Olmsted County, MN Ordinances (2026)

Olmsted County has not adopted a county-wide leash ordinance for ordinary dogs, but the new Olmsted County Dangerous Dog Ordinance (Chapter 2600, Resolution 26-01, adopted February…

A veterinary office or animal clinic is a permitted use, no conditional use permit required, in Olmsted County's Commercial Service (CS) District, grouped with doctors, dentists and…

In the R-1, R-2 and RSD districts of unincorporated Olmsted County, keeping chickens requires a Zoning Certificate, and roosters are banned outright regardless of permit status. Coops…

Every commercial and residential property in Olmsted County, except farms, must either hire a Licensed Hauler for trash pickup or register as a Self-Hauler under Section 3505.03 of the…

Mattresses, major appliances and furniture too large for a standard curbside cart are classified as Bulky Items under Olmsted County's Solid Waste Ordinance. Collecting someone else's…

Olmsted County's Solid Waste Management Ordinance requires every dumpster, compactor or roll-off container used to store waste to be reusable, covered, and resistant to rust, impact…

Dumping solid waste anywhere other than a permitted disposal site is a violation of Olmsted County's Solid Waste Management Ordinance, punishable as a misdemeanor carrying up to a…

Class A Licensed Haulers must collect Mixed Municipal Solid Waste, recyclables, organics and yard waste from Rochester-area residential customers on a set weekly quadrant schedule…

Olmsted County requires residents to keep Yard Waste out of the trash under Ch. 3500 § 3503.02: mulch it back into the lawn, compost it on site, or haul it, yourself or through a…

Olmsted County requires trash, recycling, organics and yard-waste containers to stay off the curb until the evening before the scheduled collection day, and empty bins must come back…

Olmsted County's Solid Waste Ordinance requires every residential Generator to separate Recyclable Materials from the trash and get them to a Recycling Center, either by self-hauling…

In the townships Olmsted County zones directly, Eyota, Marion, Oronoco and Quincy, a shed or other accessory building is capped by lot size. In the R-1, ARC and RSD districts a lot…

Olmsted County doesn't allow garage apartments or backyard ADUs by right on its farm lots; a second dwelling on an agricultural lot is only permitted as a mobile home, approved as a…

A below-grade pool in the townships Olmsted County zones directly must be enclosed by a fence at least 5 feet high that keeps children out, with narrow gaps on wooden fencing, or…

In the townships Olmsted County zones directly, a private swimming pool is an accessory use allowed in any residential district, but Section 10.23 attaches conditions and Section 3.06…

Olmsted County requires a zoning certificate before anyone builds, alters, converts, enlarges or occupies a building or premises in the unincorporated county. The Zoning Administrator…

Olmsted County's zoning code bans light trespass onto neighboring land: outdoor fixtures in every district it zones must be arranged so no waste light crosses the property line, and…

Olmsted County has no lighting rule written specifically for billboards, but its general exterior lighting standard applies to any light source in any district, including one mounted…

Olmsted County's zoning ordinance caps outdoor light spilling onto public roads at 1.0 foot-candle and onto adjacent property at 0.5 foot-candle, measured at the property line…

Olmsted County lets homeowners run a home business as an accessory use, but caps it at 25% of the dwelling's floor area and bars alterations exceeding 25% of the property's assessed…

A home business in Olmsted County's R-A, R-1, R-2, ARC or RSD districts may put up exactly one free-standing sign, and it cannot exceed two square feet in area or be illuminated. Any…

Family and group family day care is a permitted, by-right use across Olmsted County's A-1, R-1 and R-2 zoning districts, capped at 12 people for a licensed day care facility and 14…

Olmsted County's zoning ordinance limits soil loss from construction and land clearing to five tons per acre per year, tightened to two tons near shorelines and wetlands, and requires…

Olmsted County's shoreland zoning code caps water-oriented accessory structures like docks, boathouses and watercraft storage buildings at one per residential lot, ten feet tall and…

Olmsted County bans dumping anything but storm water into its MS4 storm drainage system and watercourses under Chapter 3800. The Public Works, Environmental Resources and Planning…

Olmsted County participates in the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program and administers floodplain rules through Chapter 3750 - Floodplain and Shoreland Ordinance (Ordinance No…

Olmsted County requires manufacturing, warehouse, retail, hotel, hospital, mortuary and similar commercial buildings to provide and maintain adequate on-site loading and unloading…

In Olmsted County's Agricultural and Residential districts, off-street parking cannot sit in the front yard unless it is inside an established driveway. Every parking area, wherever it…

Olmsted County bars trucks and commercial-plated vehicles rated 12,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or more from parking on residential premises in any R district for more than four…

In Olmsted County's Agricultural and Residential districts, an unlicensed, wrecked, dismantled or otherwise inoperative vehicle cannot sit anywhere on a property unless it is inside a…

Backyard compost piles are allowed in every zoning district in unincorporated Olmsted County as an accessory use, with no separate permit, but Section 10.53 caps a residential pile at…

In Olmsted County's shoreland overlay along lakes, rivers and streams, intensive tree and shrub clearing is banned outright in shore impact zones, bluff impact zones and on steep…

Olmsted County bans smoking and vaping in outdoor areas of public recreation centers and parks, including playgrounds and swimming pools, whenever anyone under 18 is present, and in…

Olmsted County makes it unlawful to host or allow a gathering of three or more people at any home or property where an underage person possesses or drinks alcohol, whether the host…

Installing solar panels on a home or business in unincorporated Olmsted County requires a Zoning Certificate from the Zoning Administrator before construction begins, under Ch. 1400…

Olmsted County has not opted out of cannabis businesses, but Section 10.54 confines them to specific zoning districts and shuts them out of county property entirely. Cannabis…

No cannabis business, including cultivation, may operate within 1,000 feet of a school, college or university, or within 500 feet of a licensed day care, a residential treatment…

In Olmsted County's R-1 Low Density Residential District, the zone covering most unincorporated house lots, dwellings can't exceed 35 feet, while churches, schools and other public or…

In Olmsted County's R-2 Mixed Low Density Residential District, front and side yards must be 45 feet from federal, state or county roads (25 feet from local roads), interior side yards…

Structures on an R-2 Mixed Low Density Residential lot in unincorporated Olmsted County can't cover more than 40 percent of the lot, the only numeric lot-coverage cap the base zoning…

Olmsted County's zoning ordinance sets one specific numeric noise ceiling: a small wind energy conversion system can't generate more than 60 dBA at the property line, under Section…

Olmsted County closes Graham Park, the county-owned fairgrounds in Rochester, to the public from 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. daily. Only County Facilities and Building Operations staff…

Olmsted County bars drone flights within Graham Park, the county fairgrounds in Rochester, and in the airspace above it under Section 3968 of the Graham Park Rules. Flying an unmanned…

Olmsted County bans burning solid waste anywhere in the county under Chapter 3500, Section 3508.07. The only exception is for residents of Agricultural Sites disposing of their own…

Olmsted County's A-1 Agricultural Protection District, the county's primary farmland zone in the unincorporated area, limits development to protect long-term farming. One farm dwelling…

Olmsted County's zoning code bars placing any structure on a significant historic site within the shoreland overlay in a way that affects the site's value, unless the county has…

Any retail establishment in Olmsted County that sells tobacco, e-cigarettes, vape products or related devices must first get a county retail license under Chapter 2200. Applicants…

Olmsted County zoning permits adult entertainment businesses only in the Highway Commercial (HC) district, one of the districts the county administers directly in Eyota, Marion…

Olmsted County regulates fences in unincorporated areas through its Chapter 1400 Zoning Ordinance, administered by the Olmsted County Planning Department for the cooperatively-planned…