Landscaping Rules in Stearns County, MN (2026)

2 rules for unincorporated Stearns County, Minnesota.

Verified from official government sources

Note: These county rules apply to unincorporated areas of Stearns County. If you live within an incorporated city, that city's own rules apply: see the city list below.

Tree Removal & Heritage Trees

In Stearns County's A-160, A-80 and A-40 agricultural districts, any tree removal tied to a new residential building envelope on tracts over ten acres has to be minimized as part of the county's building-envelope siting standard. The rule sits inside the zoning ordinance's structure-placement chapter, not a stand-alone tree permit.

Stearns County Farmland Tree Removal Mitigation

Light Restrictions

Ordinance No. 439, Sec. 7.33.1(C)(3)

7.33 Zoning Standards for Placement of Structures ... These standards apply in the A-160, A-80 and A-40 primary zoning districts and in the Natural Resource Conservation Design Overlay but do not apply to tracts ten (10) acres or less in size. 7.33.1 ... (3) Tree removal, impact on wetlands, storm water drainage, erosion risk and impact on adjoining land uses shall be mitigated to have the leas...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Native Plants

Stearns County's Land Use and Zoning Ordinance No. 439, Section 7.7, protects native plant communities the Minnesota DNR identified on its 1999 County map. Any parcel that overlaps a mapped community must have the DNR delineate the exact boundary before the Environmental Services Department issues a land use or building permit, and nonagricultural development must avoid encroaching on or disturbing the identified area.

Stearns County Protects Mapped Native Plant Communities

Some Restrictions

Stearns County Ordinance No. 439, Sec. 7.7.1-7.7.2

Native plant communities have been identified in Stearns County by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. These plant communities are important to biological diversity in Minnesota and should be protected when feasible. ... All nonagricultural use of land and all placement of structures shall avoid encroaching upon or disturbing such native plant communities. The Minnesota Department of...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

All Stearns County ordinances

See every category we cover for Stearns County: parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.

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