Bolthole Index

LaSalle Parish, Louisiana

Building permits, zoning and land rules in Town of Olla, Louisiana

Town of Olla, Louisiana requires building permits for new residences, mobile homes and remodels; contact Town Hall for the application requirements.1 Olla has its own zoning standards and prohibits residential RV use, even temporarily.23 Septic systems require state health approval rather than town building approval.4

At a glance

Building permits
Required for new residences, mobile homes and remodels; start with Town Hall1
Zoning
Town zoning standards apply; ask Town Hall for the parcel’s district and current map2
Septic permits
State health officer approval required before installation, alteration or operation4
RV living
Residential use prohibited, permanent or temporary; visiting friends and relatives may park for up to 45 total calendar days per year3
Mobile-home size
Nonmobile-park mobile homes must be at least 627 square feet5
Owner-builder
State contractor-license exemption for a personal residence; building permits and safety rules still apply6
Private wells
Licensed driller and state registration required; domestic wells use post-installation notification rules7

Who to call

Building permits

Olla Town Hall — building permit information

Town building-permit requirements and referral for application details

Planning & zoning

Olla Town Hall

Contact for town building applications and routing zoning, subdivision and floodplain questions

318-495-5151

[email protected]

Post Office Box 223 - 1907 Louisiana Street, Olla, Louisiana 71465

Septic permits

LaSalle Parish Health Unit

Environmental health contact for state onsite sewage approval

318.992.4842

1673 N. Second St., Jena, LA 71342

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 11, 2026.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Town of Olla means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

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Do you need a building permit in Town of Olla, LA?

Olla requires building permits for new residences, mobile homes and remodels, and the town directs applicants to Town Hall for further information.1 Louisiana’s statewide residential construction-code requirements also cover new construction, reconstruction, additions to homes previously built to the residential code, and extensive alterations.8

Olla’s published local adoption names the 2006 International Residential Code with administrative, mechanical, plumbing and electrical parts excluded from that local adoption; Louisiana separately requires statewide construction codes.910 Ask Town Hall which current code edition, application documents, inspections and building-permit fees apply to your project.1

Who handles building permit questions in Town of Olla?

Olla’s building-permit instructions send applicants directly to Town Hall.1 Reach Olla Town Hall at 318-495-5151 or [email protected].11 Before ordering a home or scheduling construction, ask Town Hall for the application, the code-enforcement provider, the inspection sequence and the requirements for occupancy.1

An owner building a personal residence may qualify for Louisiana’s contractor-license exemption, but the exemption requires an affidavit for the building permit and leaves health and life-safety requirements in force.6 Ask Town Hall how to submit that affidavit with your building application.1 Septic approval remains a state health decision, with the LaSalle Parish Health Unit as the local environmental-health contact.1213

Does Town of Olla have zoning, lot-size and setback rules?

Olla’s subdivision provisions refer to the town’s zoning ordinance and require protective covenants to meet or exceed the zoning standards in effect when a final plat is filed.2 Ask Town Hall for the lot’s district, permitted residential use, setbacks and the current zoning map before committing to a house design.11

For townhouse developments approved as residential planned unit developments, Olla requires at least 2,000 square feet of lot area and 18 feet of lot width.14 Those townhouse lots have a maximum lot coverage of 75%, and townhouse dwellings have a maximum height of 35 feet.1516 These standards apply to that development type; ask Town Hall for the standards governing an ordinary detached-home lot.1411

How do septic permits work inside Town of Olla?

A septic or other individual sewerage system serving an Olla property needs a permit from the state health officer before installation, alteration or operation.4 The Town of Olla provides water and sewer service; ask Town Hall whether the proposed address can connect to town sewer before planning a septic system.1

State approval for an individual system depends on community sewer connection being infeasible and on suitable soil, drainage and lot dimensions; formal subdivision lots also need an approved recorded plat or property survey for individual sewerage use.4 Contact the LaSalle Parish Health Unit for environmental-health assistance.13 Final approval requires installation verification through a state representative’s on-site inspection and/or a licensed installer’s certification, and the installer must notify the local Parish Health Unit before installation.17

Can you live in an RV or tiny home in Town of Olla?

Olla prohibits recreational vehicles, truck campers, camping trailers and travel trailers from being used for residential purposes, whether permanently or temporarily.3 That prohibition means an RV is not an allowed residential stopgap while a house is being built in Olla.3 Property owners may allow relatives or friends to park RVs while temporarily visiting, for no more than 45 total calendar days per year.3

Olla requires nonmobile-park mobile homes to contain at least 627 square feet; that requirement is specific to the mobile homes covered by the town’s provision.5 We could not confirm a separate tiny-home occupancy rule; ask Town Hall how a proposed tiny home would be classified and approved before purchasing it.11

Building a home in Town of Olla: what should you do first?

Start with Olla Town Hall: request the building application and confirm the parcel’s zoning standards before finalizing plans.12 Next, ask the town about water and sewer service; if an individual sewerage system is needed, obtain state health approval before installing it.14 Arrange construction-code plan review and inspections through the applicable local enforcement provider.8

For a new subdivision in Olla, planning commission approval is required, and subdivision proposals, including manufactured-home parks and subdivisions, must meet the town’s floodplain development permit requirements.1819 For a private well, Louisiana requires a licensed water-well driller and registration within 30 days after completion; domestic wells follow post-installation notification rules rather than the ordinary advance-notification requirement.7 For land outside town limits, use the LaSalle Parish guide for the parish building authority’s jurisdiction over unincorporated land.20

Watch-outs

  • Olla’s visiting-RV parking exception does not authorize residential RV use while building a home.3
  • We could not confirm Olla’s general building-permit fee schedule, detached-home setbacks or tiny-home approval rules; request those answers from Town Hall before buying or building.11
  • Town building approval does not replace the state health officer’s approval of an individual sewerage system.14

Sources

  1. Olla Town Hall — building permit information (townofolla.com)
  2. Olla Code of Ordinances, § 15-43 Approval procedures (Town of Olla), quoted and re-checked
  3. Olla Code of Ordinances, § 5-83 Mobile home standards for nonmobile park mobile homes (Town of Olla), quoted and re-checked
  4. Louisiana Administrative Code Title 51, Part XIII, Public Health—Sanitary Code (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  5. Olla Code of Ordinances, § 5-83 Mobile home standards for nonmobile park mobile homes (Town of Olla), quoted and re-checked
  6. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 37:2157 — Exemptions (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  7. Louisiana Administrative Code, Title 43, Part VI, §701 (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  8. Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1730.23 — Enforcement of building codes by municipalities and parishes (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  9. Olla Code of Ordinances, § 5-33 International Residential Code (Town of Olla), quoted and re-checked
  10. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 40:1730.28 (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  11. Olla Town Hall (townofolla.com)
  12. Louisiana Administrative Code Title 51, Part XIII, Public Health—Sanitary Code (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  13. LaSalle Parish Health Unit (ldh.la.gov)
  14. Olla Code of Ordinances, § 15-59 Residential planned unit developments (Town of Olla), quoted and re-checked
  15. Olla Code of Ordinances, § 15-59 Residential planned unit developments (Town of Olla), quoted and re-checked
  16. Olla Code of Ordinances, § 15-59 Residential planned unit developments (Town of Olla), quoted and re-checked
  17. Louisiana Administrative Code Title 51, Part XIII, Public Health—Sanitary Code (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  18. Olla Code of Ordinances, § 15-43 Approval procedures (Town of Olla), quoted and re-checked
  19. Olla Code of Ordinances, § 10-53 Standards for subdivision proposals (Town of Olla), quoted and re-checked
  20. RS 40:1730.23. Enforcement of building codes by municipalities and parishes (Louisiana statewide rule), quoted and re-checked

Written October 11, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.

Answers from the rulebook for Town of Olla

Town of Olla’s own rules

  • Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

    Construction within Olla town.

    • The local adoption is the 2006 IRC and excludes Parts I—Administrative, V—Mechanical, VII—Plumbing, and VIII—Electrical.

    International Residential Code edition: 2006 (Excludes Parts I—Administrative, V—Mechanical, VII—Plumbing and VIII—Electrical.)

    “International Residential Code, 2006 Edition, not including Parts I—Administrative, V—Mechanical, VII—Plumbing and VIII—Electrical. The applicable standards referenced in that code are included for regulation of construction within this town.”
  • InspectionsLimited

    Mobile homes, mobile-home parks, and other structures governed by Olla Code chapter 5, article V, inside Olla town.

    • Inspection may be performed by the mayor, designee, or delegated person when necessary to enforce article V.
    “The mayor or the mayor's designee shall also be authorized to perform all inspections or delegate another person to conduct such inspections necessary for the enforcement of this article[.]”
  • Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

    Land inside the corporate limits of Olla town.

    • The cited provision applies when filing a final subdivision plat.
    “Protective covenant provisions must meet or exceed the minimum standards in effect according to the Zoning Ordinance of the Town of Olla in effect at the time of filing of the final plat.”
  • Zoning districtsPartial

    Residential planned unit development inside Olla town.

    • The reviewed provision identifies R-2 and B-1 zones for cluster dwelling lots but does not publish the complete district schedule or map.
    “Cluster dwelling lots shall have a minimum area of four thousand (4,000) square feet in R-2 and B-1 zones with a minimum width of forth (40) feet at the building setback line.”
  • Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

    Nonmobile-park mobile homes inside Olla town.

    • The minimum-size standard is limited to mobile homes regulated by § 5-83.

    minimum mobile home size: >= 627 square feet

    “The minimum size of a mobile home must be no less than six hundred twenty-seven (627) square feet and it must be presentable in appearance and maintained in good and presentable condition so as not to offend the aesthetic sense of a reasonable person.”
  • Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

    Townhouse developments approved as residential planned unit developments inside Olla town.

    • Townhouse development approval is subject to the planned-unit-development standards.

    minimum townhouse lot area: >= 2000 square feet · minimum townhouse lot width: >= 18 feet

    “Townhouse lots shall have a minimum area of two thousand (2,000) square feet with a minimum width of eighteen (18) feet and maximum allowable lot coverage of seventy-five (75) percent.”
  • Lot coverageSpecified

    Townhouse developments approved as residential planned unit developments inside Olla town.

    • The stated maximum applies to townhouse lots under the planned-unit-development standards.

    maximum lot coverage: <= 75 percent

    “Townhouse lots shall have a minimum area of two thousand (2,000) square feet with a minimum width of eighteen (18) feet and maximum allowable lot coverage of seventy-five (75) percent.”
  • Building heightSpecified

    Townhouse dwellings in approved residential planned unit developments inside Olla town.

    • The limit applies to townhouse dwellings under the planned-unit-development standards.

    maximum townhouse dwelling height: <= 35 feet

    “The maximum height of any townhouse dwelling shall be thirty-five (35) feet.”
  • Living in an RVProhibited

    Use of recreational vehicles and listed camping/trailer vehicles for residential purposes inside Olla town.

    • A property owner may permit relatives or friends to park recreational vehicles only while temporarily visiting, for no more than 45 total calendar days per year.

    visitor RV parking maximum: <= 45 calendar days per year (Only relatives or friends temporarily visiting the property owner.)

    “Recreational vehicles, truck campers, camping trailers, travel trailers, or other types of vehicles used for recreational purposes may not be used for residential purposes, regardless of whether permanent or temporary.”
  • Building in a floodplainRequired

    Subdivision development, including manufactured-home parks and subdivisions, inside Olla town.

    • The proposal must meet the floodplain development permit requirements in cited articles 3 and 4 and article 5 of chapter 10.
    “All proposals for the development of subdivisions including the placement of manufactured home parks and subdivisions shall meet floodplain development permit requirements of article 3, section 10-23 ; article 4, section 10-43 ; and the provisions of article 5 of this chapter.”
  • Permit processPartial

    Subdivision approval inside Olla town.

    • This claim addresses subdivision approval only, not a general building-permit process.
    “No subdivision is deemed to be approved until all of the submissions have been reviewed and approved by the planning commission.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Olla or LaSalle Parish directly.

  • Building permit — General residential building construction inside Olla town.
  • Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built dwellings inside Olla town.
  • Certificate of occupancy — Residential structures inside Olla town.
  • Camping on your land — Temporary camping on private land inside Olla town.
  • Tiny homes — Tiny homes inside Olla town.
11 more unanswered
  • Accessory dwellings
  • Who permits septic
  • Septic permit
  • Septic inspection
  • Off-grid sanitation
  • Well permit
  • Mandatory utility hookup
  • Agricultural exemption
  • Driveway access
  • Short-term rentals
  • Permit fees

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.

Unanswered questions are usually a sign that Town of Olla publishes no rule on the point, not that none exists. LaSalle Parish’s page lists the county offices to call.

← All of LaSalle Parish: county rules, score and offices