Minnetonka, MN Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

The rules for outdoor dining in the City of Minnetonka (Hennepin County, Minnesota) sit in the zoning chapter, Section 300.21, which sets conditional use permit standards for business and industrial districts. Subdivision 4 covers the B-2 Limited Business District and says no conditional use permit is granted unless the City Council determines that each of the specific standards will be met. For accessory sidewalk cafes and outdoor eating areas, subdivision 4(p) lists eight.

The area must sit in a controlled or cordoned area with at least one opening to an acceptable pedestrian walk. When a liquor license is involved, an enclosure is required, it cannot be interrupted, and access is only through the principal building. The area cannot be within 200 feet of any residential parcel and has to be separated from residential parcels by the principal structure or another screening method the city accepts. It must not interfere with pedestrian and vehicular circulation, must not obstruct parking spaces, and must sit adjacent to an entrance to the principal use. Parking spaces can be removed for the use only if the parking requirements of section 300.28 are still met.

Operations carry conditions too. The area must have refuse containers and be periodically patrolled for litter pick-up, it cannot have speakers or audio equipment audible from adjacent parcels, and it has to comply with building setback requirements.

Beyond the eight items, the general conditional use standards in subdivision 2 apply: consistency with the ordinance and comprehensive plan, no undue adverse impact on governmental facilities, utilities or services, consistency with the city's water resources management plan, compliance with the section 300.28 performance standards, and no undue adverse impact on public health, safety or welfare. Sections 300.18 and 300.19 list accessory sidewalk cafes and outdoor eating areas among the B-2 and B-3 uses, and subdivision 5(p) applies the same standards in the B-3 General Business District. A restaurant with an on-sale intoxicating liquor license has its own subdivision 4(i) standards, including a 100 foot separation from low density residential parcels.