Minnetonka, MN Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

The Minnetonka City Council built this rule on a finding stated in the preamble to section 845.030: poorly maintained property can become invaded with noxious weeds or invasive plant species and can decrease the value of adjacent properties. The code does not publish a plant-by-plant ban list. It adopts the State of Minnesota's designation of noxious weeds (Minn. Stat. § 18.79, subd. 13) and then names its own weeds: poison ivy, Canada thistle, leafy spurge and garlic mustard, plus the nuisance weeds burdock, European bellflower, stickseed, sow thistle and ragweed.

Subdivision 4 declares noxious weeds a public nuisance subject to abatement. Section 845.005, item 6, separately lists noxious weeds and other rank growths of vegetation on public or private property as a nuisance affecting public health. The rule reaches owners who plant on purpose, too. A managed natural landscape, which includes meadow vegetation, rain gardens and ornamental plants, cannot include any noxious weeds, and non-noxious weeds cannot cover more than 25 percent of a managed landscape area except during the establishment period.

Wetland edges carry a stricter duty. Under the wetland buffer rules in section 300.23, subdivision 5, the affected property owner or homeowner association responsible for maintaining a buffer must remove all noxious weeds and invasive, non-native species such as European buckthorn. The wetland overlay district rules prohibit mowing and cutting but allow that removal. Permission must be obtained from the city before buffer management strategies such as mowing, burning or herbicides are used.

Enforcement runs through the abatement procedure in section 845.045. For a vegetation nuisance, the notice can require removal within three days after service, not counting Saturdays, Sundays or holidays, and the notice stays in effect for the rest of the calendar year.