Eagan, MN Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Eagan supports native and natural landscaping but channels it through a registration system codified at City Code Section 10.21. A managed natural landscape is defined as a planned, intentional and maintained planting of native or non-native grasses, wildflowers, forbs, ferns, shrubs or trees, including rain gardens and meadow vegetation. A no-fee registration is required to convert a lawn to meadow vegetation, ornamental plantings, a bee garden or a rain garden. Registration is not required for ordinary turf grass, low-maintenance ground cover such as white clover, traditional landscape beds, edible vegetation, or an existing woodland. To register, an owner submits a site plan showing property lines, buildings and planting areas; a list of plant species (common names are acceptable); a short- and long-term maintenance plan; and a signed acknowledgment of City regulations. Approved registrations are valid for 5 years and are not transferable, so a new owner must re-register. Registered landscapes may include plants and grasses over eight inches tall that have gone to seed, but the owner must maintain a 3-foot buffer of vegetation under 8 inches tall along property lines and buildings (with exceptions adjacent to parks, wetlands or steep slopes), must not include any noxious weeds, and must not plant in the public right-of-way. Controlled burns are prohibited unless the site is 5 or more acres and complies with the fire code. This framework implements Minnesota Statutes 412.925, which requires cities to permit managed natural landscapes.