Blue Earth County, MN Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Section 24-310(j) sets the surfacing standard for off-street parking and driveways in the county's four business and industrial zoning districts: General Business (GB), Highway Business (HB), Light Industry (LI) and Heavy Industry (HI). It requires that parking areas and access drives be covered with a dustfree, all-weather surface with proper surface drainage, as required by the county engineer, meaning a gravel lot that turns to mud, or a dirt access drive that generates dust, does not meet the standard; the county engineer signs off on what qualifies.

The same subsection places an ongoing maintenance duty on the operator of the principal building or use, who must keep parking and loading areas, access drives and yard areas in a well-kept condition, not just install a compliant surface once and let it degrade. This surfacing rule is distinct from the county's minimum parking space dimensions in the same section (300 square feet per space, nine feet wide and 19 feet deep) and from the screening requirement in subsection (f), which requires a wall, fence or four-foot hedge around lots of more than four spaces that adjoin RR or RT districts.

Notably, subsection (j) is limited to the GB, HB, LI and HI districts; it does not itself impose an all-weather surface requirement on driveways in the county's residential or agricultural districts.