Goodyear, AZ Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Rule
- no vehicle parking/use on unpaved vacant lots
- Required
- paving or City Engineer-approved stabilization
- Owner may be required
- fencing/barricades/no-trespassing signs
- Exempt
- permitted construction, utility work, county dust permit
- Penalty
- Class 3 misdemeanor, up to $500 fine, 30 days
- Governing law
- § 11-1-26 Fugitive Dust Control
Summary
Goodyear bans using an unpaved vacant lot for vehicle parking unless the surface is paved or otherwise stabilized to control dust, under the city's fugitive dust ordinance. Owners can be required to fence, barricade or post the lot against trespassers, and a violation is a Class 3 misdemeanor.
(C) Parking and traffic restrictions on vacant lots or unpaved surfaces. It is unlawful for the owner of a vacant lot to allow the lot to be used for vehicle parking or vehicle use unless the vacant lot has been paved, or otherwise stabilized in a manner approved by the City Engineer, or his or her designee, to minimize the generation of dust or particulate matter. The owner of any vacant lot may be required to take reasonable measures, such as installing post and cable fencing along the street, barricades at driveway openings or posting of no trespassing signs, to prevent the use of said lot by unauthorized persons... (G) Penalty. Any person who violates this section is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. A Class 3 misdemeanor includes fines up to $500 plus surcharges and fees, probation up to one year, and imprisonment up to 30 days. A.R.S. 13-802(C); 13-902(A)(7); 13-707(A)(3).
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 26-1648, passed April 27, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Goodyear City Code § 11-1-26, the fugitive dust control ordinance, regulates how vacant lots may be used specifically to stop dust and particulate matter (PM-10) from becoming airborne. Subsection (C) makes it unlawful for a vacant-lot owner to allow the lot to be used for vehicle parking or vehicle operation unless the surface has been paved or stabilized in a manner the City Engineer approves. The City Engineer or designee can also require the owner to take reasonable protective measures, such as post-and-cable fencing along the street, barricades at driveway openings, or posted no-trespassing signs, to keep unauthorized vehicles off the lot.
The restriction does not apply to temporary use by public-service or utility providers, or to a lot being used under an active construction permit. The same section separately bans operating a leaf blower except on a stabilized surface, and prohibits blowing landscape debris into a public roadway (subsection (D)). A site holding a Maricopa County dust-control permit and complying with it is exempt from § 11-1-26 (subsection (E)). Any fugitive dust caused in violation of the section is independently declared a public nuisance subject to abatement at the violator's expense (subsection (F)).
Vacant-lot owners in Goodyear should also be aware that the separate maintenance ordinance in § 10-4-4 requires keeping any property, including vacant land, clear of weeds over six inches and of trash and debris.
Violations & Fines
Allowing unauthorized vehicle parking or use on an unpaved vacant lot, or operating a leaf blower off a stabilized surface, is a Class 3 misdemeanor under § 11-1-26(G), carrying fines of up to $500 plus surcharges and fees, probation of up to one year, and up to 30 days in jail under A.R.S. §§ 13-802(C), 13-902(A)(7) and 13-707(A)(3). The city can also treat ongoing fugitive dust as a public nuisance and abate it at the violator's expense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I let people park on my vacant lot in Goodyear?
What's the penalty for fugitive dust violations on a vacant lot?
Is my vacant lot exempt if I'm doing construction?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Goodyear
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How other cities in Maricopa County handle vacant lot maintenance.