Eden Prairie, MN Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

The City Council created the Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission under Section 2.27, Subdivision 1, to give Eden Prairie a formal voice in airport operations it does not control directly. Flying Cloud Airport is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission, a state agency, so the City cannot impose its own decibel limits or flight curfews on aircraft the way it regulates lawn mowers or construction equipment under the separate noise ordinance in Section 9.41. Instead, Subdivision 2.A directs the Commission to advise the Council and MAC on the classification of the airport under federal and state law, on federal and state agency rules governing airport operations, and specifically on "other noise abatement methods to reduce the impact of aircraft noise on the community." The Commission also monitors implementation of the Final Agreement Concerning Flying Cloud Airport and MAC Ordinance 51, a December 2002 settlement between the City and MAC that sets the framework for airport growth and noise mitigation.

Subdivision 3 sets Commission membership at seven seats: one member appointed by the MAC Chairman to represent MAC, and six members appointed by the Council. The Commission has no power to fine pilots, restrict flight paths, or issue citations; its role is advisory, feeding resident concerns and technical review to the Council and to MAC, which retains regulatory authority over airport operations under state and federal aviation law. Residents with aircraft noise concerns work through this Commission process or contact MAC directly, since airspace and flight operations sit outside municipal jurisdiction.