Sedona's Building Safety: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles building safety a little differently. In Sedona, Arizona, there are 6 distinct rules that residents and property owners should be aware of. Some are stricter than what neighboring cities enforce, and others are more relaxed. Here is what you need to know.

Building Permits

Sedona adopts the 2018 International Building Code and requires a permit for virtually all construction, alteration or demolition work in the city. Only a short list of small structures is exempt: modest storage sheds, freestanding fences and walls under 30 inches, short retaining walls, small prefab pools and playground equipment. Everything else needs a permit from the Community Development Department.

Key details: Adopted code: 2018 International Building Code. Enforcing office: Community Development Department. Shed exemption: 120 sq ft, 7 ft high max. Fence/wall exemption: 30 inches or less. Permit posting: Kept on site until final inspection.

Working without a required permit, or violating any adopted building code provision, is punishable under SCC § 1.15.010 as amended by Section 114.4: each violation is a separate offense, and every day the noncompliant work continues unabated counts as its own separate offense. The Building Official can also issue a stop-work order requiring immediate cessation; continuing work after a posted stop-work order, or removing the notice without city consent, exposes the responsible party to further fines.

Childcare Center Rules

Sedona's building code lets a small in-home day care operate as a residential building instead of an institutional one. A child care group home licensed under Arizona's family child care law for five to ten children through age twelve is classified Group R-3, provided every child care room sits at the exit-discharge level with its own exterior door.

Key details: Occupancy classification: Group R-3, not Group E or I-4. Child count: 5 to 10 children. Age limit: Through age 12. State license required: A.R.S. §§ 36-897 to 36-897.13. Exit condition: Room at exit-discharge level, own exterior door.

The amendment does not carry its own penalty clause, but noncompliant construction or occupancy classification is enforced the same way as any other building code violation under Section 114.4 SCC, incorporating SCC § 1.15.010: each day the noncompliant condition continues is a separate offense, and the Building Official can issue a stop-work order or withhold the certificate of occupancy until the exit-door and exit-discharge conditions are met.

Plumbing Permits

Sedona runs plumbing work under the 2018 International Plumbing Code, adopted with local amendments covering fees, inspections and grease interceptors. A scheduled inspection has to happen within 180 days of permit issuance or the permit lapses as abandoned.

Key details: Adopted code: 2018 International Plumbing Code. Permit expiration: No inspection in 180 days voids it. Slab testing: 5-pound air test required. Fee schedule: Set by SCC § 15.05.060.

Section 15.10.020(E) rewrites the code's violation-penalty section to route every plumbing code violation through SCC § 1.15.010: each violation, and each day it continues unabated, counts as a separate offense. Continuing plumbing work after a posted stop-work order, or removing the stop-work notice without the Building Official's authorization, exposes the responsible party to the same penalties.

Electrical Permits

Sedona adopts the 2017 National Electrical Code for all electrical permits, but with one hard local rule: every current-carrying conductor in the city, branch, service or otherwise, has to be copper. The code deletes every NEC reference that would otherwise allow aluminum.

Key details: Adopted code: 2017 National Electrical Code. Local amendment: Copper conductors required, no aluminum. Amendment source: Ordinance 2022-07. Fee schedule: Set by SCC § 15.05.060.

Installing aluminum conductors where the amended NEC requires copper, or performing electrical work without the required permit, is enforced under the same building-code violation framework as the rest of Title 15: SCC § 1.15.010 treats each violation, and each day it continues, as a separate offense, and the Building Official can order a stop-work order until the wiring is brought into compliance.

Green Building Code

Sedona's adopted 2018 energy code requires new construction with more than nine parking spaces to make 5 percent of those spaces EV-charger ready, and it adds a commercial Solar Ready Zone appendix on top of the model code's baseline efficiency rules.

Key details: Adopted code: 2018 International Energy Conservation Code. EV-ready mandate: 5% of spaces if lot has 10+. Minimum circuit: 208/240V, 40-amp minimum branch. Commercial solar appendix: Appendix CA, Solar Ready Zone. Marking requirement: Labeled EV CAPABLE.

Energy code permit fees run through SCC § 15.05.060, and a violation, building without the required EV-ready infrastructure, or continuing work after a posted stop-work order, is enforced through the same SCC § 1.15.010 framework as the rest of Title 15: each day of noncompliance is a separate offense, and appeals go to the Board of Appeals established under the 2018 International Building Code.

Anti-Mansionization

Sedona's Land Development Code stops single-family houses from reading as one oversized block by requiring multiple distinct building masses. Homes between 1,000 and 2,000 square feet need at least two masses of differing heights and planes; homes of 2,000 square feet or more need at least three, under Section 5.7.F(2)a.

Key details: 1,000-2,000 sq ft homes: min 2 building masses required. 2,000+ sq ft homes: min 3 building masses required. Height variation between masses: at least 2 feet. Min mass size: 100 sq ft. Min mass width/depth: 6 feet each.

A single-family design submitted as one undivided volume, without the required number of visual masses of differing heights and planes for its square footage, does not meet Section 5.7.F(2)a and cannot clear the design review that Section 5.7 requires at site plan review or before a building permit is issued. The applicant has to revise the massing, not just the exterior finishes, before the City will approve the design.

The Bottom Line

Sedona's building safety rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Sedona is broadly strict or permissive.

These rules come from Sedona's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.