Yavapai County, AZ Water Use Rules: Turf Replacement Rebates (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Open Space/Sustainable Development bonus projects only
- Trigger
- Developer opts into 1.5x density bonus
- Required element
- Xeriscape-only common areas, no turf or grass
- Max project size
- 640 acres
- Covenant
- Recorded against every lot in the project
- Governing section
- Ordinance Section 441.D.2.c
Summary
Yavapai County does not ban grass lawns countywide, but its Open Space and Sustainable Development density-bonus program requires xeriscape-only common areas. Under Planning & Zoning Ordinance Section 441.D.2.c, a developer seeking the 1.5x density bonus on qualifying rural land must adopt drought-tolerant landscaping and prohibit turf or grass in every common-area landscaped space across the project.
1. The maximum density established by Section 441.C.3 may be increased to a value equal to the maximum density multiplied by a factor of 1.5 when nine (9) out of the following twelve (12) County conservation and sustainable design elements are incorporated within the development. 2. Land Development Items ... c. Use of only drought tolerant (Xeriscape) landscaping and prohibition of turf or grass in all common area landscaping.
Full Breakdown
Section 441 creates the Open Space and Sustainable Development Option, an alternative to standard density district zoning available on parcels up to 640 acres. 5. c, requires "use of only drought tolerant (Xeriscape) landscaping and prohibition of turf or grass in all common area landscaping" throughout the development. D states the density incentives "shall not be an assumed right" and are granted only at the sole discretion of the Development Services Director and the County, based on a finding the elements genuinely advance the ordinance's sustainability purpose.
3 by adding nine more elements from a second list, including irrigating common areas with reclaimed water and native-plant re-vegetation. 4 requires recording a covenant against every affected lot and posting a four-by-eight-foot notice sign at each primary entrance disclosing the added landscaping obligations to buyers. 5 makes clear that where these local landscaping requirements conflict with state law governing minimum lot size tied to water and wastewater systems, state law controls. Outside this density-bonus track, standard Density District zoning under Section 516 imposes no turf or lawn restriction at all.
Violations & Fines
There is no separate turf-ban penalty; the xeriscape commitment becomes a recorded covenant condition of the approved development plan. Once recorded, failing to maintain the common-area xeriscape standard is enforced as a zoning violation under Section 206: each day of noncompliance is a separate civil offense, with penalties reaching $750 for an individual or $10,000 for a corporation or association, plus possible Class 2 misdemeanor charges and injunctive removal action by the County Attorney.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Yavapai County require xeriscaping on every property?
What other landscaping trade-offs earn the bigger 2.0x bonus?
Can the County deny the density bonus even if I include nine elements?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yavapai County
Compare Yavapai County to another location·View the Arizona water use rules overview
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