Zoning code question for earthworks (Yavapai County, AZ)

Hi - reading the zoning codes for Yavapai County, AZ. In the exemptions section, on page 10, it states:

"Earthworks with no added structural materials that do not exceed fifty (50) cubic yards on any one (1) lot and do not obstruct a drainage course."

Anyone with experience in this type of thing: would this exempt, say, a hugelkulture mound that's less than 50 yards, but not exempt, say, a check dam that you put in a natural wash on the property? Or is this more of a "landscaping" earthworks exemption?

If you want official advice, you might call the officials:

Yavapi County Planning and Zoning wrote: Need to speak to a Planner regarding a case?
Give us a call at:
(928) 771-3214 Prescott office
(928) 639-8151 Cottonwood office

(From this Site)

Hi David,
Good questions, and maybe I can shed a little light. First, with respect to calling the county, I would be cautious. I live in Pinal county, and have done lots of business with the county as a contractor, and try to keep a good relationship with them. However, there are a lot of reasons why you might not want to call and ask "is this non-standard thing OK?", the easiest reaction from a bureaucrat is to say "no" - there will hardly ever be blowback that way.

To your specific question about exemptions, note that it's an AND condition. Yes, moving less than 50yds of earth for whatever purpose is exempt, provided you don't block a wash! Moving even 1yd of earth to block a wash would be a violation. The structural materials reference is there to make sure you get a permit for a retaining wall, though in some places those have a height exemption: in Pinal I can backfill any retaining wall to 2ft surcharge w/o paperwork, and build the wall up to 4ft from base-of-footing to top.

You can find out what washes are officially recognized in most AZ counties using GIS tools. Yavapai's mapping resources are here: https://www.yavapaiaz.gov/Mapping-and-Properties/GIS-Mapping/GIS-Mapping-Applications, and the Interactive map with Land Use > Hydrology layer turned on will show you much, and there is a separate Floodplain viewer map which shows a related set of features.

Now, just because a wash is not a regulatory water feature doesn't mean you should block it. Water wins. But, a non-regulatory wash can, for instance, have perpendicular side channels pulled out to draw off water during flow, or other Mollison-inspired features can be added, or your hugel could dip its toe in the channel allowing periodic flooding of your wood layer beneath. A regulatory wash typically (always?) needs approval from a county flood department prior to touching it. I don't know how long you've lived in AZ, but it's worth remembering that the rains come hard and fast, and any disturbance to a wash will likely result in unintended consequences. So, just make sure you're ready for those, and that the water always has a non-destructive out, even at high flow conditions. We've found that on-countour berms will help keep rain out of our wash and in our plant basins, which is a low-risk win.

Happy hugel-ing!
Mark

Mark Miner wrote:Hi David,
Good questions, and maybe I can shed a little light. First, with respect to calling the county, I would be cautious. I live in Pinal county, and have done lots of business with the county as a contractor, and try to keep a good relationship with them. However, there are a lot of reasons why you might not want to call and ask "is this non-standard thing OK?", the easiest reaction from a bureaucrat is to say "no" - there will hardly ever be blowback that way.

Wonderful Mark, thanks for the in-depth answer. This is somewhat off topic of "earthworks", but I see from your post history that you have experience with earthbags. In your experience dealing with counties, what is the "best" way to approach them in terms of permitting alternative building methods?

Hi David,
I do not know about Yavapai particularly, but Maricopa has an earth code https://www.maricopa.gov/2271/Ordinances-Regulations-and-Codes, and Pinal is comfortable with rammed earth thanks to Quentin Branch of Oracle, AZ (I took his RE class years ago, it was neat, though an unfortunately rainy week).

What kind of building do you have in mind? Broadly speaking, rammed earth & adobe have adequate precedent in AZ. Earthbag, not so much. The best you would be aiming for with earthbag, in my view, is to treat it like plastered adobe (which would be fair), and not try to take any credit for the tensile strength of the barbed wire/bag matrix. However, if you find a PE willing to do the analysis and defend it through the permit process, you can always try to assert compliance to required loads. It'll be seismic that's the stressing case, for much of AZ, for moderate-height walls. Either way, you will have a materials testing regimen that "normal" materials won't have. Depending on the tests required, you may be able to perform some yourself (like the proctor density test for RE), and in some cases you will have to retain a lab.

In general, it's best to say "here's what I'm doing, here's the code it's closest to, here's how local standards apply, and here's how I comply". Tell the full story, don't offer building officials unanswered questions. If you can make a personal acquaintance at the building office and chat them up about historic structures, oddball structures, and float the ideas you have conversationally, you can maybe get a better sense of how the county feels about such projects.

If all else fails, there's Greenlee County ;-) - [no building official at all]

Best regards,
Mark

Oh My GUSS! This is so over my head. After reading this thread, I have no idea even how to begin this process. Apache County AZ, 120 acres. Looking to have a variety of builds, various from tiny homes to RV spots with sheds ,gardens, berms, ponds, etc. Haven't even completed the Conditional Use Permit Application much less building permits and earthwork.
Thank you for the information though. Will gather some troops to help!