If you pull permits in Slidell, the city wants a word. Mayor Randy Fandal and the City Council are hosting a public town hall on Monday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. to explain how development gets approved in the city and what's in Slidell's new Unified Development Code (via City of Slidell).
The meeting is at the Slidell Municipal Auditorium, 2056 Second St. in Olde Towne. Staff from the city's Planning and Building Safety departments will give a presentation on the development process and the rules behind it, then take questions. It's free and open to the public, and the city's notice doesn't mention any need to RSVP.
Fandal framed the meeting as a chance to set the record straight. In the city's announcement, he said there has been "a lot of misinformation circulating in our community" and that the goal is to give residents accurate information. The release didn't say what that misinformation was.
"We are here to serve the public, and we want to make sure everyone understands how the process works and the rules that guide development in our city," Fandal said.
The Unified Development Code is the city's rewrite of its development rules, pulling zoning, subdivision and related regulations into one document. City Council records show it was adopted as Ordinance 4264 on Jan. 13, 2026, along with an updated official zoning map (City of Slidell ordinances). The draft that went to the Zoning Commission in late 2025 consolidated and replaced parts of four chapters of the city code and several appendices.
It didn't sail through. The Zoning Commission hearing on the code and map was continued from October 2025, and a November meeting was canceled for lack of a quorum. At the December hearing, residents raised concerns about zoning in the Brugier area, including whether duplexes would still be allowed, according to the commission's agenda packet. Planning Director Danny McElmurray recommended keeping the hearing open until a community meeting and council workshops were held.
Some of the changes in that draft are the kind builders and remodelers notice. It set a rule that a nonconforming structure has to be brought up to code when improvements or damage exceed 45% of its market value. It added lighting, glare and heat standards for commercial and innovation and technology uses, streamlined appeals, and regrouped the zoning map into five broad categories. An amendment on the council's January agenda proposed allowing one accessory dwelling unit on residential single-family lots of at least 15,000 square feet, and barring mechanical equipment and other structural protrusions from required front and side setbacks.
The council has kept tweaking the code since adoption, approving text amendments in May and August. The current version posted on the city's planning page is dated Aug. 25, 2026.
That posted code spells out several things worth knowing before you start a job. A permit is required before any man-made change to a property, including filling and grading. Administrative re-subdivisions are limited to five lots or fewer and one acre or less. Subdivisions over 50 lots or 5 acres, whichever is less, have to include base flood elevation data, and plats have to show flood zones. Developers also have to post a maintenance obligation covering construction damage to city roads and drainage.
Permit applications can be filed online through the city's permitting portal. The Planning Department is at 250 Bouscaren St., Suite 203, and can be reached at 985-646-4320. Questions about the town hall go to the City Council office at 985-646-4307.
Why it matters for Contractors
A new code changes the answers to everyday questions: what you can build on a lot, how close equipment can sit to the property line, when an old building has to be brought fully up to code, and how much paperwork a lot split takes. If you work in Slidell, the Nov. 9 meeting is a free chance to hear it from the staff who review your plans and to ask about your own projects.
Before you go, pull up the posted code and check the sections that touch your usual work, such as fill and grading, setbacks, and the 45% rule if you remodel older homes. Bring specific addresses or scenarios. And since the council has been amending the code every few months, check the latest version before you bid, not the copy you saved last spring.