Prescott Valley, AZ Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Chapter 12 of the Prescott Valley Town Code, Floodplain Management, applies to all Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) within the corporate limits of the Town of Prescott Valley, Arizona. Section 12-03-020 adopts by reference the FEMA Flood Insurance Study for Yavapai County, Arizona and Incorporated Areas dated June 6, 2001, with its FIRMs and all later amendments, and says the FIS and FIRM panels are available through the Town's Department of Public Works at 7501 E. Skoog Blvd. The manager of the Town's engineering department or division is the Floodplain Administrator under Section 12-04-010, and the Town Council serves as the Floodplain Board under Section 12-06-010(B).

Section 12-04-030(A) requires a Development permit before construction or Development begins, including placement of Manufactured Homes, within any SFHA. Applications show the proposed Lowest Floor elevation, the floodproofing elevation with an Arizona-registered civil engineer's certification for non-residential structures, BFE data for proposals above fifty (50) lots or five (5) acres, whichever is the lesser, and how any Watercourse will be altered or relocated. Subsection B then prohibits construction or Development within SFHAs, bars any Structure and any fill that will alter or relocate the flow of water, and says no permit shall be issued. Subsection C preserves the right to obtain a FEMA LOMR or LOMA, and a permit follows only after the Town receives the final letter. Subsection D allows Accessory Buildings on SFHA land adjoining same-ownership land outside the SFHA, with breakaway perimeter fences and an engineer's study.

Article 12-05 sets construction standards. New Construction and Substantial Improvements must be anchored and built with flood-resistant materials, and residential lowest floors must be elevated to or above the RFE; in Zone AO with no specified BFE the minimum is two (2) feet above the Highest Adjacent Grade. Enclosed areas below the lowest floor need at least two openings on different sides, with a total net area of not less than one square inch for every square foot of enclosed area, the bottom no higher than one foot above grade. Section 12-05-020 prohibits storing materials that could be injurious if released by Flooding, and Section 12-05-070 prohibits Floodway Encroachments without an engineer's certification of no increase in Flood levels.