Minnehaha County, SD Tree Protection: Tree Replacement Requirements (2026)

The Revised Joint Zoning Ordinance for Minnehaha County and the City of Sioux Falls (joint three-mile jurisdiction) sets landscape-plan content requirements at §14.04: applicants for Planned Development zoning and Final Development Plans must submit 'landscaping plans showing the type and location of any walls or fences, the placement, size and species of any trees or shrubs, and berms in areas that will be sod or seeded.' No specific replacement ratio is codified — the Planning Commission applies the standard case-by-case during PD review. Outside the joint jurisdiction, the 1990 Revised Zoning Ordinance for the rural unincorporated area has no equivalent landscape-plan requirement for A-1 (Agricultural) or RR (Rural Residential) parcels. Subdivision Regulations require platting standards (lot size, road frontage, drainage) but do not impose tree-replacement mandates. The City of Sioux Falls operates the regional emerald ash borer (EAB) response: per the Sioux Falls Forestry Division and USDA-Forest Service grant announcements, the city is removing roughly 8,000 ash trees from boulevards/parks across a 10-year horizon (2018–2028), and a separate $3 million USDA Urban & Community Forestry Inflation Reduction Act grant (announced 2025) will plant 2,500+ replacement boulevard trees starting in 2026 in priority neighborhoods, with $50 vouchers offered to adjacent property owners. This city-funded replacement program does not extend into unincorporated Minnehaha County.