Confirm the parcel is under county zoning
This guide concerns unincorporated Maricopa County. If the property is inside an incorporated city or town, confirm its own requirements with the appropriate office. Do not apply county standards based only on the city name in a mailing address.
The county’s Plan-Net instructions explain how to search by address or parcel number and view parcel zoning. Use that information to begin a question, then ask the reviewing office to confirm the applicable classification, overlays and any previous site conditions.
The county identifies January 9, 2026 as the start of review under its updated ordinance. Keep the actual application date and written decisions with your records. An older drawing or a neighbor’s project may have been reviewed under different requirements.
Reference: Maricopa County: current ordinances and code versions · Maricopa County: finding parcel zoning in Plan-Net
Explain what the battery would do
The county’s definition distinguishes batteries for energy-market participation or grid services from systems mainly serving on-site use. Describe whether the proposal is a separate grid project or equipment serving a building. Ask the reviewing office how the actual use is classified.
Do not rely on the phrase “distributed generation” without asking what it means in that conversation. A local land-use definition and a utility’s connection description answer different questions. Neither should be decided from the parcel’s acreage.
Also ask whether the batteries are independent or part of a solar or other facility. Your agreement and drawing should identify all the proposed equipment and land rights, rather than treating everything as one unspecified energy project.
Reference: Maricopa County: zoning ordinance, December 10, 2025
Check the layout against the actual lot lines
The published use table on page 6-14 lists battery storage with Plan of Development conditions in IND-2 and IND-3. Article 603.10 on page 6-29 sets a minimum 100-foot setback for battery units from lot lines. Have the office confirm the requirements for the actual application and site.
Ask the project team to show the surveyed or otherwise verified parcel boundaries and the proposed equipment position together. If you are offering only part of a tract, distinguish the offered-area boundary from a legal lot line. Do not assume a line drawn around the leased area answers the county’s setback question.
A long narrow property and a broad property can have the same acreage but different usable layouts. Ask for the drawing before deciding how much land to reserve. Include substations, roads, drainage, gates and temporary construction space, not just battery containers.
If a proposed division or lot-line change is part of the deal, ask who handles that work and how it changes the layout and agreement. A general acreage estimate will not resolve a boundary problem.
Reference: Maricopa County: zoning ordinance, December 10, 2025
| Show on the drawing | Question for the landowner |
|---|---|
| Legal lot lines and offered area | Which boundary controls the proposed equipment position? |
| Retained land and entrances | Can your planned uses and access continue? |
| Roads, cables and drainage | What rights extend beyond the battery area? |
| Temporary construction space | When is it restored and released? |
Want to ask about your land?
Send the location and what you know. You don’t need a project plan.
Tell us about your landAsk what the Plan of Development decision actually covers
Section 305 describes a Plan of Development, often shortened to POD. The ordinance separates approval of that plan from subsequent building permits and addresses amendments when the approved plan changes. Ask for the current plan, decision and conditions rather than treating a zoning label as the complete approval record.
Find out what remains before work can begin and who is responsible for it. If the layout is revised, ask whether a county amendment is needed and whether your agreement allows the additional rights being requested.
Keep county decisions separate from utility records. A site plan does not reserve an electrical connection, and a utility study does not settle which site permissions remain. Ask the developer to explain both tracks using dated documents.
Reference: Maricopa County: zoning ordinance, December 10, 2025
Turn the reserved area into clear agreement questions
Ask whether payments cover only the equipment area or also land restricted for access, drainage, screening or other purposes. List the uses you must retain and have them addressed in the actual draft. A boundary shown on a plan is not a payment term.
Discuss who maintains the roads and gates, repairs construction damage and restores temporary areas. Ask how equipment and other improvements would be removed when the arrangement ends. Keep those obligations with the drawing and payment timetable for your advisers to review.
If the company wants an option while investigating, ask what ends the initial period, who can extend it and how unused land is released. Permission to study the property is different from committing it for years of operation.
To ask Sunland about your property, begin with the location and contact details. The form already selects Maricopa County and Arizona; you can correct either if the land is elsewhere. Add a short note about the portion you could consider. You do not need a finished site plan to contact us.
Questions landowners ask
Does industrial zoning mean I can install a battery immediately?
No. Check the actual use classification, Plan of Development, conditions and required construction permissions with the reviewing office.
Does the 100-foot rule tell me a minimum acreage?
No. The parcel shape, boundaries, equipment and other site requirements affect a possible layout. Ask for an actual drawing.
Is the leased-area edge automatically a lot line?
Do not assume so. Have the project team and reviewing office identify the legal lot lines and explain how the offered area relates to them.
Do these county rules apply inside Phoenix or another city?
This guide addresses unincorporated county land. Confirm the actual authority and its rules for a parcel inside an incorporated city or town.
Sources & further reading
Sources checked 2026-10-06. Local rules and program details can change. Check the requirements for the actual project.