Arizona Zoning & Land Use Laws

Arizona ADU Law

Arizona has a statewide ADU law — Arizona House Bill 2297 (HB 2297) — effective 2024-09-14. This law preempts local ordinances — cities and counties cannot impose restrictions stricter than the state standard. Key provisions include: Removes owner-occupancy requirement — property owner does not need to live on the lot to build or rent an ADU; Requires municipalities to allow at least one ADU on residential lots with single-family dwellings; Prohibits minimum lot size requirements for ADUs that exceed 50% of the existing lot size, and 4 more. The most recent amendment was Arizona SB 1350 — Short-Term Rental Preemption (2016): Arizona preempted local governments from prohibiting short-term rentals outright. Later amended by SB 1168 (2022) to restore some local regulatory authority including registration requirements, safety standards, and nuisance enforcement.

Cottage Food Law

Arizona Cottage Food Law (Arizona Revised Statutes Section 36-136): Allows home-based food production without a food establishment license. Annual sales cap: $75,000 direct-to-consumer. Allowed products include baked goods, candy, jams, jellies, preserves, dried herbs and seasonings, dehydrated vegetables, roasted nuts, and similar non-potentially-hazardous foods. Products must be labeled with producer name, address, and 'This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not inspected by the Arizona Department of Health Services or a local health department.' Direct sales permitted at farmers markets, roadside stands, and online with in-person delivery. Maricopa County and other counties cannot require additional local permits for cottage food operations. Arizona has a reasonably permissive cottage food law with a $75,000 annual sales cap. The law was expanded in recent years to include online sales with in-person delivery and additional product categories. Local health departments cannot impose additional requirements beyond state law.

Short-Term Rental Law

Arizona SB 1350 (2016) was the first state law to preempt local governments from outright banning short-term rentals (Airbnb, VRBO, etc.). This made Arizona a landmark case in STR regulation nationally. However, Arizona SB 1168 (2022) restored some local regulatory authority: cities can now require STR registration/licensing, impose safety requirements, require local contact persons, enforce nuisance ordinances, and impose fines for repeated violations. Cities cannot ban STRs outright but have meaningful regulatory tools. Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Sedona, and other tourist destinations have established STR registration programs under the amended framework.

Recent Legislative Changes

Arizona Cities with Zoning Data