We have been looking at land in Cochise County to build earthbag or straw bale. We hope to find property and break ground in a couple of months.
We were under the impression that if you owned 4+ acres you could "opt out" of inspections and could pretty much build what you wanted. The only catch was a permitted septic installed before beginning construction and that you had to do a basic permit application showing set backs, drain fields etc.
Owner builder amendment info
https://www.cochise.az.gov/planning-and-zoning/owner-builder-amendment
From my understanding this allows you to forgo any inspections.... I imagine a permit is still needed (they want their $$$ too) but conforming to strict building codes is not required.
