Buffalo, MN

Buffalo, MN sits in Wright County and uses the Citizenserve online portal for community development permits — including driveway and curb cut work. The city has not published a standalone driveway/curb cut ordinance or a flat fee on its website, so the permit type, fee, and exact dimensional rules need to be confirmed directly with City Hall before you apply. Sealcoating and minor crack repair are routine maintenance and do not require a permit. New driveway installation, full replacement, expansion, and material changes (gravel to asphalt, for example) all do.

Applications start at ci.buffalo.mn.us/616/Permits-Licenses, which is the city's main permits page and links to the Citizenserve portal. There you'll see a list of permit types and subtypes (also published as a PDF on the same page) so you can pick the right option from the dropdown. For driveway and curb cut work, look for entries under Public Works or Engineering — those are the divisions that typically administer right-of-way work in Buffalo. Building Inspections handles structural permits, but a curb cut sits in public infrastructure rather than a building, so it will commonly be routed through Engineering.

Your application package should include a site plan showing the proposed driveway or curb cut location relative to property lines, width dimensions, the proposed surface material, and impervious surface or lot coverage calculations. Buffalo's zoning code does cap impervious surface for residential lots and that calculation needs to be on the plan. Proof of ownership and licensed contractor information are also typical requirements. The city does not publish a flat curb cut fee in its public-facing fee schedule, so you'll either see the fee inside the Citizenserve portal during application or get it by calling the city directly.

If your driveway connects to a Wright County road instead of a city street, the city has no jurisdiction over the curb cut — you'll need a separate access permit from Wright County. The starting points for that are the Wright County Highway Department's permit pages; staff at Buffalo City Hall can also tell you which agency owns your particular street. If your access is onto a state highway (such as TH 25 or US 12 inside the city), MnDOT issues that access permit instead.

City Hall is at 212 Central Avenue, Buffalo, MN 55313. The general phone line is 763-682-1181, which is the right number to call for the current curb cut permit fee, exact width and setback requirements, and to confirm whether Public Works, Engineering, or Building Inspections will review your specific project. Inspections, when required, are scheduled through the same office. Before any digging, call Gopher State One Call at 811 to mark utilities — this applies citywide, not just for Buffalo.