Environmental Rules in Scottsdale, AZ (2026)
5 verified environmental rules for Scottsdale, Arizona, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Stormwater Management
Scottsdale's Stormwater Regulation article applies citywide, not just inside mapped floodplains, and requires post-development runoff to leave a site the way it did before development. Projects that would raise flood potential on or off their own parcel are barred, and larger watercourses trigger a mandatory drainage easement dedicated to the city.
Scottsdale Stormwater Drainage Regulations
Some RestrictionsScottsdale Code of Ordinances §§ 37-33, 37-36, 37-39
The purpose of this article is to establish requirements and regulations for the use and development of property that will minimize the occurrence of losses, hazards and conditions adversely affecting the public health, safety and general welfare that might result from flooding. ... (a)Development is prohibited if it would create hazards to life or property by increasing the flood potential on ...
Erosion Control
In Scottsdale's Environmentally Sensitive Lands (ESL) Hillside Landform, Zoning Ordinance Sec. 6.1070.C requires all storm runoff to be directed toward natural channels using best practices for erosion control, and bars construction within 20 feet of boulder features to guard against boulder rolling, rockfalls and landsliding on steep terrain.
Scottsdale Hillside Erosion Control Standards
Some RestrictionsScottsdale Code of Ordinances § 6.1070.C
2.Unprotected slopes shall be protected from focused stormwater flows.3.All storm runoff shall be directed towards natural channels using best practices for erosion control.4.Minimize removal of native vegetation from areas not located in construction envelopes.5.Minimize incidental impact from other natural hazards including erosion, subsidence, boulder rolling, rockfalls, flooding, flood rela...
Flood Zones
Scottsdale adopts FEMA's flood insurance study and rate maps by reference to draw its Special Flood Hazard Areas, with the City Council sitting as the Floodplain Board over them. Inside a mapped floodway, new fill, construction, or other development is flatly prohibited unless a registered engineer certifies it will not raise flood levels during a base flood.
Scottsdale Floodplain and Flood Hazard Area Rules
Significant RestrictionsScottsdale Code of Ordinances §§ 37-7, 37-32
The areas of special flood hazard identified by FEMA in the FIS for the City of Scottsdale, Arizona, Maricopa County, dated September 21, 1973 with accompanying FIRMs for Maricopa County, Arizona, and Incorporated Areas, dated April 15, 1988, and all subsequent amendments and/or revisions, are hereby adopted by reference and declared to be a part of this ordinance... The FIS and FIRM panels are...
Defensible Space
In Scottsdale's Natural Area Open Space (NAOS), Sec. 6.1100.B.6 allows homeowners in Wildland/Urban Interface and Intermix areas to clear flash fuels, including invasive annual grasses, within 30 feet of a habitable structure for fire safety, but the clearing cannot destroy protected native plants within that NAOS buffer.
Scottsdale Defensible Space in Preserve-Adjacent Areas
Light RestrictionsScottsdale Code of Ordinances § 6.1100.B.6
A defensible space will be permitted to be established and maintained around homes in Wildland/Urban Interface and Intermix areas as defined in Section 3.100. The removal of flash fuels, which include invasive annual grasses, for an area of thirty (30) feet from a habitable structure, to provide for fire safety around dwellings, is permitted, but shall not result in the destruction of native pl...
Flood Elevation Requirements
Scottsdale requires one extra foot of freeboard above the FEMA base flood elevation for new and substantially improved homes in mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas. The city calls this the Regulatory Flood Elevation and ties the lowest floor, including any basement, to it in Zones AE, AH, and A1-30, with a licensed engineer or surveyor required to certify the finished elevation.
Scottsdale Flood Elevation Freeboard Requirements
Some RestrictionsScottsdale Code of Ordinances §§ 37-5, 37-22
Regulatory Flood Elevation (RFE) is an elevation one (1) foot above the "base flood elevation" for a watercourse for which the base flood elevation has been determined and shall be determined by the criteria developed by the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources for all other watercourses. ... (a)Residential construction, new or substantial improvement, shall have the lowest flo...
Looking for Maricopa County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Scottsdale city rules.
Environmental Rules in Maricopa County →