Roseville, MN Invasive Plant Rules: Front Yard Gardens (2026)

Two parts of the Roseville City Code work together on front yard plantings. The property maintenance rule, § 906.05(b)(4)a, requires all premises and exterior property to be maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of eight inches, and it prohibits all noxious weeds as listed by the state department of agriculture. It defines weeds as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation other than trees or shrubs, and says the term does not include cultivated flowers and gardens. A cultivated garden is therefore not measured against the eight-inch limit, while a listed noxious weed is prohibited whether it grows in a garden bed or a lawn.

The nuisance chapter adds a distance test. Section 405.02(11)a declares a public nuisance all noxious weeds in all locations, and turf grasses, nuisance weeds and rank vegetative growth not maintained at a height of eight inches or less in locations closer than 40 feet from an occupied principal structure, any property line with an occupied structure on abutting property, or a public road pavement edge. Section 405.02(11)b exempts natural areas, public open space or parklands, as determined by the city forester or a naturalist designated by the city manager, and yard areas with natural landscaping that follow the city policy for natural landscaping. Section 405.02(12) adds that the yard area of a lot shall not be bare soil, shall be covered by a groundcover and shall be maintained as set forth in subsection (11).

Enforcement follows notice. If the owner or agent fails to cut and destroy weeds after service of a notice of violation, § 906.05(b)(4)b allows prosecution, and any duly authorized employee of the jurisdiction or contractor it hires can enter the property, cut and destroy the weeds, with the costs paid by the owner or agent.

For the boulevard strip, § 706.05(c) says persons planting or maintaining boulevard plantings or gardens between their property and the street curb are not required to obtain right-of-way permits under Chapter 706 for that planting, though nothing relieves them of the Minn. Stat. ch. 216D "One Call" law. Planting on the boulevard is still by permit under § 705.08(b).