Environmental Rules in Yavapai County, AZ (2026)
5 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Yavapai County, Arizona.
Verified from official government sources
Stormwater Management
Yavapai County bans dumping anything but stormwater into its MS4 storm drain system in the urbanized unincorporated county, and backs the ban with civil penalties up to $2,500 per day and felony criminal charges for knowing violations.
Yavapai County Stormwater Discharge Rules
Significant RestrictionsYavapai County Stormwater Quality Management and Discharge Control Regulation §§ 501, 1008-1009
No person shall throw, drain, or otherwise introduce, cause, or allow others under its or their control to throw, drain or otherwise introduce into the County MS4 or into the Storm Drainage System within the County MS4 any pollutants or waters containing any pollutants, other than Stormwater. ... A person who violates any provision of this Regulation, an approval or permit issued hereunder, a d...
Erosion Control
Yavapai County's Grading Ordinance, adopted as Ordinance No. 2007-9 for the unincorporated county, requires every cut and fill slope to be prepared and maintained against erosion under Section 113, plus terracing, paved swales, interceptor drains and drainage disposal standards under Section 112. The Building Official inspects the work, and final approval is withheld until erosion-control measures are complete.
Yavapai County Erosion & Sediment Control Rules
Some RestrictionsYavapai County Ordinance No. 2007-9 (Grading Ordinance, 2006 Edition), §§ 113.1-113.2
113.1 - Slopes. The faces of cut and fill slopes shall be prepared and maintained to control erosion. This control may consist of effective planting. Exception. Erosion control measures need not be provided on cut slopes not subject to erosion due to the erosion-resistant character of the materials. 113.2 - Other devices. Where necessary, check dams, cribbing, riprap or other devices or methods...
Flood Zones
Unincorporated Yavapai County defers floodplain regulation to a dedicated agency: the Yavapai County Flood Control District. County zoning Section 529 requires every use to comply with the District's floodplain rules, and the building ordinance's Section R102.4.11 hands the District control over every flood-resistant construction and flood-hazard-area reference in the adopted building codes.
Yavapai County Floodplain Development Rules
Some RestrictionsYavapai County Ordinance No. 2025-4 § R102.4.11
R102.4.11: Flood Control Code. The provisions of ordinances and regulations applicable to the Yavapai County Flood Control District shall apply to all matters affecting flooding. All references as may be noted within the technical codes as adopted by Yavapai County Building Safety that pertain to flooding, flood control projects, flood resistant construction, and flood hazard areas shall be con...
Defensible Space
Any landscape plan submitted under Yavapai County's Section 547 has to account for Defensible Space, the single sentence the Planning and Zoning Ordinance devotes to wildfire buffering around a structure. The same section requires ongoing maintenance, clearing debris and dead plants, and lets the Development Services Director reject a plan or grant only minor modifications.
Yavapai County Defensible Space Landscaping Rule
Light RestrictionsYavapai County Planning and Zoning Ordinance § 547(A)(5), (A)(2)
5. All landscape design shall take into consideration the need for Defensible Space. ... 2. Maintenance of approved landscaping shall consist of regular watering, pruning, fertilizing, clearing of debris and weeds, the removal and replacement of dead plants and the repair and replacement of irrigation systems and architectural features.
Flood Elevation Requirements
Yavapai County subdivision plats crossing the 100-year floodplain must show the base flood elevation and a regulatory elevation for the most flood-prone point of every affected lot. Lots sitting entirely inside the flood hazard area cannot be created at all.
Yavapai County Base Flood Elevation Rules
Some RestrictionsYavapai County Subdivision Regulations § 456
The limits of any one hundred (100) year floodplain identified using the standards set forth by the Director of the ADWR Requirement for Floodplain Delineation in Riverine Environments, together with the base flood elevation, shall be illustrated in the Final Plat. The regulatory elevation for the most critical location within each lot shall be shown on each lot that is impacted by the floodpla...
Environmental Rules by City in Yavapai County
1 cities in Yavapai County have their own environmental rules rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
All Yavapai County ordinances
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