Maricopa County started its flood control program in 1959 because of excessive flooding in the town of Phoenix. These floodplain regulations are innovative because of their completeness and the details they include for each designated floodplain zone. FEMA has delegated Maricopa County to do its own mapping which guarantees more up-to-date and inclusive floodplain mapping information for this fast-growing area. The ordinances are therefore applicable to a greater area and population... Read More

This handbook outlines the City of Tucson’s Transit Oriented Development (TOD) plan for the Tucson Streetcar Corridor. Its purpose is to guide planning and development around modern streetcar stops. Factors such as customer experience, land use, context sensitive design, pedestrian amenities, parking, and stop circulation and access are all addressed in relation to TOD along a streetcar corridor. A review of plans in peer communities is also provided to demonstrate successful implementation of TOD strategies... Read More

The Town of Gilbert Water Conservation Ordinance was designed to reduce the amount of water used in residential and nonresidential development. The ordinance limits water intensive landscaping, limits high evaporative loss features and requires efficient irrigation systems for all new development projects... Read More

This code is designed to meet or exceed state and federal floodplain management requirements, control development in erosion or flood hazard areas, and enhance groundwater recharge, and applies to all development within the town. All development within floodplain or erosion hazard areas require a permit, unless maintenance actions do not obstruct flow of floodwater and do not exceed a $1500 cost of improvement. There are floodway fringe requirements that restrict fill and alignment of structures to direction of flood flow. Erosion and sedimenta.. Read More

As a part of the Sustainability Framework for Plan Tuscon, the Sustainable Code project was created to facilitate, clarify, and remove regulatory obstacles pertaining to urban agriculture, solar development standards and other miscellaneous green improvements to the Unified Development Code. Each component of the project is being developed and processed separately. City staff revised relevant portions of the Unified Development Code to facilitate stated sustainability goals and policies including urban agriculture, energy and water conservation.. Read More

Maricopa County started its flood control program in 1959 because of excessive flooding in the town of Phoenix. These floodplain regulations are innovative because of their completeness and the details they include for each designated floodplain zone. FEMA has delegated Maricopa County to do its own mapping which guarantees more up-to-date and inclusive floodplain mapping information for this fast-growing area. The ordinances are therefore applicable to a greater area and population... Read More

Tucson, Arizona’s Solar Integration Plan and Greater Tucson Solar Development Plan lay the groundwork for accelerated development of solar energy facilities in and around Tucson, requiring the installation of a minimum amount of solar electric generation capacity by 2015. .. Read More

Culdesac Tempe is a car free neighborhood in Arizona that has 636 housing units on 16 acres. All buildings are connected via walkways and courtyards. The development also has a bike share program and is located next to public transit. This is a mixed-use, high-density zone to encourage pedestrian-oriented development that provides housing opportunities for a variety of income levels... Read More

This document describes the opportunity for transit-oriented development (TOD) for Phoenix. Specifically, it calls for a by-right zoning codes to create shorter and more predictable construction timelines. Form-based standards are promoted. Specifically, the document suggests increasing the permitted height of buildings within a quarter-mile radius of light rail stations and creating a minimum of 30 percent of housing units dedicated to long-term affordability in TOD zones. The update to this document also includes a portion on equity... Read More

The land use code subjects applications to a neighborhood meeting. Furthermore, a pre-application conference is required for all applications submitted by parties other than the City. § 5.4.1.2... Read More

This ordinance works to preserve native desert lands and open space from development as on-lot easements or separate lots within any given property or subdivision. Natural Area Open Space (NAOS) within any given property is determined by slope and landform category and has protected thousands of acres of desert within the city’s developing landscape... Read More

The Desert Lands Conservation Overlay (DLCO) of the City of Peoria is designed to protect desert hillsides in the City from development. It seeks to protect the sensitive habitats of the Sonoran Desert found in Peoria by providing controls for the development of desert conservation features such as ridges and peaks, major rock outcrops, critical wildlife habitat corridors, washes and riparian habitats... Read More

The (HP) Historic Property zoning overlay district is intended to protect and enhance the cultural, historical, social or archaeological heritage of the City of Scottsdale. The HP District encourages the retention of historic resources by keeping them in active use in their original appearance, setting, and placement... Read More

The Town of Oro Valley’s zoning code includes solar protection provisions that forbid the construction of any structure that would shade an adjacent building when the sun is more than 45 degrees above the horizon unless the applicant obtains written permission from the owner of the potentially shaded property. See Town of Oro Valley, AZ, Zoning Code § 27.1(A)... Read More