Sedona, AZ Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

3 of the Sedona Land Development Code, regulate excavation, embankments, grading, and drainage citywide in order to reduce siltation into Oak Creek and protect natural landforms and vegetation. No one may grade, fill, excavate, cut, or otherwise disturb a site, or work in or over a drainage way or floodplain, without first getting a permit under the City's Engineering Manual; lots in flood-prone areas must also meet Arizona Department of Water Resources State Standard 6-05. Limited exemptions cover public road and highway structures crossing a watercourse, flood control districts exercising their own statutory powers, and public park facilities built by a federal or state agency, but these exemptions never relieve a property owner from liability if their grading increases flood hazard to a neighbor.

On the ground, cut-and-fill slopes must stay entirely within the lot, sharp angles must be rounded near the top and bottom of slopes, and where terrain is generally level, slopes steeper than 1:3 are prohibited within five feet of a property line. Level grading of an entire lot without regard to existing landforms or neighboring development is flatly prohibited. Project designs must include storm water capture or low-impact development measures, such as bio-retention basins, swales, or rain gardens, so that offsite drainage flows are not increased, made dirtier, or redirected, unless the City Engineer approves other arrangements.

No wall, fence, or other obstruction may be placed in a drainage facility, roadside ditch, wash, or drainage easement without the City Engineer's authorization, and riparian areas must stay undisturbed unless the Engineer allows otherwise. Where City standards conflict with the Engineering Standards Manual or the Yavapai or Coconino County Flood Control Districts, the City Engineer applies whichever requirement is more stringent.