Maple Grove, MN Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Maple Grove's weed regulation operates on two tracks. Locally, the city code limits weeds and grasses to a maximum of eight inches and treats taller vegetation, or vegetation that has gone to seed, as a nuisance. Separately, the city enforces the Minnesota Noxious Weed Law (Minn. Stat. 18.78 and related sections), under which a person owning, occupying, or responsible for land must control all noxious weeds in the manner and time ordered by an inspector. Minnesota's noxious weed list referenced in local enforcement includes plants such as field bindweed, leafy spurge, bull thistle, Canada thistle, plumeless thistle, musk thistle, perennial sow thistle, poison ivy, velvetleaf, and purple loosestrife. Enforcement in Maple Grove is complaint-driven: after a complaint, an inspection determines whether vegetation exceeds eight inches or is a listed noxious weed; if so, a notice is mailed to the recorded property owner. The owner has 10 days to cut or control the vegetation. If the work is not done, the city or its contractor performs the abatement and bills the property at $200 per hour with a $100 minimum. Under state law, unrecovered control costs can ultimately be certified against the property. Property owners growing an intentional native or natural landscape are not automatically in violation of the height limit; managed natural landscapes are protected under Minn. Stat. 412.925, though noxious weeds must still be controlled even within a planned landscape.