Minnetonka, MN Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

The maintenance standard in § 845.030(3) reaches further than a built lot. It applies to property developed with a building, including vacant property combined with developed property for tax purposes, and to a parcel that has been completely or partially disturbed by demolition, grading or other means in preparation for development or redevelopment. On those parcels, turf grass lawns and weeds must not exceed eight inches, measured from ground level to the tip of each stalk, stem, blade or leaf.

Several exemptions apply: designated wetlands, floodplains and required wetland buffers; drainage ponds and ditches that store or convey stormwater; qualifying fenced pastures of at least one-half acre with no habitable buildings; and an area where the land and vegetation appear never to have been graded, landscaped, mowed or otherwise disturbed. That last exemption is judged by the present appearance of the area, and recent history can count. Managed natural landscapes can exceed eight inches and go to seed, but cannot include noxious weeds, and non-noxious weeds cannot cover more than 25 percent of the area outside the establishment period.

Regardless of that standard, § 845.005 declares noxious weeds and other rank growths of vegetation on public or private property a public health nuisance, and § 845.030(4) declares noxious weeds a public nuisance. Weeds include poison ivy, Canada thistle, leafy spurge, garlic mustard, burdock, European bellflower, stickseed, sow thistle and ragweed. A disturbed site must also be seeded, sodded or planted within 240 days under § 845.010.

Abatement is fast for vegetation. Under § 845.045(4) the notice can require removal within three days after service, not counting Saturdays, Sundays or holidays, and it stays in effect for the rest of the calendar year. Two days of advance notice posted on the property is enough for a recurrence.