Coconino County, AZ Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- all new/redevelopment except single-family/duplex
- Standard
- revegetate damaged/weedy sites within one growing season
- Plant type
- native and/or drought-tolerant grasses, ground covers
- Mineral Resource Zone pits
- must be graded to control erosion (§2.14.H.ii)
- Conflict rule
- more stringent requirement governs (§4.4.B)
Summary
Coconino County's Landscaping chapter doubles as its erosion-control standard: Section 4.4.C.1.C requires any site where vegetation is damaged, removed, or overrun by weeds to be revegetated with native or drought-tolerant plants dense enough to stop soil erosion within one growing season. Single-family and duplex lots are exempt.
The purpose of this Section is to establish Landscaping standards and guidelines in order to maintain, enhance, and protect native landscapes and the environmental qualities of the County... address wildfire safety concerns, control Noxious Weeds and Invasive Plants, and provide erosion and stormwater runoff control. ... All portions of a Site where existing vegetative cover is damaged or removed, or where weeds have become the predominant vegetation, shall be successfully revegetated with a substantial mix of native and/or Drought Tolerant grasses and Ground Covers. The density of the reestablished vegetation must be adequate to prevent soil erosion and invasion of weeds after one growing season.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
A states the Landscaping chapter's purpose includes to 'address wildfire safety concerns, control Noxious Weeds and Invasive Plants, and provide erosion and stormwater runoff control,' making erosion control an express goal of the county's landscaping standards rather than a separate construction-phase code. B. ii requires depleted pits, overburden stockpiles, and hillside slopes to be 'graded and smoothed so as to control erosion,' with no hillside left steeper than one foot horizontal to one foot vertical without a County Engineer-approved exception.
Violations & Fines
A site landscaped in violation of Section 4.4's revegetation duty, or a Mineral Resource Zone operator who leaves a depleted pit or stockpile ungraded under Section 2.14.H, is subject to the county's standard zoning enforcement process: the Community Development Department can require correction before releasing further permits or occupancy approvals, and unresolved violations block issuance of new Administrative Permits under Section 5.1.B.4.B.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Coconino County require erosion control for a construction project?
Are single-family homes exempt from the county's landscaping and erosion rules?
What happens to a gravel pit or quarry when mining ends?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Coconino County
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