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Board allows 800-square-foot guest house to be built in front of main residence (BOA2025-4173)
Summary
The Board of Adjustments approved a variance allowing an 800-square-foot accessory dwelling in front of the main house where topography and site constraints prevent rear-yard construction.
The St. Tammany Parish Board of Adjustments granted a variance allowing construction of an 800-square-foot accessory dwelling (guest house) in front of the main residence for property owners Will and Megan McGee.
Board staff described the lot as long and narrow, with a roughly 400-foot distance from the house to the rear property line and a significant drop behind the primary residence that makes rear-yard construction impracticable. Applicant Will McGee said the proposed unit is for his mother-in-law, Linda Arrant, and that the chosen site is heavily wooded and would not be visible from Anchorage Road.
“We're just proposing to build an accessory dwelling for my mother-in-law, 800 square foot,” Will McGee said, explaining the rear lot topography prevents placing the structure there. Staff told the board the drawing submitted shows the accessory dwelling would still be subject to the maximum allowable height for an accessory structure and applicable front and side yard setbacks under the L-1 (large lot residential) zoning district.
Board members said the application is consistent with previous approvals in similarly constrained lots and with the intended purpose of the Unified Development Code’s provisions on exceptions. Board member Swinney said the board had approved similar layouts in the past and that the request appeared reasonable; Board member Sanders moved to accept the staff recommendation and the motion carried unanimously among the four members present.
The case was recorded as BOA2025-4173.
