WOODLAND, MINNESOTA
Your driveway is cleared within 10 hours after snowfall stops. Woodland's own rules help make that possible: the ordinances that keep the city quiet make an exception for snow.
Construction work in Woodland is limited to 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays, and power lawn equipment has its own set hours. Both ordinances exempt snow removal equipment, so a crew can clear your drive before most of the town is awake.
The other rule that shapes winter here is parking. Woodland doesn't allow on-street parking except by permit in established zones, and that includes contractors, landscaping crews and event guests. Whatever needs to park at your house in January has to fit on your own drive.
Sign up once and the season takes care of itself: a 2 inch trigger, a spot on the route before the first storm, and the drive, front walk and entry steps cleared every time.
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1.5 million square feet of commercial lots on contract and counting, for clients including Thunderbird Aviation at Flying Cloud Airport, Holiday Inn Express and Comfort Inn.
Woodland's tree canopy is one of the things the city protects most, and it shapes how a driveway behaves in winter. Long wooded drives stay shaded, the snow along their edges lingers, and the usable width shrinks storm by storm if nobody pushes it back.
Every residential truck runs rubber cutting edges, so paver, stamped concrete and new asphalt drives aren't gouged the way a steel edge can gouge them.
Drive edges are staked before the ground freezes, so the plow knows where the pavement ends and the landscaping begins.
If every guest parks on your driveway, every guest walks from it to your door. The front walk and entry steps are cleared on every visit as part of the service.
Steps get a shovel, not a machine. Stone treads, brick landings and tight stoops come through cleaner by hand, and nothing gets chipped or thrown back onto the walk.
Shade is the problem with ice in Woodland. Under a heavy canopy, a drive can stay below freezing long after the rest of the neighborhood has thawed, and meltwater that reaches it refreezes fast.
Most Woodland properties also run on private wells and septic systems, which is a good reason to be deliberate about how much salt goes down. We treat the drive, walk and steps where and when the refreeze happens, and our salt comes from 100 tons kept at our own shop.
On a property where every car has to park on the drive, a snowbank that creeps in a foot at a time eventually costs you a space. By midwinter, the turnaround is the first thing to go.
If there's open ground elsewhere on the lot, we move the snow there. If there isn't, it gets loaded into trucks and hauled off, and the drive is back to full width.
A standard Woodland driveway runs $200 to $250 a month from November through April, billed monthly as a single seasonal price.
Standard covers a drive up to two cars wide, about 20 feet, and up to 60 feet long, or roughly 1,200 square feet. Long wooded drives, extra parking pads and bigger step runs are priced to match.
All of it assumes the 2 inch trigger. Asking for a lower one adds trips, which moves the price more than a longer drive does. Per push service is also available if you'd rather pay storm by storm.
Woodland parking permits are issued at City Hall on a first-come, first-served basis, at $5 per zone per day, and vehicles parked outside the zones or without a permit are subject to citation. For large events, the city suggests a shuttle from the public lot behind 18300 Minnetonka Boulevard at Chowen's Corner. Parking and noise rules from the City of Woodland.
Freshwater Landscaping
3425 Shoreline Dr Ste B, Wayzata, MN 55391
(612) 999-8067
Office: Mon-Sun 8am-6pm
Yes. Woodland's construction hours and its limits on power lawn equipment both exempt snow removal equipment, so plowing isn't held to the 7:00 a.m. start that applies to other work.
Not without a permit. On-street parking is allowed only by permit in established zones, and the rule covers contractors, landscaping crews, moving vans and event guests. Permits come from City Hall at $5 per zone per day.
Within 10 hours after snowfall stops. The count starts at the end of the storm rather than at dispatch.
Every residential truck runs rubber cutting edges, which are much easier on pavers, stamped concrete and new asphalt than steel. Drive edges are staked before the ground freezes, so crews know where pavement ends.
Yes. The front walk and entry steps are cleared on every visit, and steps are done by hand.
Yes. Commercial and association clients choose a trigger of 2 inch, 1 inch or half inch, or zero tolerance with crews staged on site before the snow starts. Each commercial visit is recorded in Yeti with photos and time stamps.
A standard Woodland driveway runs $200 to $250 a month from November through April, billed as one seasonal price. Longer wooded drives, extra parking pads and larger step runs are priced to fit.
Woodland protects its trees closely, and removing one 6 inches or more in diameter takes a Vegetation Alteration Permit from City Hall. The same company that plows your drive handles tree care, landscape design and maintenance the rest of the year.
One crew that knows the property in every season, and one call when something needs doing.
Routes fill and then we're closed. Tell us about your property and what needs clearing, and we'll get you a spot. The storm-alert checkbox is optional. Check it and you'll get a text the moment crews head out.