St. Tammany Board of Adjustments approves multiple variances, postpones mosque parking request

The St. Tammany Parish Board of Adjustments approved four property variances and continued a separate parking-buffer request after public discussion and staff recommendations.

The board voted to grant a pair of variances for a proposed baseball practice facility at 115 Dummy Line Road in Madisonville, subject to staff conditions including planting the required 9 class B trees and 29 shrubs on the practice site or on the adjacent Lake Castle School property, executing a recorded cross-access agreement between parcels and filing a recorded, notarized acknowledgment that the property owner will pay for any future installation of an 8-foot opaque fence requested by adjacent owners. Manny Estrada, appearing for the absent owner, said the field will be used by Lake Castle School and described safety and sight-line concerns that informed the fence and planting requests. "It's very important to him to get this variance passed," Estrada said.

The board also approved a setback variance at 214 Jay Lane in Covington to reduce the rear-yard setback from 25 feet to 5 feet, allowing a roughly 750-square-foot addition connected to the existing home by a breezeway. Owner representative Michael Oliveri asked whether approval would lock the setback at 5 feet; staff clarified that approval would permit construction anywhere between 5 and 25 feet. The board noted that if the structure were to function as an independent dwelling, cooking appliances would be restricted.

At 11250 Ronald Reagan Highway, the board approved a variance to allow construction of a guest house in front of the main residence on a 5.11-acre parcel, a placement staff said would preserve a very large live oak and maintain natural stormwater flow. Cheyenne Cowart, who identified herself with the property address, said the placement preserves the tree and the natural runoff.

A request to reduce a required 20-foot street buffer to 8 feet for additional parking at a place of worship (BOA20264591) drew lengthier discussion. The applicant, who identified himself as Tasin Tasin Rab, said the added spaces would reduce on-street parking during busy services and that the proposal would connect to the existing lot so circulation remains internal. Several board members said the 20-foot buffer serves to protect residents from noise, light and visual impacts and urged the applicant to supply neighbor or HOA letters of no objection. The board voted to postpone that case for one month to allow the applicant time to submit supporting neighbor verification and HOA documentation.

The board approved a fourth variance for an accessory building at 102 Century Oak Lane (a 1,200-square-foot structure at 5 feet from the rear property line), citing supporting letters from adjacent property owners and HOA approval.

All approvals on the record were made by motion, second and a voice vote recorded as "all in favor"; the transcript does not record individual roll-call tallies. Staff will add the conditions discussed in each approval to the record and will circulate the packet for next month's meeting, scheduled for Monday, May 11.

Why it matters: The decisions affect neighborhood form, tree preservation and where structures and parking can be placed relative to residences and schools. Conditions imposed by staff — tree plantings, cross-access agreements and recorded acknowledgments about future fence installation — are meant to protect adjacent property owners and preserve site functions while allowing the applicants' projects to proceed.

What's next: The Jefferson Muslim Association buffer/parking case was continued to the board's next meeting to allow the applicant to collect neighbor/HOA letters; staff will circulate the next meeting packet and confirm the May 11 meeting date.