Greenfield, MN

Greenfield is a small Hennepin County city and runs its driveway permitting through the Planning, Zoning & Building office. A permit is required for installing or modifying driveways and for any new driveway or street entrance; minor maintenance work is exempt. Applications must be submitted in person or by mail — the city does not currently accept electronic-only submissions for driveway permits. Forms are available at greenfieldmn.gov/formsandpermits.

Greenfield does not publish granular curb cut permit fee amounts, driveway width standards, or detailed setback rules on its public website. Those details vary based on your zoning district (residential, rural, or commercial), the road classification (local street, county road, or state highway), and whether the road has curb and gutter — many Greenfield roads are rural and do not. Because the rules and fees are not published, the strongly recommended first step is to call Greenfield City Hall and ask for the Zoning Administrator before submitting any application. Zoning issues in Greenfield are overseen by the Zoning Administrator, and all questions and concerns regarding zoning — including enforcement of city code — should be directed to that office. Planning services are contracted to an outside professional planner who assists with plan review, variances, and conditional use permits.

When you call, ask specifically for the curb cut/driveway access permit fee, the current width and setback limits for your zoning district, and the required site plan format. Your site plan should show the driveway location, the proposed width, the distance to all property lines, the distance to the nearest intersection, and impervious surface coverage on the lot.

For building permits that may accompany a driveway project — such as new construction, additions, remodels, decks, finished basements, or accessory structures — Greenfield requires two sets of full-size plans drawn to scale, plus one reduced set no larger than 11 by 17 inches or one electronic copy. Submit the building permit application and the plan sets by mail or in person.

If your property abuts MN Highway 55 or another state trunk highway, an Access/Driveway Permit from MnDOT is required whenever there is a request for a change in access to or from a MnDOT right-of-way or a change in use of the property. The MnDOT permit is separate from and in addition to any city permit; contact MnDOT District 3 at 320-214-3100. If your driveway connects to a Hennepin County road, contact Hennepin County Public Works for their separate access permit.

Key city resources are: Planning, Zoning & Building at greenfieldmn.gov/planning; Engineering at greenfieldmn.gov/engineering; the Forms & Permits page at greenfieldmn.gov/formsandpermits; and the City Code at ci.greenfield.mn.us/code. Before any digging, call Gopher State One Call at 811 to locate underground utilities — this is required by Minnesota law statewide.