Minnehaha County does not regulate private tree removal on rural or residential property in the unincorporated area. The county Planning & Zoning Department administers zoning, subdivision, nuisance, solid-waste, and floodplain ordinances — none of which create a freestanding tree-removal permit. The Revised Joint Zoning Ordinance (Minnehaha County / Sioux Falls) only requires landscape plans inside Planned Development districts. State law (SDCL Title 9 / Title 11) gives no county-level tree-protection mandate.
Per the Minnehaha County Planning & Zoning Department's published scope (minnehahacounty.gov/dept/pl), the office administers the County Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Regulations, Nuisance Ordinance, Solid Waste Ordinance, and Floodplain Management Ordinance — there is no tree-removal permit program. The Revised Joint Zoning Ordinance for Minnehaha County and the City of Sioux Falls (governing the joint three-mile jurisdiction) requires landscape plans (§14.04) showing 'placement, size and species of any trees or shrubs' only for Final Development Plans inside Planned Development zones (PD-3 Willow Ridge, PD-5 Wheatstem Meadows, etc.). On standard agricultural (A-1) and rural-residential (RR) parcels in unincorporated Minnehaha County, a landowner may remove trees on their own land without a county permit. Federal/state overlays still apply: U.S. Forest Service permits for any harvest on national forest land, U.S. Army Corps §404 review for clearing in jurisdictional wetlands, and SDCL §38-22 (noxious weed/pest) for diseased-tree quarantine orders from the SD Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Inside incorporated municipalities — Sioux Falls (home-rule under SDCL 6-12), Brandon, Hartford, Dell Rapids, Crooks, Garretson, Humboldt, Valley Springs — separate municipal tree codes control 'public trees' on the boulevard / parking strip. Sioux Falls residents in particular should check Sioux Falls City Code Title 96 / Forestry rules before touching any tree between curb and sidewalk.
No county penalty for removing a tree on your own unincorporated parcel. Penalties may apply for: (1) clearing in a regulated floodplain without Floodplain Management Ordinance review; (2) creating a public nuisance under SDCL §21-10-1 (e.g., leaving fallen timber that endangers the public right-of-way) — abatement plus cost recovery; (3) clearing inside an incorporated city without that city's tree/boulevard permit; (4) failing to comply with an SD DANR quarantine order for emerald ash borer or other regulated pest under SDCL Chapter 38-22 (Class 2 misdemeanor for first violation).
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