Eden Prairie, MN Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

Section 11.50, Subd. 2 (Shoreland Management definitions) defines impervious surface to expressly include synthetic turf alongside rooftops, decks, sidewalks, patios, swimming pools, parking lots, driveways, sport courts and retaining walls. Because synthetic turf is impervious surface, any lawn area a homeowner covers with artificial turf is added to the lot's total coverage calculation under Subd. 9.D. For lots in the Rural or R-1 zoning districts within the shoreland overlay, total impervious coverage may not exceed thirty percent of the lot area, or whatever percentage existed on January 6, 2026, whichever is greater.

For lots in any other district in the shoreland overlay, the cap rises to seventy percent, again subject to the same grandfathering test. Anyone proposing to add impervious surface, including synthetic turf, on a shoreland lot must submit detailed calculations of existing and proposed impervious coverage percentages with their land use application and again during the building permit process (Subd. 9.D.3). The impervious-surface count also affects setbacks: Subd. 7.E.1.a requires that impervious surfaces, not just structures, meet the ordinary-high-water-level setback table for the applicable lake or river classification, and turf placed within a bluff impact zone is barred outright under Subd.

9.C.3.e's fill restrictions. Outside the mapped shoreland overlay, the City's general Section 11.02 definition of impervious surface (rooftops, sidewalks, patios, driveways, parking lots, and paved or gravel roads) does not list synthetic turf, so the coverage-counting rule for turf is a shoreland-specific standard rather than a citywide one.