Livingston Parish Council adopts 2-foot freeboard; officials pledge separate review for manufactured homes

The Livingston Parish Council adopted Ordinance 2433 on Dec. 19, 2024, rescinding and reenacting Chapter 115 of the parish code to increase the freeboard requirement to two feet above base flood elevation (BFE+2) for special flood-hazard areas.

The change was the subject of a public hearing that drew several residents and industry representatives concerned about how the new measurement would affect manufactured homes. Candy Forbes, a Denham Springs resident and mobile-home dealer, told the council that most manufactured homes sit on an I‑beam and subframe that already raises the threshold roughly 18 inches and that raising freeboard another foot could force homeowners into expensive alternate foundations. “Those alternate foundations for manufactured home purchasers can run anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000 at a minimum and I’ve seen them go upwards of $80,000,” Forbes said, urging the council to treat manufactured homes differently when measuring freeboard.

Parish staff and experts responded that manufactured housing is covered by FEMA flood-insurance programs and that federal mortgage-insurance rules—particularly those tied to FHA—drive many community requirements. Gary O’Neil confirmed that manufactured housing is included under FEMA’s flood‑insurance program, and planning staff cautioned that exempting or altering standards could affect the parish’s rating with federal programs. Jim Gilbert, chief of staff, told the council two paths were being considered: a targeted exemption that accepts the federal rating tradeoff, or an in‑house engineering workaround to reduce costs to residents.

Council members said they understood the hardship concerns and that the council’s intent in adopting the two‑foot freeboard was to preserve access to the National Flood Insurance Program. John Mangus moved the resolution to adopt the ordinance; Billy Taylor seconded the motion, and the council voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance 2433. Mangus and other council members said the parish will examine follow‑up measures—including a separate ordinance or possible variance/waiver process—to clarify how freeboard will be measured for manufactured homes and to limit consumer costs.

The ordinance takes effect according to the schedule set in the parish code; council staff said they will work with FEMA, HUD and local building officials to draft any subsequent language specific to manufactured housing.