Anoka County, MN Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Anoka County's Shoreland Management Ordinance (Ordinance #2022-1, Sec. 1) is the only setback standard the county administers outside city limits; the county has no separate general zoning code, so this shoreland rule governs yard setbacks on unincorporated lots near public waters. Beyond the waterbody-specific Ordinary High Water Level (OHWL) setbacks in the same section, Sec. 1(D) fixes flat setbacks that apply "regardless of the waterbody classification": 30 feet from the top of a bluff, 50 feet from an unplatted cemetery, 50 feet from the right-of-way of a federal, state or county highway, 30 feet from a town road or other unclassified public street, 10 feet from side and rear lot lines, and 50 feet from a protected type 3, 4 or 5 wetland.

Sec. 1(E) bars structures, impervious surfaces and accessory facilities, other than stairways and landings, from bluff impact zones entirely. The ordinance allows two narrow exceptions: under Sec. 1(B), where structures already exist on both adjoining lots, a new building's OHWL setback can be adjusted to line up with those neighbors without a variance, as long as it stays out of the shore or bluff impact zone; and under Sec. 1(C), a wood deck on a house that already violates the OHWL setback can be added without a variance if the encroachment doesn't exceed 15 percent of the existing setback or come closer than 30 feet to the OHWL, whichever is stricter, and the deck is unroofed and unscreened.

One water-oriented accessory structure per lot may sit as close as 10 feet to the OHWL under Sec. 3. Anything closer than these limits needs a variance from the Board of Adjustment under Sec. 5, granted only under Minn. 27.