Blue Earth County, MN Ordinances (2026)

County parks in unincorporated Blue Earth County close overnight. Williams Nature Center, Schimek Park and Wildwood Park are off-limits between sunset and sunrise, and every other…

In unincorporated Blue Earth County, juveniles 12 and under may not be in any public place between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., and those 13 to 17 face an 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew…

In unincorporated Blue Earth County, section 24-304 requires an approved stormwater management plan before any new development covers or replaces vegetation with an acre or more of…

Blue Earth County Code Sec. 6-621 bans discharging pollutants, other than stormwater, into the county's storm sewer system, or MS4, and Sec. 6-622 bans illicit connections to that…

In unincorporated Blue Earth County, a zoning administrator permit is required before building, filling, fencing, or otherwise developing land in the floodway, flood fringe or general…

Blue Earth County requires new construction in the flood fringe district to be elevated to the regulatory flood protection elevation, defined as one and one-half feet above the base…

Blue Earth County will not approve a short-term rental interim use permit without proof of liability insurance, listed as a required application item under Sec. 24-337(a)(3)(e).

Short-term rentals in unincorporated Blue Earth County must build quiet hours into their required business plan under Sec. 24-337(a)(3)(c), and the county can add its own noise…

Anyone operating a short-term rental in unincorporated Blue Earth County needs an interim use permit from the planning agency, backed by a detailed site plan, floor plans, a business…

Short-term rental occupancy in unincorporated Blue Earth County is tied directly to septic capacity: Sec. 24-337(b)(1) caps the number of guests at whatever the property's subsurface…

Blue Earth County does not require the host to live onsite, but Sec. 24-337(e) forces every short-term rental to have a designated manager available around the clock and able to…

Every short-term rental in unincorporated Blue Earth County must provide at least two off-street parking spaces under Sec. 24-337(c), and guests cannot park in public streets or…

In unincorporated Blue Earth County, short-term rental complaints go first to the property's designated rental manager, then to the planning agency if the manager does not acknowledge…

Rural Residence (RR) District homes in unincorporated Blue Earth County must sit at least 130 feet back from the centerline of a federal, state, county, or county-state-aid highway, 65…

In the Rural Residence (RR) District of unincorporated Blue Earth County, Code Sec. 24-163(e) caps any building at two and one-half stories or 35 feet, and separately limits accessory…

In the Rural Residence (RR) District of unincorporated Blue Earth County, Code Sec. 24-163 caps impervious surface at 40 percent of the lot and building coverage at 25 percent of the…

Homeowners in unincorporated Blue Earth County installing rooftop, wall, ground or pole-mounted solar arrays must follow Sec. 24-334's small solar energy system standards, filing a…

Unincorporated Blue Earth County bans outdoor storage of unlicensed or inoperable vehicles on Country (C), Rural Residence (RR) and Rural Townsite (RT) zoned property. Section…

In unincorporated Blue Earth County's rural residence and rural townsite districts, unlicensed or inoperable vehicles and trailers, including boats, cannot sit outside an enclosed…

Blue Earth County keeps commercial trucks and equipment out of its Rural Residence (RR) and Rural Townsite (RT) districts. Section 24-310(n) bars parking or storing any commercial…

Blue Earth County requires paved-standard parking in its business and industrial districts. Section 24-310(j) mandates that parking areas and access drives in the GB, HB, LI and HI…

In unincorporated Blue Earth County, every commercial building must provide off-street loading space sized to the use it serves. Retail, service and office buildings need one loading…

During snow cover, unincorporated Blue Earth County bars parking or storing vehicles, trailers, equipment or machinery within 130 feet of the centerline of any county road unless the…

Commercial and industrial signs meant to be seen from an elevated four-lane highway in unincorporated Blue Earth County can rise above normal district height limits, up to 15 feet…

Unincorporated Blue Earth County prohibits any sign with a rotating beam or flashing illumination, and separately bans rotating signs outright, under section 24-311(e). The rule…

Campaign signs for candidates seeking public political office in unincorporated Blue Earth County need no sign permit, but section 24-311(d)(5) caps each sign at eight square feet…

Signs or posters attached to or painted on the inside of a display window need no sign permit anywhere in unincorporated Blue Earth County, under section 24-311(d)(6), including…

Unincorporated Blue Earth County caps fences under section 24-302(g): six feet in side and rear yards and 42 inches in front yards in the A, C, RR and RT districts, and six feet in…

Blue Earth County's zoning ordinance settles boundary-fence disputes before they start. Section 24-302(g) requires a fence builder to keep the entire fence on their own property unless…

In unincorporated Blue Earth County's Agriculture and Conservation districts, non-farm stand-alone accessory buildings, sheds and outbuildings together cannot exceed 3,000 square feet…

In the Agriculture (A) District of unincorporated Blue Earth County, Code Sec. 24-112(a)(12) allows one extra accessory dwelling only on parcels of 20 acres or more, only as a…

Blue Earth County requires every liquid propane storage tank to follow NFPA 58 and Minnesota State Fire Marshal rules under Sec. 24-339. Tanks of 10,000 gallons or larger need a county…

Sec. 24-341(b) bars a cannabis business from operating within 1,000 feet of a school and within 500 feet of a licensed daycare, residential treatment facility, park used by minors…

Sec. 24-341 confines cannabis retail to the General Business and Highway Business districts of unincorporated Blue Earth County, while cultivation, manufacturing, wholesale…

Blue Earth County requires a permit for temporary, exclusive use of a reserved space in any county park under Sec. 12-16(a) of the county code. The permit can be revoked for violating…

Anyone planning an assembly of 1,000 or more people in unincorporated Blue Earth County, including a parade, festival, or concert, needs a license from the board of commissioners under…

Blue Earth County requires every property owner, lessee, and occupant to store solid waste safely under Sec. 16-11 of the county code, in durable, rodentproof, fly-tight containers…

Blue Earth County requires solid waste collectors to bill by weight or volume, with charges rising as volume rises, and bars charging recycling customers more than non-recyclers under…

In unincorporated Blue Earth County, County Code Sec. 16-11 makes the owner, lessee or occupant of any premises, business or industry responsible for storing all solid waste, including…

Building or changing a driveway or field entrance onto a county road or county state aid highway in unincorporated Blue Earth County requires a written access permit from the county…

In unincorporated Blue Earth County, veterinary clinics and animal hospitals are a permitted use only in the Highway Business (HB) zoning district. Section 24-232 requires any…

Blue Earth County Code Sec. 6-61 requires a county feedlot permit for any new poultry or livestock operation reaching ten or more animal units, capping density at 3,000 animal units…

A private swimming pool in the Rural Residence (RR) District of unincorporated Blue Earth County is only a permitted use if it is completely enclosed by a chain link or similar…

In unincorporated Blue Earth County, no one may erect, alter, or move a building or its part without first getting a construction permit from the county zoning administrator…

In unincorporated Blue Earth County's Agriculture (A) District, county code declares its intent under Minn. Stats. Sec. 561.19 that neighbors and residents accept the noise, odors…

Unincorporated Blue Earth County splits home businesses into Level I and Level II home occupations under section 24-326, capping Level I at 1,000 square feet and three outside…

A Level I home occupation sign in unincorporated Blue Earth County is capped at one and one-half square feet, non-illuminated and attached to the dwelling, while a Level II home…

Blue Earth County has no countywide decibel ordinance, but Sec. 12-4(11) bars anyone from using loudspeakers or other amplifying systems in a county park without written permission…

Blue Earth County Code Sec. 3-34 makes it a crime to host or allow a gathering on any residence, premises or public property in unincorporated Blue Earth County where the host knows or…

Blue Earth County Code Sec. 4-209 bans using cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles or hemp-derived consumer products in any public place or place of public…

Blue Earth County Code Sec. 4-91 confines adult uses like adult bookstores, cabarets and adult motion picture theaters to the B-3 highway business and L-1 light industrial districts…

Blue Earth County Code Sec. 4-126 requires anyone selling tobacco, tobacco products or tobacco-related devices to hold an annual county license, open only to a fixed-location business…