[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Parkside 9-26-2001 by Ord. No. 411.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 164, Swimming Pools, adopted as Ch. 110 of the 1979 Code, as amended.
The following words, unless otherwise stated, shall have the meaning herein indicated:
ACCESSORY BUILDINGS
Locker rooms, bathhouses, cabanas, equipment rooms, equipment fixtures, etc., or other facilities or equipment used to support the use of a swimming pool.
BUILDING INSPECTOR
Any of the following person or persons, either singly or in combination, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Borough Council to make the proper occupancy inspections.
[Amended 9-21-2022 by Ord. No. 570]
A. 
The Code Enforcement Official.
B. 
The Building Inspector of the Borough of Parkside.
C. 
Chairperson of the Licenses and Inspections Committee.
D. 
Chairperson of the Safety Committee.
E. 
The Health Officer (Inspector) of the Borough of Parkside.
FENCE, SWIMMING POOL
A fence designed and constructed in such a manner as to isolate the pool from entry or trespass by the general public and/or by children not under the supervision of an adult. The fence shall be of durable, strong material able to withstand a force of 200 pounds applied from any direction and will have no openings of greater than three inches in any direction. The design of the fence and fence material shall be of a type unclimbable by average children under the age of 12 years of age. The gate or gates of the fence shall be of a similar material as the fence and shall be self-closing, self-latching and lockable.
FRONT YARD
The area of a lot lying between the street and residence setback line extending across the full width of the lot and/or depth of a corner lot.
OWNER
Any person, firm, corporation, association, partnership or other legal entity which alone, jointly or severally with others holds legal or equitable title to any property, building and/or swimming pool within the Borough of Parkside.
PERSON
Any person, copartnership, association, firm or corporation.
SETBACK
The distance, if any, a swimming pool is required to be from a property line, residence, deck, accessory building or structure.
SWIMMING POOL, ABOVEGROUND
A swimming pool with a vertical depth of less than five feet and made of semidurable material designed to be placed or located on minimally prepared earth or ground; made in such a way as to not be easily relocated during the season of use; generally equipped with a filtering, filling and discharge system; required to be isolated from the general public by a swimming pool fence.
SWIMMING POOL, IN-GROUND
A swimming pool made of durable material designed to be placed or located in prepared earth usually with a foundation system, the earth or ground being tailored or altered to accommodate the design of the pool; not designed to be moved once constructed and generally equipped with an automatic filtering, filling and discharge system; required to be isolated from the general public by a swimming pool fence.
SWIMMING POOL, PORTABLE
Also known as an "on-ground pool," has a vertical depth of less than four feet and a horizontal diameter of less than nine feet; made of lightweight material designed to be erected and collapsed quickly and easily moved from location to location; may or may not be equipped with a filtering, filling and discharge system; may or may not be required to be isolated from the general public by a swimming pool fence.
SWIMMING POOL, PRIVATE
Any body of water, tank or receptacle, however constructed, used or intended to be used for swimming or bathing solely by the owner, operator or lessee thereof and by his or her family and by friends invited to use it without any payment or valuable consideration whatsoever, and constructed, installed and maintained outside any habitable building, upon any premises as an accessory use to the residence.
WATER, DISCHARGE OF
The removal of water or liquid from a swimming pool in any amount, small or large, by accident or design.
WATER, STAGNANT
Swimming pool water or liquid that has become contaminated by algae, bacteria, viruses, vectors, hazardous chemicals or debris rendering the water or liquid hazardous to the user and/or the safety of the community.
WATER, STANDING
Swimming pool water or liquid not being subject to filtering and/or an automatic filling/discharge system; may or may not be stagnant.
WATER, SWIMMING POOL
Any liquid, including rainwater, municipal piped water, well water, commercially purchased water or liquid used in a swimming pool for the purposes of recreation, bathing, swimming, wading, cleaning or washing of humans, animals or the surfaces of the pool or its equipment.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to construct, erect, install or maintain or alter, remodel, reconstruct or otherwise improve a private swimming pool, as herein defined, without first having obtained a permit therefor.
(1) 
Applications for permits shall be submitted to the Parkside Borough Building Inspector, together with two sets of plans and specifications setting forth the details, together with a plot plan, showing the location of the building on the lot, the fencing, existing and proposed, and the height and aperture dimensions thereof, and all open spaces required by this chapter, drawn to scale. Applications shall be made on forms supplied by the Building Inspector.
(2) 
The fee for the permit shall be $25 if the total cost of materials and construction is $1,000 or less. Where the total cost of materials and construction is more than $1,000, the fee for the permit shall be the amount as provided on the estimated cost of construction as described in the Borough Building Code under § 114.3.1.[1]
[Amended 8-27-2008 by Ord. No. 487]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 53, Building Construction, § 53-2J.
(3) 
Upon approval of the plans and specifications, one set of each, so marked, will be returned to the applicant and must be kept on the site with the permit during construction and shall be available at all times to the Building Inspector as well as any elected Borough official. No changes are permitted without the prior approval of the Building Inspector.
B. 
The Building Inspector shall, before approval of any plans, make certain that they comply with all requirements of this chapter, the Parkside Building Code, the Parkside Plumbing Code, the Parkside Electrical Code, the Parkside Zoning Code[2] and any and all other applicable ordinances of the Borough of Parkside.
[2]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 53, Building Construction; Ch. 61, Construction Codes, Uniform; Ch. 131, Plumbing; Ch. 74, Electrical Standards; and Ch. 182, Zoning.
C. 
The Council of the Borough of Parkside may, from time to time, revise the aforementioned fee schedule by resolution.
A. 
All swimming pools shall be of sound construction of durable materials so as to be structurally sound, watertight and easily cleaned. Where necessary, suitable footing may be required by the Building Inspector. Outlets and drains shall permit the pool to be completely drained in a manner that does not adversely affect either the public sanitary sewer or the storm sewer system or the adjacent property owners. All swimming pools shall be constructed and designed and maintained and operated so as to be clean and sanitary at all times. The owner of every private swimming pool shall have the responsibility to properly maintain the pool and to prevent any breaks in the chassis or overflow of water onto adjacent property.
B. 
Damage to the property of others, caused by breaks in the chassis and/or the overflow of swimming pool water shall be paid for by the owner/operator of the swimming pool.
There shall be absolutely no physical connection between any public or private water supply system and any private swimming pool at any point.
The discharge of water from any private swimming pool into the sanitary sewer system shall be permitted only after a plumbing permit for the same has been issued by DELCORA. Wherever possible, the water shall be discharged into a storm sewer or otherwise disposed of by the owner. In no event shall any discharge be permitted between November 1 and March 1 of any year. Any damage caused by the discharge of any water, in any amount, by accident or design, from a swimming pool shall be paid for by the owner of the swimming pool. Such discharge shall be considered a violation of this chapter, and a citation may be issued against the owner of the swimming pool.
A. 
No in-ground swimming pool shall be located closer than five feet to a property line nor less than eight feet from a residence and shall not be constructed in the front yard of any property or the side yard of any corner property. No aboveground swimming pool shall be constructed closer than five feet to a residence and shall not be constructed in the front yard of any property or the side yard of any corner property. Accessory buildings or other facilities or equipment shall conform to the requirements and setbacks of all Borough codes.
B. 
Portable swimming pools may be erected and used in any area protected by a swimming pool fence. They may also be erected and used in other areas of a property including the front yard area when properly supervised. However, it is a violation of this chapter to leave an assembled portable pool, with water in it or without, in the front yard area of a property between the hours of dusk and dawn unless the pool is being actively used, it is also a violation of this chapter to leave the unassembled parts of a portable pool in the front yard area of a property between the hours of dusk and dawn.
A. 
Every in-ground swimming pool and aboveground swimming pool shall be completely surrounded by a swimming pool fence. Access to a pool surrounded by a swimming pool fence shall be by a gate or gates which shall be kept locked at all times when said pool is not in use by the owner, family or invited guests. The fence is to be no less than four feet in height when the pool location is no less than five feet from the property line or lines. In the case of aboveground pools located less than five feet from any property line the height of the fence will be not less than six feet. No in-ground or aboveground swimming pool will be placed in operation or have standing water placed in the pool until the Building Inspector finds complete compliance with this section. If required fencing becomes damaged or falls into disrepair or no longer meets the requirements of this section, the Building Inspector shall direct the swimming pool in question to be drained of swimming pool water or to be covered with a cover of sufficient strength to insure the safety of potential users of the swimming pool.
B. 
Portable swimming pools are not mandated to be surrounded by a swimming pool fence when they are actively being used and/or have swimming pool water in them, but at such times when not isolated from the public by a required fence, a portable pool must be under the constant supervision of an adult 18 years old or older. It is a violation of this chapter for the owner of a portable swimming pool to leave a portable pool unattended when it has water of any depth in it or is being used as a pool and it is not protected by a swimming pool fence.
No artificial lighting shall be maintained or operated in connection with a private swimming pool in such a manner or location as to present a nuisance or annoyance to adjacent properties.
A. 
Every private swimming pool existing within the Borough of Parkside shall at all times comply with any requirements of the Parkside Health Officer. Any nuisance to health which may develop or exist in connection with any such private swimming pool shall be promptly abated or removed by the owner or lessee of the premises on which said pool is located within 10 days of receipt of a notice from either the Building Inspector or the Parkside Health Officer. The Building Inspector and Health Officer are hereby ordered and authorized to enter any premises or any building or other structure for the performance of their duties or to ascertain compliance with this chapter.
B. 
If, in the opinion of the Building Inspector and/or Health Officer, there is a clear and present danger to the public due to stagnant swimming pool water or the absence of a required fence or any other proper reason, the swimming pool water can be ordered to be drained immediately and/or the area of the pool secured until the swimming pool is brought into Code compliance.
A. 
Whenever the owner of any proposed or existing swimming pool objects to the decision of the Building Inspector concerning any aspect of the construction, reconstruction, alteration or operation or maintenance of any swimming pool, such owner may appeal to the Public Safety Committee of the Borough Council. Such appeal shall be in writing, shall state in full the details of the particular decision or decisions to which he or she objects and shall include the reasons for the objections. The person appealing shall have the right to appear in person and to be heard if he or she so states on his or her appeal.
B. 
A prompt decision of such appeal shall be made by the Public Safety Committee and shall be duly recorded and presented as a recommendation for the final decision by the Parkside Borough Council.
Any owner or other person who shall violate any provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction before a District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine not less than $150 nor more than $300 for the first offense, not less than $300 nor more than $600 for the second offense, and not less than $300 nor more than $600 for subsequent offenses committed within a period of one year, plus court costs in all cases. In default of payment of the fine and/or costs, the guilty party shall be committed to the county prison for not more than 30 days. Each day in which a violation shall continue shall constitute a new violation and separate offense, punishable by a separate fine or imprisonment.