Residential drafting in Paradise Valley, Arizona
Paradise Valley is not a subdivision market. Its housing is detached custom work on low density lots, spanning mid century modern, desert modern, Southwest, Mediterranean, and contemporary, and many properties have been expanded repeatedly over decades by different design teams.
That history is the first drafting problem. Existing drawings are often incomplete or contradict what is actually there. Large custom roof systems, stepped slabs, structural masonry, steel, deep overhangs, and complex indoor and outdoor openings all need more field verification than a conventional remodel.
The second problem is that low density does not mean unconstrained. Usable building area gets reduced by deep setbacks, wash and drainage paths, easements, recorded building envelopes, pools, walls, and mature specimen landscaping.
Hillside parcels on Camelback and Mummy Mountain are a separate design universe again. Natural grade, disturbed area, cut and fill, retaining, visible rooflines, material reflectance, and construction access can decide the building before the floor plan starts.
ADU standards
Setback, size, and parking rules for an accessory dwelling unit in Paradise Valley.
| Maximum size | No more than half the total ground area of the main building (1005.A) |
|---|---|
| Interior side and rear setback | 20 ft in the R-43 district (Table 1001B) |
| Side or rear line fronting a street | 40 ft (Table 1001B) |
| Front setback, detached | Not less than 60 ft from the front lot line (502.3) |
| Height | One story, 16 ft (Table 1001B) |
| Rented separately | Not permitted. The property may be rented as a whole (1004) |
| Approval | Permitted as an accessory use in the R-43 district (502.3) |
Paradise Valley is below the population threshold in Arizona's ADU statute, so the state ADU mandate (A.R.S. 9-461.18) does not apply here. Other state ADU law can still reach the town. The town's own zoning ordinance governs, and the local term is guest house rather than casita or ADU.
The most important difference: a guest house may not be leased, subleased, or rented separately from the main building (1004). The whole property can be rented as one unit, but the guest house cannot be its own tenancy. If rental income is the reason for the project, that changes the math.
The setbacks are nothing like the valley cities either. Twenty feet at the interior side and rear, forty feet where the line fronts a street, and sixty feet from the front lot line for a detached accessory building (Table 1001B, 502.3).
Two things the ordinance does not settle: how many guest houses a property may have, and whether a kitchen is permitted. The definition requires the building to have its own sanitary facilities but says nothing about a kitchen (201). Both are worth confirming with the town before design.
Planning office: Paradise Valley Community Development
Sources: Paradise Valley Zoning Ordinance 502.3, 1004, 1005, Table 1001B. A.R.S. 9-461.18. Last checked August 2026.
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