Minneapolis, MN Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)
Key Facts
- Sidewalk clearance
- 7 feet minimum
- Street/roadway clearance
- 14 feet minimum
- Citation
- Minneapolis Code § 244.1580
- Enforced by
- Director of Regulatory Services
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, Code § 1.30
Summary
Minneapolis requires property owners to trim trees and vegetation overhanging public walkways and streets, maintaining seven feet of clearance over sidewalks and fourteen feet over roadways, enforced by the Regulatory Services Division under the housing maintenance code.
no person shall allow any bushes, trees or other vegetation to remain on any portion of private property which that person controls, when such vegetation is overhanging public premises unless said vegetation is cut back so as to maintain the following clearances: A clearance of seven (7) feet shall be maintained over pedestrian walkways and a clearance of fourteen (14) feet shall be maintained over vehicular passageways.
"Public premises" for the purpose of this chapter shall mean those areas where the city has exercised its easement rights to provide either pedestrian walkways or vehicular passageways. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 81.035; Ord. of 9-11-75, § 1; Pet. No. 252271, § 35, 5-11-90; 2013-Or-161, § 39, 12-6-13)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 72).
Full Breakdown
Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 244.1580 bars any owner, operator or occupant from letting bushes, trees or other vegetation overhang public premises, areas where the city holds easement rights for pedestrian walkways or vehicular passageways, without cutting it back to required clearances. The code sets a seven-foot clearance over pedestrian walkways and a fourteen-foot clearance over vehicular passageways. The same section separately bars accumulations of hay, grass, straw, weeds, vines, bushes, dead trees or dead limbs that the director of regulatory services finds create a health, safety or fire hazard. The director of regulatory services enforces this provision citywide.
Violations & Fines
Violation is punishable as a misdemeanor under Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 1.30, with each day of noncompliance counted as a separate offense; the director of regulatory services can also order corrective trimming.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much clearance must Minneapolis trees have over a sidewalk?
Who enforces Minneapolis's tree-clearance rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Minneapolis
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