Overview

Permits in the San Tan Valley area are split between two governments, and which one you deal with depends on two things: where your property sits, and what kind of permit you need.

If your project is in the unincorporated San Tan Valley area, Pinal County handles the entire process in one step, as it always has.

If your project is inside the Town of San Tan Valley limits, it depends on the permit type. The Town now handles zoning, sign, right-of-way and engineering permits. Building safety permits still go through Pinal County, and getting one is a two-step process.

Check your address on our interactive boundary map before you do anything else. The Town advises every applicant to confirm jurisdiction first, and doing so prevents delays.

Which office issues which permit

Inside town limits, permits are currently divided as follows:

In the unincorporated area, Pinal County issues all of the above.

How it works inside town limits (through December 31, 2026)

Through December 31, 2026, Pinal County processes building permits for projects inside town limits while the Town finishes building its own permitting software and processes. Here is the process, step by step:

1. Create an account on the Town's Citizen Access Portal.
2. Apply for a Zoning Clearance through the portal:
   Residential projects - Zoning Clearance - Minor
   Commercial projects - Zoning Clearance - Major
3. Receive your clearance letter from the Town once it's approved.
4. Submit your building permit application to Pinal County, including the clearance letter.

A Zoning Clearance must come first. For any address inside town limits, applications submitted to the County without one cannot be processed.

This process comes directly from the Town (confirmed July 2026). The Town is expected to assume full permitting responsibility sometime after January 1, 2027, and this page will be updated when that happens.

Larger projects and development applications

Added August 2026.

Since July 1, 2026, development applications for projects inside town limits go to the Town of San Tan Valley, not Pinal County. This includes pre-application meetings, site plans, plats, and rezoning requests. If you filed with the County before the change, the County may direct you to resubmit to the Town.

Here is how to start:

1. Create an account on the Town's Citizen Access Portal.
2. Choose Apply, then select Pre-Application Meeting under Planning and Zoning.
3. The Town's current fee schedule lists the pre-application meeting at $350 per meeting.

A pre-application meeting is not required for every project, and the required documents depend on what you are building. Call the Town first at 520-216-5702 to confirm your site's jurisdiction, whether a pre-application meeting is needed, and what to include with your submittal.

Projects in the unincorporated San Tan Valley area still go through Pinal County Planning & Development at 520-866-6045.

This process comes from the Town's Citizen Access Portal, its fee schedule effective July 1, 2026, and its review timeframes schedule dated August 5, 2026. We will update this section as the Town's processes evolve.

Right-of-Way and Construction Permits Inside Town Limits

These are a separate track from building permits, and they have already moved. Since July 1, 2026, the Town of San Tan Valley, not the County, reviews, issues and inspects right-of-way use and construction permits inside town limits. These are the permits for work in or along public streets and utility easements, and they cover three kinds of project:

• Subdivision construction permits: paving, grading, water, sewer, street lights, landscaping and striping.
• Civil onsite infrastructure permits for commercial, multifamily and industrial projects: grading, parking lots, concrete flatwork and utility work.
• All utility, telecommunications and fiber-optic permits.

Pinal County directs new applications for this work to the Town. The Pinal County Board of Supervisors approved the memorandum of understanding covering the handoff on August 5, 2026.

Projects Already Underway With the County

The handoff is not instant, and older projects stay where they started. If your project is already in the County's hands, this is what applies:

• Applications filed with the County and found administratively complete on or before June 30, 2026 stay with the County. The County reviews them, issues the permits, performs the inspections and closes the projects out, under the County codes and standards that were in effect before July 1, 2026.
• Applications that were not administratively complete by June 30, 2026 go to the Town.
• Active site plan construction under a County permit keeps County technical processing, inspection and closeout support until construction is finished.
• Active subdivision construction permitted by the County before July 1, 2026 keeps County inspection and construction monitoring until the permitted improvements are complete, provided that happens by June 30, 2027. After that, or once the work is done, the Town takes over project closeout.

If you are unsure which side of that line your project falls on, call before you assume. The County has given the Town an inventory of pending applications, so either office can check.

Bonds, Fees and Street Acceptance

If you are a developer or a builder with money posted on a project inside town limits, several things move to the Town:

• Financial assurances (the bonds and securities posted to guarantee roads and other improvements get finished) must be formally transferred to the Town. The County has sent written notices to affected applicants and owners requiring the transfer, and releases its own security once that is done.
• Warranty bonds on projects that entered their warranty period under a County permit must be transferred, or replaced with security the Town accepts.
• Pavement finishing fees the County collected before July 1, 2026 for projects inside town boundaries that are in their warranty period transfer to the Town.
• Existing third-party trust agreements go to the Town Council for acceptance. Under their own terms, they automatically end if the Town does not formally accept them within 60 days.

Accepting streets into the maintenance system is now the Town's sole responsibility inside town limits. For which roads the Town maintains versus the County, see Roads & Traffic.

Neither government pays the other for any of this work, and the arrangement covering it runs through June 30, 2027.

Sign permits

Sign permits for businesses inside town limits are a Town process, handled through the Town's Planning and Zoning department - 520-216-5702.

In the unincorporated area, sign permits go through Pinal County - 520-866-6045.

Zoning inside town limits

The Town adopted its own Zoning Ordinance on June 1, 2026, along with district standards for residential, commercial, and industrial areas, and a zoning map.

It also adopted the 2024 ICC building codes and the 2023 NEC electrical code, with local amendments.

If you are planning a project inside town limits, the Town Code, Zoning Code, district standards, and zoning map are all posted on the Town's website at santanvalley.gov.

Home-based businesses: the Town has confirmed that home-based businesses are allowed in its residential areas. Depending on the business function and type, the operation may require review before approval, and the standard fee for that review is $50. Both the review and the license will be handled through the business license system the Town is implementing for fall 2026.

Right-of-way work in the unincorporated area

Work in a county road right-of-way (building a driveway, running a pipe or utility line, or installing anything in the road easement) requires a permit from the Pinal County Engineer before you start.

This applies outside city and town limits. Penalties for working without a permit are $700 per violation, per day, so contact Public Works before beginning any right-of-way work.

Pinal County Public Works: 520-866-6419

If you're opening a business

Permits and zoning are only part of the requirements. Inside town limits you will also need a town business license once that program launches October 1, 2026, and the Town Code makes zoning compliance the business owner's responsibility to verify before applying.

The full walkthrough: Do You Need a Town Business License?

Who to ask

Town of San Tan Valley
31505 N. Schnepf Rd, Suite #101
520-216-5702

Zoning Clearance applications run through the Town's Citizen Access Portal, where you can create an account, apply, and track your application.

Pinal County
Building & Safety: 520-866-6405
Planning & Development: 520-866-6045
General: 520-509-3555

A brief phone call before you apply will confirm that you are filing with the correct office.

Quick reference

Before you apply, verify your jurisdiction. The Town advises all applicants to confirm jurisdiction first, and doing so prevents delays. Start with your address on the interactive map.