Fence or deck costs in Lafayette

In Lafayette, the strip along your lot line may be a public servitude, and that changes how you build a fence on it. The Lafayette Development Code lets fences run along lot lines and setbacks, but no fence foundation may conflict with water, power, gas, drainage or other utilities. If a fence damages public infrastructure, its owner pays for the repair.

To put a fence inside a public servitude at all, you need an acceptable survey and written approval from Lafayette Consolidated Government before it goes up. Even with approval, LCG can require you to remove it at your own expense if it needs the space, and you aren't paid for taking it down or putting it back. A fence also can't block the public stormwater system, and it can't block access to utility facilities unless LUS approves. Check your plat for servitudes before you pick the fence line, not after.

Low ground adds another layer. LCG's flood page says all development in the city and unincorporated Lafayette Parish needs permits from the Development and Planning Department. Anything that encroaches on a mapped floodway needs a certificate showing it won't raise the base flood elevation. A fence across a drainage path can also run into the stormwater rule above, so a fence along a coulee deserves a look at the drainage first.