Planning staff pushes zoning update to align county rules with new Arizona ADU and assisted-living law

The Navajo County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend an update to the county zoning ordinance to comply with newly enacted state law affecting accessory dwelling units (ADUs), guest houses and administrative procedures for assisted-living home separation deviations.

Planning staff Cody Cooper told commissioners the changes implement a recently passed measure that will create ARS 11-8-10.01 and requires counties to adopt procedures allowing at least one attached and one detached accessory dwelling unit on lots zoned for single-family dwellings, and to allow additional ADUs on parcels of one acre or larger. "If we fail to adopt regulations within this time frame ... accessory dwelling units shall be allowed on all lots or parcels zoned for residential use without limits," Cooper warned, noting the county must adopt conforming regulations by Jan. 1, 2026.

Cooper summarized limits the state law places on county regulation: counties may not require owner-occupant relationships between the primary dwelling and an ADU, may not require additional parking or fees in lieu of parking for ADUs, may not impose exterior design-matching requirements or more-restrictive side/rear setbacks than those for single-family dwellings, and may not require unrelated valuation or construction-start proofs that the state law disallows. Staff recommended removing lot-size and size-comparison restrictions from the county ordinance and amending definitions so 'guest house' and 'accessory dwelling unit' align with state terminology.

Commissioners asked whether homeowners associations (HOAs) or private deed restrictions would be affected. Cooper said HOAs and private covenants remain private instruments: the county cannot impose or enforce deed restrictions but requires permit applicants to acknowledge they have checked CC&Rs or HOAs; enforcement of private deed restrictions would be a civil matter. "HOAs are required to follow state law. However, HOAs have their regulations within a different part of the statute," Cooper said, adding that the county will continue to encourage applicants to check with HOAs before permitting.

With no public comments, a commissioner moved that the planning commission recommend the text amendment to the Board of Supervisors subject to staff recommendations; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

Next steps: the commission's recommendation will go to the Navajo County Board of Supervisors for review. The county must adopt conforming regulations by Jan. 1, 2026, to retain local controls; otherwise the statute allows ADUs broadly without county limits.