Mandeville residents will soon have different restrictions on the use of fill on their property thanks to some tiring work done by the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission.

It’s very confusing and detailed, Planning and Zoning Director Louisette Kidd explained.

The previous ordinance states up to 24 inches of fill can be used under the roof-shed of the house, meaning homes could not be raised with more than 2 feet of dirt. If a raise higher than 2 feet is required, a chain wall or pylons would have to be used. This, Kidd said, was meant to include other structures on the property as well, but the language of the ordinance was convoluted and lacking essential details. “From a legal standpoint, it never addressed fill anywhere else on the lot,” Kidd said.

With the work of council members Zella Walker and Trilby Lenfant, an amended version of the ordinance was prepared and passed that addresses the use of fill across the property.

The new ordinance repeats the maximum 2-foot allowance under the roofline of the home, but the big change, Kidd said, concerns attached and detached structures, particularly garages.

With the old ordinance, structures like attached garages were raised to any height desired, but now they can’t be raised higher than 32 inches above the existing grade.

Detached structures also took a hit, and now only 1 foot of fill material is allowed under the roofline with the structure’s finished floor elevation not to exceed 18 inches above the existing grade.

“Before you could build pool houses and accessory buildings the same level as the house,” Kidd said.

According to the new ordinance, detached structures are not allowed that high, and this has some residents upset and concerned for the integrity of their structures during flood events.

Kidd said the big question people are asking is why not allow residents to build accessory structures out of harm’s way.

“We certainly want the house out of harm’s way, but we would like people to build environmentally friendly and not change the entire environment when building on lots,” Kidd said.

Protecting vehicles in garages comes secondary with pools and other accessory structures tertiary with means of protection, Kidd said.