Sedona, AZ Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)
Water restrictions in Sedona, AZ, also called the watering schedule, outdoor irrigation rules, or drought ordinance, set which days and hours you can run sprinklers or irrigation.
Key Facts
- Turf cap
- 10% of overall landscape area
- Floodplain exception
- 500-year Oak Creek floodplain (FEMA)
- Waiver
- Director may allow more with low-water species/irrigation
- Irrigation mandate
- Permanent underground irrigation required (5.6.C(4)c)
Summary
Sedona's Land Development Code limits lawn or turf coverage to 10 percent of a project's overall landscape area to conserve water, with a floodplain exception and a Director waiver available when the grass species and irrigation method are shown to use little water.
k. Water Conservation 1. Lawn or turf area shall not exceed 10 percent of the overall landscape area of a project site, except within the 500-year floodplain of Oak Creek as designated by FEMA. 2. The Director may allow greater areas of lawn or turf if it can be demonstrated that the grass species and irrigation methods will not demand high water usage.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Initiative Ordinance 2026-01, approved by voters at the July 21, 2026 election).
Full Breakdown
6's landscaping standards. The cap does not apply within the 500-year floodplain of Oak Creek as mapped by FEMA, where higher water tables make turf less water-intensive to sustain. The Director can approve a larger turf area anywhere else in the city if the applicant demonstrates that the specific grass species and irrigation method chosen will not demand high water usage, an exception decided case by case rather than through a fixed alternate percentage. C(4)c every required landscaped area must have a permanent, adequate underground irrigation system installed.
Sedona's Land Development Code does not set watering-day schedules or time-of-day restrictions; those irrigation-method and turf-area limits are the water-conservation tools the LDC itself uses, layered onto whatever separate water-utility restrictions the City's water provider may issue during drought.
Violations & Fines
Exceeding the 10 percent turf cap on a project subject to Section 5.6 blocks landscape plan approval and, if built anyway, a Certificate of Occupancy inspection under Section 5.6.C(4)b; a project can be required to remove excess turf or substitute low-water plantings before occupancy is cleared. A water feature that fails to recirculate under Section 5.6.C(1)l is enforced the same way, through the same inspection.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of my yard can be lawn in Sedona?
Does Sedona restrict what days I can water my landscaping?
Can I get approval for more than 10 percent turf?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sedona
How Sedona compares: Cities with the Strictest Water Restrictions·Compare Sedona to another location·View the Arizona landscaping rules overview
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