Landscaping Rules in Arizona (2026)

Avondale City Code section 14-170(j) limits dead and dry palm fronds, and section 14-170(m) bars landscaping that…

Property owners and neighborhood associations along Buckeye streets must trim trees to keep an 18-foot clearance above…

Chandler property owners must keep tree limbs at least 15 feet above any public street or alleyway and at least 8 feet…

Homeowners can prune and thin their own forest trees, and thinning ponderosa for fire safety is encouraged. Flagstaff…

Gilbert makes the owner, occupant or person controlling a property responsible for keeping the sidewalk out front clear…

Glendale requires owners of trees overhanging a street or right-of-way to prune them so they don't block intersection…

Goodyear City Code Section 10-4-4(D) makes every property owner, tenant, or manager responsible for trimming trees…

Property owners in Maricopa must trim trees, shrubs and brush that block the sidewalk or alley next to their land…

Mesa may protect native desert trees (palo verde, ironwood, saguaro). Street trees are city property. Proper pruning…

Trimming, cutting, or removing any tree along a Peoria street, alley, or park takes written sign-off from the City…

Phoenix City Code Sec. 23-32 makes it unlawful to let trees, shrubs or bushes growing on your property interfere with…

Queen Creek requires property owners to keep trees trimmed clear of public rights-of-way: eight feet above any sidewalk…

Scottsdale makes the owner of property next to a street responsible for mowing and trimming the plants and trees on the…

Sedona's Land Development Code makes tree and shrub maintenance a permanent duty of the property owner, not a courtesy…

Tempe requires property owners to trim trees that overhang public rights-of-way to maintain clearance for pedestrians…

Tucson City Code Sec. 25-53 makes it the duty of every property owner, occupant, or agent to keep trees, shrubs, and…

Yuma requires street trees to be pruned for at least 12 feet of clearance over roadways and 7 feet over sidewalks under…

Surprise requires property owners to maintain trees so they do not obstruct sidewalks, streets, or sight lines. Trees…

Arizona protects native trees such as ironwood, mesquite, and palo verde under the Native Plant Law, requiring state…

Removing protected native plants including saguaro cacti, ironwood, and palo verde trees requires a permit from the…

Saguaro, ironwood, and other species protected under ARS 3-904 require state permits before removal. Development…

Pima County Code Ch. 18.72 requires permits for native plant removal during development. ARS 3-904 makes destroying…

Scottsdale's Native Plant Ordinance (Chapter 46, Article V) protects indigenous desert plants citywide. Removal or…

No one may plant, remove, cut above ground or disturb a tree in a Glendale street right-of-way, park or other public…

Phoenix Code § 34-15 makes it unlawful to cut, trim, remove, injure, or interfere with trees and shrubbery in city…

Sedona bars removing any existing tree, or stripping topsoil, without a site development, tree removal, grading, or…

Avondale has no standalone heritage-tree permit, but zoning code section 28-298 requires prior zoning-administrator…

Before removing mature native trees or protected cacti on a development site in Buckeye, Arizona, developers must…

Chandler requires the owner or lessor of any developed site to keep installed landscaping watered, fertilized, weeded…

On rural forested lots, removing trees for defensible space is generally allowed and encouraged for fire safety…

Gilbert's Land Development Code sets a minimum planting size for every approved tree: six feet for deciduous and…

Maricopa requires homeowners associations and individual property owners to replace dead required landscaping trees…

Maricopa County requires protection of state-listed native plants under Arizona's Native Plant Law (ARS 3-901+)…

Mesa's landscaping ordinance sets minimum tree sizes for new development, a quarter of required trees must be 36-inch…

Unincorporated Mohave County has no municipal tree-removal permit for homeowners. The permit that actually matters in…

Peoria may regulate removal of trees in certain developments and planned communities. Native desert trees on…

Pinal County requires no general tree-removal permit for common yard trees, but two triggers matter: a state permit…

Trees on private residential property in Tempe can generally be removed without a city permit unless they are protected…

Tucson's UDC forces on-site replacement, not just a fine, when a protected native plant is removed. Every viable…

Goodyear has no heritage tree ordinance. The Zoning Administrator may authorize tree removal for safety reasons…

Surprise does not have a heritage tree ordinance or strict tree removal permit requirement for private property…

Yavapai County has no countywide tree-removal permit ordinance for private property. Removal of native trees on state…

Yuma does not have a comprehensive urban tree protection ordinance like some Arizona cities. Property owners may…

Phoenix City Code Sec. 39-7(D) bars weeds higher than six inches and tumbleweeds on any premises, and Sec. 31-10…

Avondale regulates weeds and grass by condition, not a fixed height. City Code Section 14-170 prohibits uncultivated…

Buckeye's Property Maintenance Code caps grass, weeds, and tumbleweeds at six inches; taller growth is a fire-hazard…

Chandler bars owners and occupants from letting grass or weeds go 'uncontrolled, unmaintained or overgrown' on any…

Coconino County caps mowed defensible-space grass at 4 inches within 10 to 30 feet of a structure under its…

Code of Gilbert § 42-317(e) makes lawn grass or weeds taller than ten inches a code violation on any exterior property…

Glendale caps grass and weeds at six inches on every property, occupied or not, and separately bars weeds in sidewalk…

Goodyear property owners must keep weeds and plant growth under six inches under the city's adopted International…

Maricopa's code counts weeds, brush or grass grown to an unreasonable height or amount as "litter," and owners must…

In unincorporated Maricopa County, uncultivated vegetation over six inches deep, dried grass, weeds, tumbleweeds, dead…

Mesa caps weeds and grass at 9 inches on developed parcels and 12 inches on undeveloped parcels under City Code §…

Mohave County treats overgrown weeds, dead vegetation, and rubbish as a public nuisance. The county can order…

Peoria caps weeds and grass at six inches under City Code Section 17-3(l). Lots larger than an acre can rely on a…

Unincorporated Pima County property owners must clear weeds, rubbish and debris that create a health or safety hazard…

Unincorporated Pinal County treats brush, grass, or weeds that reach two feet in height and have stood for more than 60…

Under Queen Creek Town Code Section 10-3-1, any growth of weeds higher than six inches is treated as litter, and owners…

Sahuarita treats any weeds, brush or grass over six inches tall as unlawful 'litter' under Town Code Section 8.10.010…

Scottsdale's property maintenance code caps grass at six inches under Sec. 18-9(a)(4), banning poison oak, poison ivy…

Sedona caps weeds, tall grass and uncultivated growth visible from public property at 12 inches, and declares taller…

Tempe caps weeds, uncultivated growth and tall grass at 12 inches on any property where the landscaping is visible from…

Tucson Code § 16-13(a) makes it unlawful to let lawn grass or weeds exceed six inches anywhere on a property, along…

Yavapai County caps weeds and other plant growth on any lot at 6 inches under Property Maintenance Code Section 302.4…

Yuma City Code §134-01 lists 'uncontrolled vegetation,' meaning noxious weeds and other rank vegetation not properly…

Arizona regulates groundwater use through Active Management Areas (AMAs) under the 1980 Groundwater Management Act…

Glendale requires all water customers to curtail usage during declared droughts under a City-adopted Drought Management…

Filling a decorative lake or watering a large turf facility from Mesa's water system requires a City Lake Permit under…

Peoria's Drought Contingency Plan lets the City Manager declare four escalating water deficiency stages, from a…

When the Board of Supervisors declares a drought stage for unincorporated Pima County, Code Section 8.70.040 kicks in…

When Tucson's mayor and council (or the water director's recommendation) declares a water emergency, Sec. 27-95 bans…

Once the City Council proclaims a water emergency, Yuma confines lawn and garden watering to the days and times set in…

Avondale does not assign fixed watering days. Instead, City Code section 24-34 prohibits the waste of water, including…

Buckeye, Arizona bans outdoor spray irrigation during peak daylight hours year-round, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in warm months…

Once the Chandler City Council declares a Stage Four Drought, City Code § 52-40 cuts lawn, tree and shrub watering to…

Gilbert restricts lawn watering only when the town manager or council declares a water-shortage stage under Code of…

Goodyear bans wasting water on landscaping through broken sprinkler heads, misdirected emitters, or overflowing…

Phoenix has no fixed day-of-week outdoor watering schedule; instead, Phoenix City Code Chapter 37 (sections 37-126…

Scottsdale caps how much of a lot can be planted in water-intensive landscape or turf. For a new single-family home…

Sedona's Land Development Code limits lawn or turf coverage to 10 percent of a project's overall landscape area to…

Surprise treats irrigation runoff that leaves your yard as unlawful water waste under City Code § 58-657, banning turf…

Tempe bans wasting water on landscaped property under General Code Section 33-121, and Section 33-122 spells out the…

Since June 1, 2010, Tucson requires all new commercial development to submit a rainwater harvesting plan and, within…

In unincorporated Pima County, rainwater harvesting systems and cisterns are allowed by-right in every zoning district…

Sahuarita's landscaping code lets developments choose active or passive rainwater harvesting under Town Code §…

Scottsdale folds rainwater harvesting into its stormwater and floodplain rules rather than regulating it separately…

Sedona lets homeowners install rainwater harvesting tanks in side and rear setback areas, but the Land Development Code…

Maricopa doesn't mandate rainwater harvesting. Maricopa City Code § 18.125.020 makes the city's whole sustainable…

Yavapai County sets no blanket limit on rainwater harvesting. Its adopted Plumbing Code governs any nonpotable…

The Arizona Native Plant Law protects designated cacti, trees, and other species from destruction or removal without…

Arizona Native Plant Law (ARS 3-904) protects saguaro cacti and other native plants. Removing, destroying, or…

New development must use 50 percent or more native species in landscaping. ARS 3-904 protects saguaro, ironwood, and…

Scottsdale's Native Plant Ordinance (Chapter 46, Article V) is one of the most comprehensive in Arizona, protecting…

Tucson requires nearly all new development to prepare a Native Plant Preservation Plan under UDC Section 7.7 before any…

Avondale's zoning code (section 28-293) requires trees and plant material in public rights-of-way to come from the…

Goodyear's zoning code pushes new development toward desert-adapted landscaping: a natural desert theme with native…

Maricopa County encourages use of native and desert-adapted plants in unincorporated areas. Arizona law (ARS 3-901+)…

Arizona's Protected Native Plant Law (ARS 3-901) protects saguaro, palo verde, ironwood, and other species. Removal…

Section 39 of the Phoenix Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance prohibits planting pollen varieties of Olive and Mulberry…

Pima County Zoning Code Chapter 18.72 (Native Plant Preservation) requires protection and salvage of certain native…

The Town of Queen Creek requires every development project to preserve native Sonoran Desert vegetation onsite under…

Sedona's Land Development Code makes half of every development site's plantings native species drawn from the city's…

Tempe encourages native and desert-adapted landscaping. Arizona's Protected Native Plant Law (ARS 3-901) protects…

Maricopa lets developers swap out standard landscaping requirements for native and drought-tolerant plantings through…

Yavapai County has no general native-plant mandate for private landowners, but its zoning density-bonus program rewards…

Chandler promotes native and drought-tolerant plants through xeriscape rebate programs. Plants must be from the Phoenix…

Mesa actively promotes native and drought-tolerant plants through its Grass-to-Xeriscape program and water conservation…

In the Mojave Desert, gravel yards and native, drought-tolerant plants are the norm, and no county rule forces a grass…

Surprise encourages desert-compatible landscaping using native and drought-tolerant plants. The city's landscape code…

Yuma relies on Arizona state native plant law rather than a local ordinance. State-protected plants (saguaro, certain…

Unincorporated Coconino County treats artificial turf as a prohibited landscaping material under its Zoning Ordinance…

Avondale's zoning code limits artificial materials in required landscaping: section 28-294 bars artificial plant…

Goodyear's Zoning Ordinance exempts single-family residential lots from its turf development standards, but every other…

In Phoenix's Downtown Code area, artificial turf can't sit in the public right-of-way or count toward required on-site…

Yuma's landscape code lets property owners use artificial turf as inert groundcover in required landscape areas…

Buckeye allows artificial or synthetic turf in any yard where natural turf could be used, and voids HOA or deed…

Chandler allows artificial turf on private property but excludes it from the residential xeriscape rebate program…

Glendale's Unified Development Code bans artificial plant materials from counting toward required landscaping, with one…

Mohave County does not regulate artificial turf on a residential lot, so installation is largely the owner's choice. As…

Sedona's landscaping standards ban artificial trees, shrubs, and plants outright but carve out one specific exception…

City Code § 58-596 gives Surprise homeowners an outright right to install artificial or synthetic turf anywhere natural…

Unincorporated Maricopa County doesn't require a permit for a backyard compost bin, but the Environmental Health Code…

Yuma allows backyard composting as an accessory use in every residential zoning district under City Code § 154-15.18…

Glendale generally bans letting garbage or solid waste accumulate on property, but carves out an exception letting…

Mesa's zoning code doesn't restrict backyard composting on ordinary residential lots, but community gardens, a…

Scottsdale's code allows composting as one lawful way to dispose of animal waste from pens, stables, yards and cages…

Sedona has no standalone composting ordinance, but its wildlife-feeding law exempts "compost piles that are fully…

Tucson Code § 16-13(c) lets residents keep a compost pile despite the citywide ban on accumulated vegetation and…

Chandler's refuse code normally requires solid waste to be bagged and containerized before collection, but § 44-2.3…