Jackson County, MS Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

Section 4.02.06 of the Jackson County Zoning Ordinance bars placing an accessory building or use in the required front yard of any main building, in any district. Where the main house's own setback is deeper than the district's required front yard, an accessory structure can't sit closer to the street than that main structure's actual setback line. A shed or garage may go in the side or rear yard once it clears the applicable setback (5 feet from a rear lot line or 10 feet from a side lot line in R-1, per Table 5-3.4), but it cannot be built before the main dwelling exists, and it can never be converted into a primary dwelling. Storage buildings specifically can't be converted into occupied living space.

For the R-1 Single-Family Residential district, Table 5-3.4's additional site development standards cap an accessory structure at 20% of the rear yard area left after applying setback requirements, or 50% of the main structure's footprint, whichever is smaller. R-1 also bars using modular homes, manufactured homes, mobile homes, trailers, campers, travel trailers, tents or recreational vehicles for living purposes, so a shed can never double as a dwelling there. Other districts (R-1A, R-2, A-1 through A-3, etc.) carry their own dimensional tables and accessory-structure limits, so the exact size cap depends on the parcel's zoning classification, verified through the Planning Department at 2915 Canty Street, Pascagoula.