Eden Prairie, MN Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

Section 11.55, Subd. 4.A.2.b provides that 'a Heritage Tree shall not be removed without the written consent from the City Manager,' who may condition that consent on replacement planting determined by City staff, based on location, size, timing, health and source requirements set out elsewhere in Subd. 4. This consent requirement applies when a Heritage Tree is removed as part of redevelopment of an already-platted, developed lot; where the removal instead comes through a final plat, subdivision creating new parcels, PUD, or site plan review, the full Tree Replacement Plan of Subd.

4 applies automatically. Once replacement is triggered, Heritage Trees lost or damaged are replaced at a 2:1 ratio of replacement caliper inches to lost or damaged diameter inches, and at least 20% of the replacement trees must be four caliper inches or larger (Subd. 4.C.1). If an applicant saves one or more Heritage Trees on site, the diameter inches of the saved trees can offset the calculated replacement obligation, but that offset cannot exceed 50% of the total replacement requirement for applications deemed complete on or after March 7, 2017.

Replacement trees must be planted within 18 months of permit issuance, consist of certified nursery stock under Minnesota Statutes § 18.46, and any that die within a year of planting must be replaced again at the same size and species (Subd. 4.F-H). A residential lot may still remove one Heritage Tree or 10% of its Heritage and Significant Trees every five years without triggering the replacement plan, per the general exemption in Subd. 4.A.3.b, but the City Manager's written consent requirement for Heritage Tree removal on redevelopment sites operates independently of that exemption.