Maricopa, AZ Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)
Key Facts
- Program status
- Entire incentive program is voluntary
- Rainwater feature
- Feature #10: irrigate 20% of landscape area
- 9/17 features
- Earns expedited zoning clearance
- 7/17 features
- Earns +15 ft of building height
- 5/17 features
- Earns 5-ft setback reduction
- 3/17 features
- Earns 20% parking reduction
Summary
Maricopa doesn't mandate rainwater harvesting. Maricopa City Code § 18.125.020 makes the city's whole sustainable development incentive program voluntary, and § 18.125.040 lists functional rainwater harvesting that irrigates at least 20 percent of a project's landscape area as one of 17 features a developer can bank toward zoning incentives like expedited review or extra height.
18.125.020 Applicability. For all development projects, this program is voluntary. ... 18.125.040 Qualifying sustainable development features. ... Site development incorporates functional rainwater harvesting that irrigates at least 20 percent of the total landscape area. ... Development installs alternative on-site rain water runoff systems that incorporate rainwater harvesting features, pervious paving, and other similar systems.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 26-10, passed April 21, 2026).
Full Breakdown
040, Feature #10, Water Efficiency). 030, the number of qualifying features a project banks determines what it can claim: 9 of the 17 features, with feature #14 (solar parking lot lighting) mandatory, earns administratively expedited zoning clearance without a planning and zoning commission hearing; 7 of 17 earns up to 15 additional feet of building height; 5 of 17, with feature #11 (live vegetation screen walls) mandatory, earns up to a 5-foot reduction in a required yard setback or buffer; and 3 of 17 earns up to a 20 percent reduction in minimum parking, subject to a developer-funded parking study if the zoning administrator requires one. 050).
Violations & Fines
Because the program is voluntary, there's no penalty for skipping rainwater harvesting altogether. But once a developer secures an incentive, such as expedited review or a setback reduction, by claiming feature #10, that claim becomes a condition of approval; failing to build or maintain the harvesting system afterward makes the site a public nuisance under § 18.190.030(B) and exposes the owner to the same zoning penalties as any other violation under § 18.190.060, including infraction fines up to $500 per repeat offense or civil penalties up to $1,000 per day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is rainwater harvesting required for new development in Maricopa?
What counts as qualifying rainwater harvesting under Maricopa's code?
What do I get for including rainwater harvesting in my project?
Who verifies that a project actually built the rainwater harvesting it claimed?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Maricopa
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