Rapides Parish, LA Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Chapter 19¼, Off-Street Parking, derives from an ordinance the Police Jury adopted September 14, 1971, amended April 13, 1972. Section 19¼-1 defines an off-street parking space as an area within a lot's property lines large enough to park one automobile, not less than 8½ feet wide and 20 feet long, connected to a public street or alley by a driveway at least 10 feet in length. A lot fronting a major street must also include a turn-around space so vehicles are not forced to back directly into that street.

The paving rule sits in the same sentence: except for single-family dwellings, the parking space and its connecting driveway must be surfaced with permanent dust-free paving, meaning an unpaved dirt or gravel driveway does not satisfy the section for any other use. Section 19¼-2 layers on use-specific space counts, for example two spaces per single-family dwelling unit or 1½ spaces per multi-family unit, and subsection (f)(2) adds a front-yard limit for commercial and industrial districts: within 50 feet of a residential district, measured from either side line and parallel to the street, no parking lot with a capacity of more than three cars may be located in a front yard.

Before a building permit issues, § 19¼-2(h) requires the parking layout to be included in the plans and accepted by the authorized official as conforming to the chapter, so paving and layout are checked at the permit stage rather than after construction.