Ouachita Parish, LA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

5, govern lot layout outside the corporate limits of Monroe, West Monroe and Sterlington (Sec. 5-2). Sec. 5-107 fixes three minimum yard setbacks that apply to every lot in a parish-approved subdivision: a 20-foot front setback, a 10-foot setback to the side-street line on a corner lot, and a 5-foot setback to an interior side lot line, though the side-lot minimum does not apply to townhouses, condominiums, zero-lot-line developments or attached residential subdivisions, which are built to share or sit close to their side lines by design.

The setback requirement pairs with Sec. 5-106's minimum lot dimensions and Sec. 5-105's lot-arrangement rules, which require every lot to front a dedicated public thoroughfare for at least 25 feet and cap average lot depth at four times the average width, with a 120-foot minimum depth (110 feet if the director of public works approves a reduction). Preliminary subdivision plats submitted to the Police Jury must show building setback lines with dimensions before a plat can be approved, so setback compliance is checked at the platting stage, not left to the building-permit stage alone.