Eden Prairie, Minnesota pays back 80 percent of what a homeowner spends on a rain garden, shoreline buffer, or pollinator garden built to treat stormwater runoff, up to $2,000. Commercial, institutional, and homeowner association properties get the same 80 percent rate, up to $5,000. The catch is timing: the city's Vegetation Management Plan Permit has to be approved before any work starts.
Key takeaways
- The City of Eden Prairie rebates 80 percent of the pretax cost of a residential shoreline buffer, rain garden, or pollinator garden built to treat stormwater runoff, up to $2,000 (City of Eden Prairie, Landscaping for Water Quality Rebates).
- Commercial, institutional, and homeowner association properties are eligible for the same 80 percent rate, up to $5,000.
- At least 75 percent of the plants must be native species identified by the University of Minnesota Bee Lab or Blue Thumb.
- A Vegetation Management Plan Permit must be approved before any work starts. Work started early is not eligible.
- Funding is limited and awarded first come, first served.
How the Eden Prairie rebate works
The City of Eden Prairie runs the Landscaping for Water Quality Rebate for property owners with a non-delinquent water and sewer account. A resident applies for a Vegetation Management Plan Permit, and the city recommends a site visit with its water resources coordinator before submitting the application. Work started before the permit is approved does not qualify, and city staff inspect the site both before and after installation. Once the project is done, the city pays 80 percent of the pretax cost: up to $2,000 for a residential property, or $5,000 for a commercial, institutional, or homeowner association property, through the same application track. Funding is limited and goes first come, first served.
What qualifies, and what doesn't
Eligible projects are shoreline buffers, rain gardens, and pollinator gardens built to treat stormwater runoff, following the native-landscaping standard in City Code Section 9.71. At least 75 percent of what gets planted has to be a native species identified by the University of Minnesota Bee Lab or Blue Thumb. Removing invasive species can count too, but only as part of a larger water-quality landscaping project, decided case by case. The project has to start and finish within one year of approval, and the homeowner has to maintain it for at least five years. A project in the public right of way needs its own signed agreement with the city engineer. Receiving another rebate or grant for the same project may reduce what Eden Prairie pays.
Other Minnesota programs that may stack
Eden Prairie sits inside two watershed districts that run their own rebates: the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District's Action Grant and the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District's Cost Share Grant Program. The city's own program notes that another rebate or grant may affect what it pays, so it is worth checking both before applying.
See the Eden Prairie rebate program page for the current application link, or browse the Minnesota rebates page for other programs in the Twin Cities metro.
