Rapides Parish, LA Ordinances (2026)

Chapter 10½ of the parish code applies to every area of special flood hazard in unincorporated Rapides Parish and sets construction standards for anything built there. Structures must…

The Police Jury has formally adopted the FEMA base flood elevations for unincorporated Rapides Parish, Community No. 220145, by reference into the parish code. Those adopted…

Rapides Parish Code § 19½-1(B)(2) requires Police Jury approval before a houseboat can moor at Cotile Lake, Indian Creek Reservoir or Kincaid Reservoir. The owner must show the boat…

Unincorporated Rapides Parish bans dumping anything but storm water into its MS4 storm sewer system under Sec. 24-6, with sixteen narrow exceptions like residential car washing and…

Anyone clearing, grading or excavating an acre or more in unincorporated Rapides Parish, or building on a smaller residential lot, needs a grading or building permit from the Rapides…

In unincorporated Rapides Parish, the Police Jury issues permits before anyone installs pipes, cables, wires, or crossing structures within the rights-of-way of parish roads, highways…

Unincorporated Rapides Parish regulates permits for utility-scale solar farms, not for rooftop panels on a house or business. The Rapides Parish Planning Commission reviews every solar…

In unincorporated Rapides Parish, parking on a public road or street within a recognized subdivision is capped at one hour under Rapides Parish Code § 18-2. Fendler Parkway and Praet…

The Police Jury bans storing or abandoning vehicles within parish street and road rights-of-way. A posted notice gives the owner seven days to move the vehicle before the parish has it…

On streets in recognized subdivisions outside incorporated towns, Rapides Parish caps parking at one hour, a limit that rules out overnight parking on those roads. Vehicles belonging…

Rapides Parish Code § 19¼-1 requires an off-street parking space at least 8½ feet wide and 20 feet long, reached by a driveway at least 10 feet long. Except for single-family…

New subdivision lots in unincorporated Rapides Parish must keep a 40-foot front yard setback measured to the public road centerline, with a 10-foot minimum for every other yard line…

Rapides Parish bans off-premises billboards visible from Interstate 49's main travelled way anywhere in the unincorporated parish. The Police Jury allows an exception only within 5,000…

Rapides Parish levies an annual occupational license tax on every business, trade, calling, profession or vocation conducted in the parish, but sets the tax amount and classification…

Door-to-door peddlers in unincorporated Rapides Parish must buy a $200 license before working the parish, with a discounted $100 license for itinerant sellers of farm produce or…

Rapides Parish Police Jury bars solicitors, peddlers, hawkers and itinerant merchants from going door to door on private homes in the unincorporated parish unless the owner or occupant…

In unincorporated Rapides Parish, new and substantially improved homes must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated to or above the base flood elevation. The Rapides…

Rapides Parish Code § 19-54 bans operating unmuffled compression (jake) brakes on Louisiana Highway 113 between East River Road and the Glenmora town limits. The Police Jury adopted…

Rapides Parish Code § 19-52(2) bans playing a radio, television, phonograph or musical instrument at a volume that annoys or disturbs neighbors, particularly between 11:00 p.m. and…

Rapides Parish's noise ordinance names animal noise directly: Sec. 19-52(b)(4) declares the keeping of any dog, bird or other animal that causes frequent or long continued noise…

Rapides Parish sets an 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. quiet window under Sec. 19-52(b)(2) and (3): playing a radio, television or musical instrument, or yelling, shouting, hooting or singing…

Dumping garbage, debris, dead animals, or scrap vehicles on any private property in Rapides Parish without the owner's consent is a misdemeanor. A conviction under Section 13-4 carries…

New commercial facilities in unincorporated Rapides Parish can't let dumpster-area wash water reach the MS4 without an NPDES permit under Sec. 24-10. Absent that permit, the wastewater…

In recognized subdivisions outside incorporated towns, Rapides Parish will not send crews to cut weeds and grass unless the growth has reached eight inches above ground level, and only…

The Police Jury can cut obnoxious weeds and grass on any lot in a recognized subdivision outside a municipality, whether or not it holds a structure, plus any parcel within 200 feet of…

The Rapides Parish Police Jury can condemn and order the demolition or removal of any dilapidated, dangerous building outside the parish's incorporated towns that endangers public…

Rapides Parish Code § 19-53 bars any business or public place from running radios, loudspeakers or amplifying devices in a way that disturbs nearby residents, and flatly prohibits…

Rapides Parish's noise ordinance treats a car alarm or horn the same way: Sec. 19-52(b)(1) bans sounding any horn or signal device on a stationary vehicle except as a danger signal…

Rapides Parish Code §§ 19-65 through 19-69 set a curfew for minors under 17 in the unincorporated parish: 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 12:01 a.m. to 5:00 a.m…

Unincorporated Rapides Parish outlaws vagrancy as a misdemeanor under Sec. 19-11, and its definition sweeps in anyone who wanders or begs, goes door to door, or stations themselves on…

Rapides Parish Code § 19½-2(a)(3) sets daily rental fees for the Cotile Lake pavilions: $250 for the #3 pavilion (Ross Shenk), which includes the gate fee and requires the renter to…

In unincorporated Rapides Parish, the Police Jury bans shooting or exploding fireworks within 25 yards of any public road, 50 yards of a church or schoolhouse, or in or near any Police…

Recreational campfires and ceremonial fires are exempt from unincorporated Rapides Parish's outdoor-burning ban under Sec. 25-2(a)(3), with no numeric setback, only a requirement that…

Unincorporated Rapides Parish bans outdoor burning of waste or combustible material under Sec. 25-1 unless it fits one of eleven exceptions in Sec. 25-2, from attended yard-waste fires…

Outside Alexandria's city limits, the Rapides Parish Police Jury bans using parish roads, streets or sidewalks as places of trade or business. Sec. 19-12 makes it unlawful to turn any…

Sec. 19-12 lets a vendor stop or park on a parish street only to make a delivery to occupants of a specific building or dwelling on private premises; it does not open the street to…

In unincorporated Rapides Parish, a sexually oriented business cannot open within 2,000 feet of a park, library, church, school, day care, another sexually oriented business, or any…

Unincorporated Rapides Parish treats free-roaming cats differently depending on ownership. A sterilized, ear-tipped, rabies-vaccinated community cat must be returned to where it was…

Outside Alexandria, Pineville and the parish's other towns, it is unlawful for a chicken or any other kind of poultry to wander onto streets, sidewalks or a neighbor's property inside…

Anyone in unincorporated Rapides Parish who wants to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building must first apply to the building official…

Unincorporated Rapides Parish enforces the National Electrical Code on every electrical installation, alteration, repair, and replacement, adopted by reference at § 101.5.3 of the…

Plumbing work in unincorporated Rapides Parish must follow the 2000 edition of the Louisiana State Plumbing Code, adopted at § 101.5.6 of the parish's administrative building code…

Building work in unincorporated Rapides Parish moves through a sequence of required inspections under § 109 of the parish's administrative building code: foundation, slab or…

Building a swimming pool in unincorporated Rapides Parish requires a permit from the parish building official under Sec. 6½-3, since a pool is a regulated "structure." Sec. 24-14(3)…

A retaining wall in unincorporated Rapides Parish needs a building permit under Sec. 6½-3, and Sec. 24-14(3) waives a separate grading permit only when the wall's excavation is…

Cooking fires are exempt outright from unincorporated Rapides Parish's outdoor-burning ban under Sec. 25-2(a)(2), covering grills, smokers and similar food-preparation fires with no…