Jefferson Parish, LA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Sec. 40-93 caps every building in the R-1A Single-Family Residential District at 35 feet, a limit the parish adopted in Ordinance No. 20783 in 1999 and has not amended since. The same 35-foot ceiling applies next door in the S-1 Suburban District under Sec. 40-78, and the R-1B Suburban Residential District allows three stories up to that same 35 feet under Sec. 40-110, so a homeowner near a district line faces the same number regardless of which side of it the lot sits on. The code carves out one specific, quantified exception: under Sec.

40-792(4)a, the board of zoning adjustments may grant a variance for a taller private garage, but only if the structure is pulled back an additional foot from the side and rear lot lines for every foot, or fraction of a foot, it rises past 13 feet, and the garage can never exceed 19 feet inside a required yard no matter what setback is offered. A garage granted that variance also cannot add a second floor used as living space, a kitchen, a bedroom, or a library.

Beyond that named exception, a property owner seeking a taller principal structure must apply to the board under Sec. 40-792(3)a and clear the hardship test in Sec. 40-793(2): the lot must carry a special, unshared condition the applicant did not create, and literal enforcement of the 35-foot cap would work a genuine hardship rather than mere inconvenience. Applications go to the board within 30 days of the building permits director's decision, under Sec. 40-794(b), and the board must hold a public hearing, with published, mailed, and posted notice, within 60 days of filing under Sec.

40-794(e). A granted height variance expires if construction is not underway within two years, per Sec. 40-793(1)c, and the board will not reconsider the same request on the same property for two years after a final denial.