How to fight code enforcement about replacing my garage?

[Aktromatore]

Hi! I live right outside of New Orleans, about a 10 min drive to the French Quarter. My husband and I just moved into his late brothers home, and it used to have a garage. His brother bought the house in 98 and we have owned it since he passed in 01. A tree fell on the garage years ago. We weren't living here at the time so my mother in law decided to just completely forget about the garage. Now, we need a garage. We wanted to just use the original concrete slab for the new garage, but new codes say it has to be 3 feet away from the fence. I tried to prove to them that if the garage is 3 feet away from the fence, you would be unable to drive into it at all. The garage was there before so why can't it be grandfathered in? They made me go get a plot survey of the lot and I did, all for them to tell me in 5 seconds that it's a no. They didn't even reason or try to work with it. No understanding at all.

There is no other place for a garage in my yard except for there. What can I do to fight this and make them realize??

 

[Zigner]

Hi! I live right outside of New Orleans, about a 10 min drive to the French Quarter. My husband and I just moved into his late brothers home, and it used to have a garage. His brother bought the house in 98 and we have owned it since he passed in 01. A tree fell on the garage years ago. We weren't living here at the time so my mother in law decided to just completely forget about the garage. Now, we need a garage. We wanted to just use the original concrete slab for the new garage, but new codes say it has to be 3 feet away from the fence. I tried to prove to them that if the garage is 3 feet away from the fence, you would be unable to drive into it at all. The garage was there before so why can't it be grandfathered in? They made me go get a plot survey of the lot and I did, all for them to tell me in 5 seconds that it's a no. They didn't even reason or try to work with it. No understanding at all.

There is no other place for a garage in my yard except for there. What can I do to fight this and make them realize??

If the garage was totally removed, then what you have isn't a preexisting garage, it's simply a slab of concrete.

 

[adjusterjack]

What can I do to fight this and make them realize??

You don't "fight" it, you ask for a variance.

Here's some information about applying for a variance in New Orleans:

http://new.nola.gov/nola/media/One-Stop-Shop/CPC/BZA-Variance-Application-Information-Sheet.pdf

You'll have to determine if you file in New Orleans or elsewhere but that'll give you an idea about the process.

If you still can't do a building after all that, consider a simple metal carport cover that might qualify to cover the entire slab. You'll have to do some research on that.

 

[FarmerJ]

Before even spending a nickel on a carport type setup do also learn if your city has set a low threshold for project expense when it comes to permits , cities and permits for things like water- sewer lines, electric work, gas & heating etc are normal but some cities also require permits after X amount of money is spent so check into that also.