Tucson's UDC Hillside Development Zone limits grading, density, and visibility of structures on slopes greater than 15 percent in foothills areas near Tucson Mountain Park and the Catalina foothills to protect Sonoran Desert character.
Under UDC Section 5.3 (Hillside Development Zone), parcels with average slopes above 15 percent face reduced density, increased setbacks, restrictions on building height, color palettes that blend with surrounding desert, and limits on cut-and-fill grading. Pad sizes are capped to limit native vegetation disturbance, and revegetation of disturbed areas with Sonoran natives is required. The HDZ overlay works alongside the Native Plant Preservation Ordinance to protect saguaro stands, ocotillo, and other Sonoran flora, and it is enforced at building permit and site-plan review stages.
Unauthorized grading or vegetation removal in HDZ areas results in stop-work orders, civil penalties, mandatory revegetation, and potential plant replacement at fixed values per saguaro or protected specimen.
Tucson, AZ
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Tucson, AZ
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See how Tucson's hillside overlay rules rules stack up against other locations.
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