to permit applications from January 1, 2026. The 2025 California Electrical Code (Title 24, Part 3) took effect the same day. And Civil Code Section 1101.4 ties water-conserving fixtures to the final sign-off on a permitted remodel.

• Lighting: under the residential lighting rules in Section 150.0(k) of the Energy Code, new permanently installed lighting is to be high efficacy, and under-cabinet lighting is switched separately from the ceiling lighting, so one can be on without the other.
• Outlets: the Electrical Code calls for ground-fault (GFCI) protection on kitchen receptacles and arc-fault (AFCI) protection on the 120-volt, 10- to 20-amp branch circuits that supply kitchen outlets or devices.
• Circuits: the countertop receptacles are served by at least two 20-amp small-appliance circuits, and an individual circuit that supplies an appliance, such as an induction cooktop or wall oven, is sized to at least the appliance's marked rating.
• Faucet: Civil Code Section 1101.3 treats an interior faucet that flows more than 2.2 gallons per minute as noncompliant. For alterations or improvements to a single-family home built on or before January 1, 1994, Section 1101.4 makes replacing noncompliant fixtures a condition of final permit approval.

Which of these apply depends on what the remodel actually changes. The plan checker and inspector decide that for your project, so confirm with the city.

Huntington Beach has a certified Local Coastal Program, made up of a Coastal Element and an Implementation Program, which the city uses when reviewing development inside the Coastal Zone boundary. Zoning Code Chapter 245 requires a coastal development permit for development in the coastal zone unless it is exempt or categorically excluded, with action by the Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission or City Council. The Zoning Code also includes a CZ Coastal Zone Overlay District.

Public Resources Code Section 30610 says no coastal development permit is required for improvements to existing single-family residences, and the Coastal Commission's regulation, Title 14, Section 13250, lists the classes that still need one. Between the sea and the first public road paralleling the sea, or within 300 feet of the inland extent of a beach, whichever is greater, they include an improvement that increases the internal floor area by 10 percent or more, or the height by more than 10 percent. The list also covers improvements where the house or the improvement is on a beach or within 50 feet of the edge of a coastal bluff, among other places.

A kitchen remodeled inside the existing walls adds no floor area. A kitchen bump-out, a raised roofline or a new exterior opening is the kind of change to raise with the Planning Division first. The Coastal Commission publishes Coastal Zone boundary maps, with a caution that the digital version may not eliminate the need for a formal boundary determination, so ask the city whether your address is in the zone.

• City of Huntington Beach: Local Coastal Program (opens in a new tab)
• City of Huntington Beach: Zoning Code Chapter 245, Coastal Development Permit (opens in a new tab)
• City of Huntington Beach: Zoning Code, CZ Coastal Zone Overlay District (opens in a new tab)
• California Coastal Commission: Coastal Zone Boundary maps (opens in a new tab)

Do not assume your project is exempt. If your kitchen adds floor area or changes the outside of the house, ask the Planning Division about your address and scope before the design is final.

If your home is in a homeowners association that requires approval for physical changes, Civil Code Section 4765 sets the ground rules for that review: the association's decision is to be in writing, and a disapproval has to explain why and describe how to ask for reconsideration. HOA approval and a city permit are separate. One does not replace the other.

If your association reviews exterior changes, the parts of a kitchen remodel that show from outside are the ones to ask about: a bump-out, a new or larger window, or a range hood vent through an outside wall. Give the association and the city the same drawings so the two approvals match.