Zoning, building permits and septic rules in St. Johns, Arizona

St. Johns’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside St. Johns city limits (City of St. Johns, Arizona). Not the unincorporated county area.

  • The compiled code confirms the city has a city zoning code that its zoning administrator enforces; the zoning code text itself was not located or opened within the research budget.
  • Ordinance number and adoption date of the zoning code were not verified.

  “the city manager may designate or employ one or more officers and/or employees of the city of st. johns to act as zoning administrator(s) of the city of st. johns to implement the provisions of the city of st. johns zoning code as seems to him appropriate and practicable consistent current funding and available personnel.”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  New sewer connections for homes inside St. Johns city limits.

  • The city code makes sewer connections subject to city approval: the city manager issues permits only if the sewer connection conforms to the code.
  • The opened text does not state a mandatory-connection rule or a distance from the public sewer within which a home must connect; that is not verified.
  • Water connection requirements were not found in the text opened.

  “the city manager will approve plans for sewerage construction, issue a permit for industrial wastewater discharge or any other permit under this article and articles 11-7, 11-9, 11-10 and 11-11”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdividing land inside St. Johns city limits under chapter 10 (Subdivisions) of the city code.

  • Based on the code table of contents only: chapter 10 requires compliance (article 10-1) and an approval procedure for subdivisions (article 10-3), with platting requirements in article 10-5.
  • Article 10-8 separately covers subdivision of land within three miles of the city limits; that is outside this city-limits claim and was not opened.
  • Article text was not opened, so approval thresholds and exemptions are not verified.

  “chapter 10: subdivisions • article 10-1: compliance required • article 10-2: definitions • article 10-3: procedure for obtaining approval of a subdivision”

• Permit processPartial

  Permits for sewerage construction and sewer connections inside St. Johns city limits.

  • Covers only the sewer-system permit route in article 11-8 of the city code.
  • No general building-permit process, fee schedule, or application procedure was found in the compiled code text opened.

  “the city manager will approve plans for sewerage construction, issue a permit for industrial wastewater discharge or any other permit under this article and articles 11-7, 11-9, 11-10 and 11-11”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask St. Johns or Apache County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits for new homes inside St. Johns city limits.
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for homes inside St. Johns city limits.
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption inside St. Johns city limits.
• Inspections — Building inspections for new homes inside St. Johns city limits.
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside St. Johns city limits.

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.