Mesa, AZ

Mesa's zoning code doesn't restrict backyard composting on ordinary residential lots, but community gardens, a permitted zoning use under § 11-31-10, must keep composting screened from…

Mesa's landscaping ordinance sets minimum tree sizes for new development, a quarter of required trees must be 36-inch box or larger and half 24-inch box, with none smaller than…

Mesa actively promotes native and drought-tolerant plants through its Grass-to-Xeriscape program and water conservation initiatives. New developments must incorporate low-water…

Mesa caps weeds and grass at 9 inches on developed parcels and 12 inches on undeveloped parcels under City Code § 8-6-3(O), once the overgrowth covers more than 10 percent of the lot…

Filling a decorative lake or watering a large turf facility from Mesa's water system requires a City Lake Permit under Mesa City Code § 8-10-7(A), on top of any Arizona Department of…

Mesa may protect native desert trees (palo verde, ironwood, saguaro). Street trees are city property. Proper pruning preserves shade in extreme heat.

Short-term rental guests and owners in Mesa must comply with the City's general noise ordinance, Title 6 Chapter 12, under § 5-15-5(G), and the owner's designated emergency point of…

Mesa cannot require that the owner or a designated host live on-site during short-term rental stays. ARS §9-500.39 preempts cities from banning unhosted whole-home rentals, so absentee…

Mesa cannot limit short-term rentals to a host's primary residence. ARS §9-500.39 protects investor-owned vacation homes, so non-primary properties may operate as STRs throughout the…

Mesa cannot cap the number of nights a property is rented short-term per year. ARS §9-500.39 bars cities from imposing usage limits that effectively prohibit vacation rentals, leaving…

Mesa may suspend or revoke a short-term rental registration after repeat verified violations within a twelve-month window. ARS §9-500.39 authorizes cities to enforce three documented…

Online platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo must confirm a Mesa short-term rental holds a valid registration before listing. Mesa may require the platform to remove non-compliant listings…

Mesa requires every short-term and vacation rental owner to hold a City Short-Term Rental License under Mesa City Code Title 5, Chapter 15, effective February 1, 2023. The license…

Mesa requires all short-term rental operators to maintain liability insurance coverage of at least $500,000 as a condition of their STR license under Title 5, Chapter 15.

Mesa's STR ordinance requires adequate off-street parking for rental guests. Operators must ensure guests do not create parking nuisances in residential neighborhoods.

Unincorporated Maricopa County caps short-term rental occupancy by party, not headcount: the whole dwelling must go to one renting party at a time, room-by-room rentals are banned, and…

Arizona requires short-term rental operators to license with the Department of Revenue and remit transaction privilege tax plus any applicable county and city transient lodging taxes…

Mesa prohibits leaving any vehicle on a street or highway for more than seventy-two consecutive hours, under City Code § 10-3-21(B)(17): a citywide rule that needs no posted sign to…

Mesa limits RV and watercraft parking on residential driveways and streets to 48 hours for loading, unloading or cleaning under City Code § 8-6-3(Z), and caps residential storage of a…

Mesa's City Traffic Engineer marks passenger and freight curb loading zones by sign, and City Code § 10-3-23 caps how long a vehicle may sit there: three minutes for passenger loading…

Mesa gives its City Traffic Engineer sole authority to paint curbs as a parking-control device under City Code § 10-3-21(A)(1)(a), part of a broader power to mark curbs and post signs…

Mesa prohibits unregistered, inoperable, or abandoned vehicles on residential property under Title 8, Chapter 6. Vehicles must be repaired within 10 days or screened from public view.

Mesa regulates on-street parking under Title 10 (Traffic) of the City Code. Vehicles must be parked on improved surfaces in residential front and side yards. The 72-hour limit applies…

Mesa bans storing watercraft, utility trailers and truck campers in front yards, limits driveway or street RV/boat parking to 48 hours, and caps residential lots at one recreational…

Mesa requires front- and side-yard parking at single-residence properties to sit on an improved, dustproof surface under City Code § 8-6-3(T). Front-yard parking must be on or…

Mesa's Energy Code requires new one- and two-family homes and townhouses with a garage or on-site private parking to include one EV-capable, EV-ready, or EVSE space per unit, and…

Arizona sets no statewide cap on what a private towing company can charge to remove a vehicle from private property: A.R.S. § 9-499.05(A) only lets an incorporated city or town…

Mesa bars livestock and similar large animals on any parcel smaller than 35,000 square feet under Mesa City Code § 8-6-21(B), and above that threshold caps the number of animals…

Mesa requires any dog off its owner's property to be restrained by a leash, chain, rope, or cord no more than six feet long, or otherwise confined to the property by a fence. Dogs…

Mesa allows veterinary clinics as a permitted, by-right "Veterinary Services" use in the NC, LC, GC, OC and MX commercial districts under Table 11-6-2 of the Zoning Ordinance: no…

Mesa's animal-control chapter treats stray cats the same as stray dogs: any stray cat must be impounded and held a minimum of 72 hours, and an owner reclaiming a cat must prove…

Mesa doesn't ban dog breeds, but its Police Chief can formally declare any individual dog "vicious" after a due-process hearing under Title 6, Chapter 4. Once declared, the owner must…

Mesa doesn't cap dogs by a bare household number, but keeping five or more dogs in a controlled enclosure meets the code's definition of a "kennel," which requires a county-issued…

Mesa confines beekeeping to two zoning districts: agricultural (AG) and single-family estate (R1-43) parcels. Mesa City Code § 8-6-21(M) states apiaries 'shall be limited to locations…

Mesa treats deliberately feeding pigeons as a public nuisance. Section 8-6-3(AB) makes it unlawful to knowingly provide bird food to pigeons on private or public property, though…

Maricopa County does not require pet owners in unincorporated areas to spay or neuter their dogs. Instead, the county's Rabies/Animal Control Ordinance lets the Board of Supervisors…

Pet groomers and pet shops in unincorporated Maricopa County are Non-Food Environmental Health Operating Permit holders under Chapter I of the county's Environmental Health Code. A…

Keeping wild or exotic animals privately in unincorporated Maricopa County is zoned as commercial "Outdoor Entertainment," a use the county's zoning table permits only in commercial…

Mesa bans unreasonable vehicle noise from grinding, exhaust, or engine sounds, and separately makes a car stereo illegal if it's plainly audible 50 feet away. Both are civil offenses…

Mesa requires a Police Chief permit before any helicopter takes off or lands anywhere in the city outside an established heliport, and the Chief may deny it if the noise would be…

Mesa bars owning or keeping any animal that makes frequent or long, continued sound disturbing a neighbor's peace. There's no fixed minutes-of-barking trigger; Animal Control and Code…

Mesa's general noise ordinance treats sound occurring between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. as an aggravating factor when deciding whether it violates the code. There's no blanket decibel…

Mesa exempts construction, demolition, and excavation noise from its nuisance ordinance only between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. weekdays, with a narrower Saturday-Sunday window limited to…

Mesa's noise ordinance doesn't set separate decibel limits by zoning district; instead, Title 6, Chapter 12, Section 6-12-3 bans any loud, unnecessary, or unusual sound that disturbs a…

Maricopa County's Ordinance P-25 bans blowing landscape debris into public roadways and requires leaf blowers to run only on stabilized surfaces within the Area A dust-control zone.

In unincorporated Maricopa County, radios, loudspeakers, and other amplified sound equipment can't be heard from inside a closed home within 500 feet of your property line, day or…

Mesa exempts small detached accessory structures, tool sheds, storage sheds, playhouses, from the building permit requirement when they serve a single-family, duplex, or similar…

Mesa lets homeowners convert an existing detached garage, carport, or accessory structure into an ADU without adding new setbacks, and doesn't require replacing the covered parking a…

Mesa allows one attached ADU and one detached ADU per lot in any Agricultural, Residential, Commercial and Mixed Use, or Downtown district where a Single Residence is permitted…

Maricopa County does not require an owner to live on the property when adding an accessory dwelling unit. ADUs may be rented long-term independently, with no familial or employment tie…

An accessory dwelling unit in unincorporated Maricopa County can be rented long-term with no family or employment tie to the main house, but only one ADU per lot may ever be used as a…

Under ARS 9-461.18, every Arizona municipality with more than 75,000 residents must permit at least one attached and one detached accessory dwelling unit on any lot zoned for a…

Mesa doesn't require a building permit for fences up to six feet high on property zoned for single-residence use under Title 4, Chapter 1 of the city code. The exemption drops away on…

Mesa caps front-yard fences at 3.5 feet (4.5 feet if the top 1.5 feet is see-through) in residential and agricultural districts, 6 feet in side/rear yards there, and shifts to an…

Mesa prohibits electric fences and fences fitted with glass, nails or other injury-causing attachments citywide, and restricts barbed or razor wire to a maximum of 3 strands or 1 coil…

In unincorporated Maricopa County, retaining walls outside the main building envelope can't exceed 8 feet, and any retaining wall over 18 inches requires a county building permit…

Arizona is an open-range state. Under A.R.S. 3-1427, a landowner cannot recover for damage caused by a neighbor's trespassing livestock unless the property is enclosed within a 'lawful…

Mesa's Residential Code requires smoke alarms to run on the building's electrical wiring with battery backup, not battery power alone, under Section R310.6. Battery-only alarms stay…

Mesa's Fireplace Restrictions ordinance, which forces new wood-burning fireplaces and woodstoves to use EPA-certified inserts, expressly carves out fire pits and barbecue grills as…

Mesa restricts consumer fireworks to specific holiday windows under ARS §36-1606. Permissible consumer fireworks (ground-based only) are allowed June 24–July 6 and December 26–January…

Maricopa County bans igniting any open outdoor fire countywide unless it falls under one of Rule 314's permitted categories, agricultural burning, firefighter training, disease…

Building or installing a residential swimming pool in Mesa requires a building permit under § 4-1-4(A) before any digging or construction starts, unless the pool is a prefabricated…

Mesa requires all residential pools and spas to have barriers at least 5 feet high per the adopted building code and ARS 36-1681. Gates must be self-closing and self-latching with no…

A Mesa home caring for 6 to 10 children, a Large Day Care Group Home, must register with the Planning Division, provide state health certification, keep no visible signage, and fence…

Home occupations are allowed by right in Mesa's Residential, Commercial, Mixed-use, and Downtown Districts under § 11-31-33, subject to fixed use standards including a ban on exterior…

Mesa allows exactly one sign at a home occupation: § 11-31-33(A)(5) bans any exterior indication of a nonresidential use except a single non-illuminated, static sign no larger than…

A Mesa home occupation cannot turn into a day-long parking lot: Zoning Code § 11-31-33(A)(3) bars long-term parking by non-resident employees or clients, and any short-term parking…

Unincorporated Maricopa County lets food establishments serve or sell food made in a private home under Arizona's cottage food law, but only if the customer gets a copy of the required…

Arizona has no home restaurant permit. There is no microenterprise home kitchen operation licence, no meal count allowance, and nothing in A.R.S. § 36-136(I)(4) that exempts a home…

Companies operating dockless shared scooters and bikes in Mesa's right-of-way must first obtain a license from the Business Licensing Administrator; staging one without a license lets…

Mesa caps class 1 and class 2 e-bikes, electric standup scooters, and electric miniature scooters at 5 mph in parks and 15 mph on shared-use paths, and generally bars electric bicycles…

Cyclists and SATV riders in Mesa must stay near the right-hand side of the right-of-way or bicycle path, using due care when passing, and may not ride more than two abreast except on…

Arizona runs two separate low-speed classes and gives neither one a local street-designation scheme. A neighborhood electric vehicle, the state's version of a federal low-speed…

Mesa regulates signs under the Zoning Ordinance Article 5 (Sign Ordinance). Political signs on residential property are protected by A.R.S. Section 16-1019, which limits local…

Mesa allows large freeway-facing "Freeway Landmark Monument" signs only on commercial or industrial sites of at least 30 contiguous acres with freeway and arterial frontage, and only…

Electronic billboards in Mesa's Billboard Overlay District must hold copy for at least eight seconds, cannot animate, flash or simulate movement between messages, and must freeze on…

Mesa caps window signs at 25% of the window area in most zoning districts and does not count them toward the maximum attached sign area allowed on the building, per Zoning Ordinance §…

Mesa's Building Safety Director makes a set sequence of required inspections on every permitted job, footing and foundation, slab and under-floor, rough…

Mesa requires anyone who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building, or to install or replace an electrical, gas, mechanical…

Mesa's Residential Code requires carbon monoxide alarms to run on the building's electrical wiring with battery backup under Section R311.6: the same hardwiring standard the city…

Mesa enforces the International Plumbing Code, adopted locally as the Mesa Plumbing Code (§ 4-1-2(F)(4)), and requires a permit before altering or replacing a regulated plumbing system…

Mesa enforces the National Electrical Code, adopted locally as the Mesa Electrical Code (§ 4-1-2(F)(3)), and requires a permit before erecting, installing, or altering electrical work…

Mesa's amended Building Code requires an approved automatic fire sprinkler system in all areas of new buildings and structures under Section 903.2.1, with narrow exceptions for small…

Unincorporated Maricopa County has adopted the International Green Construction Code, but only as a voluntary standard: the Local Additions and Addenda make clear no builder has to…

Mesa prohibits pedestrians from crossing anywhere except in a crosswalk between two adjacent intersections that both have working traffic-control signals, and separately bars crossing…

Mesa City Code makes it unlawful to urinate or defecate anywhere open to public view, folding the offense into the City's obscene-conduct provision within the general-offenses chapter…

It is unlawful in Mesa for anyone to enter or remain on a street median or the traveled portion of any street or highway to solicit vehicle occupants for employment, business, or…

Mesa's noise ordinance makes hosts liable for loud parties: if police can't pin down who exactly caused the disturbance, the property owner, manager, event sponsor, lessee, or occupant…

Mesa makes it unlawful to possess, consume, or otherwise deal in marijuana anywhere on property the City owns and controls. Consumption is also barred on any private property once the…

Mesa lets the City Traffic Engineer post signs banning skateboards, motorized skateboards, and SATVs from sidewalks inside the downtown Pedestrian Overlay Area (POA). Country Club…

Mesa bans drinking or possessing spirituous liquor in a city park outright, under Title 6, Chapter 10, Section 6-10-5, unless it's covered by a state liquor license or, for beer and…

Arizona's Smoke-Free Arizona Act prohibits smoking in nearly all enclosed workplaces and within 20 feet of entrances. Mesa parks, light rail platforms, and city facilities apply…

Mesa's City Traffic Engineer can authorize temporary street closures for neighborhood block parties, but any right-of-way restriction still needs a Temporary Traffic Control Permit…

Mesa requires a City license to hold any street fair, festival, or other special event, with applications due 14 days ahead for small-scale events and up to 90 days ahead where an…

Mesa lets restaurants and bars build permanent al fresco dining areas, but any outdoor eating area with more than four tables, more than eight seats, or alcohol service must install a…

Mesa requires a Parade Permit from the Chief of Police before anyone may organize or lead a parade, procession, distance run, or bicycle race on a public street or in a public park…

Any special event in a Mesa park, reserving a ramada or field, running a food or vendor booth, or otherwise going beyond normal park use, needs a permit from the Parks Administrator…

Mesa's Agricultural (AG) zoning district lets landowners keep bees, raise poultry, run plant nurseries, and breed or graze horses, cattle, sheep, goats and ostriches without a Special…

Arizona's Right to Farm Act in ARS 3-112 protects established agricultural operations from nuisance suits when surrounding land use changes.

Mesa's Title 9, Chapter 2 makes it unlawful to obstruct any street, alley, or public right-of-way with personal property, trash, or rubbish, and separately bars any wall, fence, post…

Building a wall, fence, foundation, post, or other structure into a Mesa public right-of-way requires a written Right-of-Way Encroachment Permit from the City Engineer under Mesa City…

Mesa does not charge one flat business tax rate. Title 5, Chapter 10 imposes a local privilege (sales) tax measured by gross income, and sorts every business into one of roughly…

Mesa confines sexually oriented businesses to the C-3, M-1, M-2, and PEP zoning districts and bars them within 1,000 feet of churches, schools, day cares, parks, and residential areas…

A pawnbroker must obtain a Mesa business license under City Code § 5-7-2(C) before operating, on top of state law. Section 5-7-6(A) requires a police report on every pledged article…

Secondhand and antiques dealers in Mesa need a City license under Code § 5-7-2(C) before opening. Section 5-7-6(B) forces a police report and fingerprint on any "Reportable…

A tow company that hauls a vehicle from a private Mesa parking lot without the owner's consent must have a signed towing order from the property owner, or a law-enforcement request, in…

Mesa doesn't operate a separate license for tattoo or body piercing studios, but Title 6, Chapter 17 makes it unlawful to tattoo or pierce anyone under 18 without a parent or legal…

Operating a massage or bodywork establishment in Mesa requires a City license under Mesa City Code § 5-12-4(B), separate from the individual massage therapist license issued by the…

Running an auto repair business from a home in unincorporated Maricopa County is boxed in tight: no power tools or mechanical work outdoors, no toxic or flammable fluids stored on…

Mesa confines mobile food vending in the public right-of-way to a single legal parking space, bars serving windows from facing street traffic, and caps dwell time at six hours in 24…

Mesa requires every mobile food vendor to hold a City license before operating anywhere in the city, with a separate license per unit (or one license for multiple units under common…

Mesa bars a mobile food vendor from operating in, or within 250 feet of, any lot zoned for a single residence under City Code § 5-4-5(D)(1). The distance is measured in a straight line…

Mesa taxes hotel and lodging revenue at a combined 7% transaction privilege tax: a 2% base tax on gross income from operating a hotel under Mesa City Code § 5-10-444, plus a 5%…

Mesa has no hotel worker retention ordinance. Arizona ARS Section 23-204 preempts local employment laws beyond state minimums, so hotels under new ownership are not required to retain…

Mesa's Property Maintenance chapter, Title 8 Chapter 6, treats a deteriorated building exterior, an unsound structure or a neglected landscaped yard visible from the street as a public…

Mesa bars storing or displaying a vehicle or boat on vacant or undeveloped land under City Code § 8-6-3(J). A parcel is treated as vacant when it lacks an improved dust-proof surface…

A tenant, owner, or occupant can trigger a City interior inspection of a Mesa rental by filing a complaint or giving consent under Mesa City Code § 8-6-19(A)(6) and (F)(2). Development…

Mesa may conduct an interior inspection of a residential rental unit under City Code § 8-6-19 only after an exterior inspection or complaint shows a health/safety condition…

Mesa's residential recycling program gives participating customers a second barrel for specified recyclables and collects it once a week alongside the once-a-week black barrel pickup…

Mesa's solid waste code makes it unlawful to dump into someone else's collection container or to dump unauthorized items in alleys, streets, vacant lots or private premises. The Solid…

Mesa's Fire Code adopts the 2024 International Fire Code's Appendix O by reference, making valet trash and recycling collection in Group R-2 apartment buildings subject to that…

Private haulers permitted to collect commercial or industrial refuse in Mesa must furnish customers with containers marked with the permittee's business name and phone number…

Bulky refuse and furniture in Mesa must be tied in bundles or boxed by the customer and set at the front curb, with each bundle or box capped at four feet by four feet and 60 pounds…

Every owner, tenant, and occupant of property within Mesa city limits is personally responsible for properly controlling and disposing of all solid waste generated there, under Mesa…

Mesa requires solid waste containers to be set at the front curb no earlier than 6:00 p.m. the evening before pickup and no later than 6:00 a.m. on collection day, under Mesa City Code…

Before the City will pick up household or business trash in Mesa, it has to be bagged and tied and placed inside a City-furnished container, under Mesa City Code § 8-3-4(A). Customers…

Arizona forbids selling plastic bottles and rigid containers unless they carry a molded resin identification code, the familiar number inside the chasing-arrows triangle. A.R.S. §…

Mesa's property maintenance code limits garage, yard, carport and estate sales to no more than 4 events per calendar year, with each event capped at 3 consecutive days. The city's Code…

Mesa's residential zoning code fixes minimum front, side, and rear setbacks by district and by lot size, tightening as lots shrink. Table 11-5-3.A.1 requires a 22-foot front setback…

Mesa caps single-family homes at 30 feet in every RS district, from the large-lot RS-90 to the compact RS-6, under Table 11-5-3.A.1 at Title 11, Chapter 5, § 11-5-3(A). The Zoning…

Mesa caps how much of a residential lot a house and its accessories can cover, with the limit rising as lots get smaller. Table 11-5-3.A.1 sets Maximum Lot Coverage at 40% in the…

Mesa keeps an official Historic Property Register under Title 11, Chapter 23 listing landmarks, historic districts and properties designated through the city's Historic and Landmark…

Electronic billboards in Mesa's Billboard Overlay District can't exceed 300 nits in full white mode during evening hours and must dim automatically with ambient light, while every…

Mesa caps outdoor lighting fixture height by district and use under Table 11-30-5, and bans motion effects outright: "Flashing, blinking, pulsing, chasing, and strobing effects are…

Mesa's Lighting Control Ordinance requires most outdoor fixtures to be shielded and filtered, caps light spillage at property lines to 0.5 footcandles (0.3 next to residential…

In Mesa's Desert Uplands Area, the desert-character overlay in northeast Mesa, the City doesn't dictate what homeowners plant in their own front and rear yards. Section 9-6-6(I)(5) of…

Inside Mesa's Desert Uplands Area, required landscaping must be selected from the Preferred and Acceptable plant lists in Table 9-6-6.D.5 of the City Code, and a companion Prohibited…

Mesa confines medical marijuana dispensaries, dual licensee facilities, cultivation and infusion facilities to the LI and GI industrial districts only, and stacks separation…

Mesa keeps marijuana dispensaries and cultivation facilities well clear of sensitive uses: § 11-31-34 sets a 1,200-foot buffer from churches, libraries, schools, and LI/GI-district…

Arizona's Smart and Safe Act (Proposition 207, A.R.S. Section 36-2852) allows adults 21 and older to cultivate up to six marijuana plants per person (maximum 12 per household with two…

Mesa regulates downtown development through a Form-Based Code that replaces standard zoning with Transect Zones in the Downtown and Pioneer/Temple Neighborhoods, controlling building…

A density bonus exists only in the Highway 74 Scenic Corridor overlay, letting developers double base density if they leave part of a parcel undeveloped.

In unincorporated Maricopa County, no parcel inside a Planned Area Development (PAD) overlay can be built on until the county approves a Specific Development Plan for it. The plan must…

Mesa data centers permitted as a principal use must be engineered so their operating noise never exceeds the pre-construction ambient sound levels at the nearest residential property…

Mesa has not paused or capped data-center development. Instead of a moratorium, the city adopted Ordinance No. 5957 in July 2025 to set siting, design, and operational standards while…

Since Ordinance No. 5957 (adopted July 8, 2025), a standalone data center is allowed only in General Industrial (GI) or Heavy Industrial (HI) zoning, and only when City Council…

Mesa has no crypto-specific ordinance. Ordinance No. 5957's data-center definition expressly folds cryptocurrency mining into the "data center" land use, so mining operations are sited…

Mesa's storm sewer pollution ordinance bars anyone from releasing any substance, directly or indirectly, into the City's storm sewer system unless the release is composed entirely of…

Grading on private property in Mesa requires a separate onsite grading permit before work starts whenever the site sits inside the Desert Uplands native-plant-preservation area, a…

Mesa has left floodplain management authority with the Flood Control District of Maricopa County rather than administering its own program, so development in any city Flood Hazard Zone…

Unincorporated Maricopa County requires livable buildings to elevate finished floors at least one foot above the highest grade within ten feet of the foundation, with higher elevations…

Diesel trucks over 14,000 pounds are barred from idling more than five consecutive minutes anywhere in Maricopa County, with $100 first-offense and $300 repeat civil penalties under…

Mesa requires common area, parkway, and median landscaping inside the Desert Uplands Area to draw at least 50% of its plant material from the Preferred Desert Uplands Plant List, with…

Mesa designates certain trees as heritage trees based on their historical significance, age, species rarity, or ecological value. Heritage trees are tagged and cataloged by the Urban…

Mesa bans flying a drone anywhere in a city park except at locations the Parks Director specifically designates for that use, under Title 6, Chapter 10, Section 6-10-4(N). The same…

Commercial drone operations in Mesa require an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. Operators must comply with all FAA regulations including airspace authorizations, which are…

Mesa outlaws lying, sleeping, or sitting on any public street, sidewalk, alley, or other right-of-way citywide, with a narrow exception only for a physical emergency or someone…

Mesa's urban-camping ordinance bans camping, storing camping paraphernalia, or establishing living accommodations anywhere on City property without express City permission. Adopted in…

Mesa parks are open every day from sunrise to 10:00 p.m. under Title 6, Chapter 10, Section 6-10-3, and it's unlawful to enter or stay past that closing time without a permit. The…

Mesa bars minors under 16 from public streets, sidewalks, and other public places between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., and minors 16 to 18 between midnight and 5 a.m., under Title 6, Chapter 6…

Mesa cannot set a minimum wage above Arizona's statewide rate. The 2026 Arizona minimum wage is $14.70 per hour under Prop 206 indexed to inflation. ARS Section 23-204 preempts cities…

Mesa cannot mandate paid leave beyond Arizona's statewide standard. Prop 206 grants paid sick leave at 1 hour per 30 worked, capped at 40 hours yearly for employers under 15 workers…

Mesa cannot enact local firearm ordinances. Arizona Revised Statutes Section 13-3108 preempts municipal regulation of firearm transport, possession, carry, sale, purchase, storage…

Arizona allows permitless concealed carry for adults 21 and older, while still issuing optional CCW permits that enable reciprocity with other states.

Arizona permits open carry of firearms by adults 18 and older without a license in most public spaces, subject to limited location restrictions.

Mesa landlords cannot demand more than one and one-half months' rent as a security deposit. Arizona's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets that cap and requires return within…

Mesa's Code Compliance division may enter a residential rental's interior once an exterior review or complaint shows conditions materially affecting health and safety: failed plumbing…

Under A.R.S. § 33-1368, Arizona landlords must give a 5-day written notice for nonpayment of rent and a 10-day notice to cure for other material lease violations before filing…

The Arizona Residential Landlord-Tenant Act preempts the field of residential eviction grounds and procedures, preventing cities from imposing just-cause eviction requirements beyond…

Under A.R.S. § 33-1343, an Arizona landlord must give at least two days' notice of intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times for legitimate purposes such as inspections…

A.R.S. § 33-1375 requires 30 days' written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy (10 days week-to-week). Breaking a fixed-term lease early can incur damages, though landlords must…

Arizona prohibits local rent control. State law makes rent regulation on private residential property a matter of statewide concern and preempts the field, so cities, charter cities…

Arizona has no statutory cap on how much a landlord may raise rent and no dedicated rent-increase notice statute. For a month-to-month tenancy, a rent change is implemented by serving…

Arizona's adverse possession periods are tiered: 2 years by right of possession alone (A.R.S. § 12-522), 3 years under color of title (§ 12-523), 5 years under a recorded deed with…

Mesa bars dangerous or hazardous waste from solid waste containers outright and singles out sharps for their own rule: syringes, needles, lancets, and similar sharps must go inside…

Maricopa County requires every food establishment's Person in Charge to train Food Employees on foodborne disease prevention within 30 days of starting food-handling work, and to keep…

Maricopa County's Environmental Health Code bans harboring bed bugs on any premises and requires owners to eliminate an infestation once Environmental Services orders it, with permit…

Maricopa County bans rodent, roach, bedbug, and flea infestations on any property, and the Environmental Services Department can order the owner or occupant to abate an infestation…

ARS Section 11-269.18, signed in 2015, prohibits Mesa and every other Arizona city or county from banning, taxing, or regulating single-use plastic bags or other auxiliary containers…

Arizona preempts local bans and fees on polystyrene foam food containers as auxiliary containers under ARS 9-500.38 and ARS 11-269.16.

Mesa's plumbing code lets homeowners install a gray water recycling system without a separate plumbing permit, as long as it complies with the Arizona Department of Environmental…

Mesa allows rooftop solar in every zoning district and freestanding ground panels only in Single Residence districts, caps roof-mounted flat-roof systems at 20% of the district's base…

Arizona law bars homeowners associations from banning solar energy devices outright. A.R.S. § 33-1816 lets an association adopt only reasonable placement rules, and only if those rules…

Mesa bans door-to-door peddling or soliciting between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. under City Code § 5-8-5(D)(3), and separately bars any peddler or solicitor from knocking, ringing a…

Anyone who sells or takes orders in Mesa for future delivery of goods or services, a "solicitor" under City Code § 5-8-2, must hold a peddler-and-solicitor license before operating…

In unincorporated Maricopa County, it's illegal to run a bar or nightclub's radio, loudspeaker, or sound amplification equipment so loudly it can be heard inside a closed home within…

Maricopa County's noise ordinance bans generator noise reaching neighboring homes: if generator sound is audible from inside a closed residential structure within 500 feet of your…

In unincorporated Maricopa County, noise from heating and cooling equipment and pool pumps is exempt from the county noise ordinance if it operates per manufacturer specs and can't be…

In unincorporated Maricopa County, amplified music and bass-heavy stereo or speaker noise is illegal once it can be heard inside a closed residential structure within 500 feet of the…

In unincorporated Maricopa County, a car alarm or other warning device is exempt from Ordinance P-23's noise ban only if it doesn't sound continuously for more than thirty minutes per…

Grills, ovens and smokers used exclusively for cooking are exempt from Maricopa County's residential burning ban, but any solid-fuel cooking fire must still follow Air Quality Rule…

In unincorporated Maricopa County, anyone can report rubbish, weeds, filth, debris, or a dilapidated building on a property to the Planning and Development abatement officer, who must…

In unincorporated Maricopa County, building or using land without a permit or against zoning rules is a class 2 misdemeanor and a declared public nuisance, with each day of continued…

In unincorporated Maricopa County, the Abatement Officer must inspect a property after any weeds, rubbish, or dilapidated-building complaint, then give the owner at least 30 days to…

Arizona lets a nonprofit with federal 501(c) tax-exempt status run a raffle without a gambling license under A.R.S. Section 13-3302(B), so long as it has operated in-state for a full…

Arizona law defines "social gambling" in ARS § 13-3301(9) and excludes it from criminal liability under § 13-3302(A)(2). A private game qualifies only if no player collects more than…

Arizona legalized event wagering, commonly called sports betting, in 2021 under Arizona Revised Statutes Title 5, Chapter 11. The Department of Gaming may issue no more than ten event…

Under A.R.S. § 33-1807, unpaid assessments in an Arizona planned community become an automatic lien on the lot, and the association may charge late fees and interest if the declaration…

Arizona heavily regulates HOA governance: A.R.S. § 33-1804 requires open board and member meetings (with limited executive sessions) and lets members record them, A.R.S. § 33-1812…

Arizona HOAs enforce CC&Rs, design rules, and bylaws, but A.R.S. § 33-1803 channels enforcement through a detailed violation-notice process. A member who gets a violation notice may…

Arizona does not give homeowners a general right to xeriscape, gravel, or desert landscaping over an HOA's objection; that stays governed entirely by each community's own declaration…

Arizona law bars homeowners associations from banning outdoor display of eight protected flags, including the American, Arizona state, POW/MIA, Gadsden and first responder flags. Under…

Arizona law caps how much a homeowners association can fine a member and forces the board to give notice and a hearing first. A.R.S. § 33-1803 limits late charges on an unpaid penalty…

Arizona bars an association from foreclosing an assessment lien until the owner passes a dollar figure or a time period, and the trigger is not the same in every community. In a…

Arizona homeowners associations cannot block a member's right to rent unless the declaration itself prohibits it or limits rental time periods. Once a unit is rented, A.R.S. §…

Arizona has no DUI checkpoint statute at all. The words "checkpoint" and "roadblock" appear nowhere in the Arizona Revised Statutes, so nothing in state law authorizes sobriety…

Arizona's only statute aimed at filming police, A.R.S. § 13-3732, has never taken effect. It would have made it a class 3 misdemeanor to keep video recording law enforcement activity…

Arizona does have a stop-and-identify statute, but it is a narrow one. A.R.S. § 13-2412 compels you to state your true full name only after a peace officer has lawfully detained you on…

Arizona is one of the few states whose legalisation act says in terms that lawful adult conduct "may not constitute the basis for detention, search or arrest." A.R.S. § 36-2852(A)…

Arizona bans the sale or furnishing of tobacco, vapor, and alternative nicotine products to anyone under 21 under A.R.S. 13-3622. The state raised its own minimum age from 18 to 21 in…

Arizona allows a vehicle four kinds of extra forward lighting and puts a mounting-height band on each: one spot lamp, two fog lamps mounted 12 to 30 inches off the ground, two…

Arizona is one of the few states whose code names dash cam recording and permits it in so many words. A.R.S. section 28-963(A)(3) forbids recording or broadcasting video on a device…

Arizona still prohibits lane splitting as most riders picture it, but A.R.S. § 28-903(F) opens a narrow lane-filtering exception. A two-wheeled motorcycle may move between lanes to…

Arizona bans any plate cover, spray, electronic device or electrochromatic film that obscures the numbers, characters, year tabs or issuing state name "from any angle", under A.R.S. §…

A radar detector is legal in a private vehicle anywhere in Arizona. The state's vehicle equipment article, A.R.S. sections 28-921 through 28-966, names no radar detector, laser jammer…

Arizona lets you run metal studded tires anywhere in the state from October 1 to May 1, and bans them for the other five months. A.R.S. § 28-958(B)(3) also caps the hardware itself…

Arizona lets the front side windows carry film with a light transmission of thirty-three percent plus or minus three percent, so a front window measuring down to 30 percent still…