[1]
Editor’s note–Former article 3.06, “Signs,” was redesignated as article 10.14.
It shall be unlawful to hereafter construct, install or enlarge any swimming pool in the city except in compliance with the provisions of this article, in addition to compliance with any applicable state or federal laws or public health regulations.
(Ordinance 2021-20 adopted 9/27/21)
As used in this article the following terms shall have the meanings given herein:
Private residential spa pool.
Any spa pool located on any private property of a single-family dwelling under the control of the homeowner, the use of which is limited to family members or guests of the homeowner.
Private residential swimming pool.
Any swimming pool located on any private property of a single-family dwelling under the control of the homeowner, the use of which is limited to swimming or bathing by family members or guests of the homeowner.
Public swimming pool.
Any swimming pool, other than a private residential swimming pool, intended to be used collectively by numbers of persons for swimming or bathing, maintained, made available for use, or otherwise controlled by any person, organization or association, as defined herein, whether he be owner, lessee, operator, licensee, or concessionaire, regardless of whether a fee is charged for such use. “Public swimming pool” includes a swimming pool on the premises of, or part of, a hotel, motel, trailer court, apartment house, private club, fitness club, recreational or sports facilities, condominiums, community clubs, subdivisions, housing area, association or similar establishment, including where admission for the use of the pool is included in the fee or consideration paid or given for the general use of the premises. Wherever the term “swimming pool” is used in this article, it includes public swimming pools and private residential pools unless expressly specified to be applicable only to a private residential swimming pool.
Spa pool.
Any spa pool, other than a private residential spa pool, intended to be used by persons for swimming or bathing, regardless of whether a fee is charged or not charged for use, and which is designed for recreational or therapeutic use, that is not drained, cleaned or refilled for each user, and which utilizes hydrojet circulation, hot water, or any combination thereof. Industry terminology for spa pool includes, but is not limited to, “therapeutic spa,” “hot tubs,” “sensory deprivation tank,” etc. “Spa pool” includes a spa pools on the premises of or part of a hotel, motel, trailer court, apartment house, private club, fitness club, recreational or sports facilities, condominiums, community clubs, subdivisions, housing area, associations or similar establishments, but does not include spa pools operated under the direct supervision of licensed medical care providers and utilized solely for medical therapeutic purposes at licensed medical health care facilities, licensed hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. All requirements in this Article which are applicable to a swimming pool or public swimming pool are also applicable to spa pools unless expressly stated otherwise in this article.
Swimming pool.
Any structure, basin, chamber, or tank containing an artificial body of water for swimming, diving, or recreational bathing and having a depth of two feet or more at any point.
(Ordinance 2021-20 adopted 9/27/21)
(a) 
All residential swimming pools shall be constructed within the following setbacks.
(b) 
Provided there are no easements, below are the set back requirements:
(1) 
6 feet from all building lines to the edge of the pool.
(2) 
6 feet from the interior side yard property line to the edge of the pool.
(3) 
15 feet from the exterior side yard property line to the edge of the pool.
(4) 
5 feet from the rear yard property line to the edge of the pool.
(Ordinance 2021-20 adopted 9/27/21)
No swimming pool shall be erected, constructed or structurally altered within the city limits without a permit therefore from the building official. Application for such permit shall be submitted to the city inspections and planning department accompanied by two detailed sets of plans and specifications for such swimming pool, additionally, the building official may require the submission of other necessary plans, specifications and data including capacity, rate of filtration, skimming devices, and facilities for draining. Plans and specifications for all swimming pools shall comply with the current design standards of the state board of health for public swimming pool construction; provided, however, that where such standards conflict with any provisions of this code such Code will govern in all cases. The fee for obtaining a permit is outlined in article A4.000, construction related fees of this code.
(Ordinance 2021-20 adopted 9/27/21)
No public swimming pool shall be operated, owned, maintained, made available for use, or otherwise controlled by any person or organization without an operational permit therefore issued by the health officer of the city. Application for such permit shall be the city’s inspections and planning department. The applicant must show proof of attendance and successful completion for a swimming pool operator’s training course. Permits shall be issued for a period not to exceed one year, with all permits to expire at midnight on December 31st of each year. Permits shall be renewed by the payment of permit fees in the amount of $75.00 per annum. Failure to secure a permit by January 1st of each year shall result in a penalty of 25 percent of the applicable permit fee in addition to the amount otherwise due for a permit under this section. Permits may be revoked and the public swimming pool immediately closed by the city’s inspections and planning department at any time the swimming pool is not operated in a healthful and sanitary manner in accordance with such regulations as the city may establish, including but not limited to the specific requirements stated herein. All permit holders and all other persons or organizations operating, owning, making available for use, maintaining or otherwise controlling a public swimming pool shall comply with each of the following requirements:
(1) 
All swimming pool water shall be treated and maintained so as to provide a satisfactory physical quality in accordance with the following standard: The water, at all times when the pool is in use, shall be sufficiently clear to permit a black disc six inches in diameter on a white field, when placed on the bottom of the pool at the deepest point, to be clearly visible from the deck of the pool at all distances up to ten yards measured from a line drawn across the pool through the disc.
(2) 
The surface of the pool water shall be kept free of scum and foreign floating matter. The bottom and sides of the pool shall be maintained free of turbidity and shall be sufficiently clear so that the main drain grill is clearly visible from the sides of the pool.
(3) 
Areas surrounding pools, including bathhouses, dressing rooms, toilets, shower stalls, and lounging areas, shall at all times be kept clean and in a state of proper repair.
(4) 
Safety and first-aid equipment shall be provided in accordance with such regulations as the health officer may prescribe.
(5) 
No water in any pool shall ever be permitted to show an acid reaction to the standard pH test. Water in public pool shall show a pH reaction between 7.2 and 7.8.
(6) 
No sample taken by a health inspector of public swimming pool water shall contain any presence of Pseudomonas or other pathogenic organisms. It shall be a violation of these requirements, if either: (A) two or more consecutive samples of the pool water or (B) if more than 15 percent of the water samples taken during any 30-day period of time, shall (i) contain more than 200 bacteria per milliliter, as determined by the standard agar plate count or (ii) Show positive test (confirmed test) for coliform organisms of more 1.0 coliform organisms per 50 milliliters in any of the five-milliliter portions of a sample. The director shall prescribe the type and frequency of collection and examination of samples to assure water quality meets minimum requirements.
(7) 
All public swimming pools shall have a recirculation system which shall be kept in operation to maintain the required sanitary quality of the water by recirculating all water in the swimming pool within a six-hour period of time, except for spa pools, which shall recirculate every 30 minutes.
(8) 
When chlorine or chlorine compounds are used as the disinfectant, the water in the pool at all times (while in use) shall contain a free chlorine residual of not less than 1.0 part per million as measured by the DPD method in swimming pools; and not less than 2.0 part per million as measured by the DPD method in spa pools. If other halogens are used, residual of equivalent disinfecting strength shall be maintained in accordance with the standards approved by the American Public Health Association.
(9) 
Each public swimming pool shall have a daily record of information regarding operation, including readings of disinfectant residual, pH and chemicals used in controlling the quality of the water, cleaning procedures utilized such as cleaning of filter, and quantity of chemicals used. This data shall be kept on file by the holder of the pool permit for the preceding six-month period of time for review by the health department upon request.
(10) 
In the off season when the pool is not available for use, public swimming pools used on a seasonal basis shall be:
(A) 
Covered with a safety cover;
(B) 
Shall have the water maintained with a sufficient clarity at all times so that the main drain is readily visible; or
(C) 
Kept drained and clean.
(11) 
All public swimming pools, except those pools which are drained of water, shall meet all requirements of this Section at all times, even during the off season.
(12) 
All public swimming pools shall be equipped with a chlorinator, hypochlorinator or disinfectant feeder or feeders in continual operation. The chlorinators shall be designed to prevent the backflow of water into the chlorine solution container.
(13) 
All public swimming pools shall have drain covers that are in place and secure. All drain covers shall be anti-vortex covers, which are dome shaped with numerous openings on the perimeter to prevent entrapment.
(14) 
All public pools shall have safety equipment consisting of ring buoys, shepherd’s crooks and lifelines, of number and type approved by the health officer, which shall be provided within ten feet of the perimeter of the pool and readily accessible and visible to anyone in the area of the swimming pool.
(15) 
Where no lifeguards are in constant attendance, a sign shall be conspicuously posted near the pool which states: “WARNING: NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY.” This sign shall be composed of clearly legible letters not less than four inches high. In addition, the sign shall also state “CHILDREN SHOULD NOT USE POOL WITHOUT AN ADULT IN ATTENDANCE.”
(16) 
Each public swimming pool shall have a telephone and standard 24-unit first-aid kit. If the telephone and first-aid kit cannot be practically located at poolside, they may be located in an immediately adjacent and readily accessible office or other nearby and readily accessible area, and a clearly legible and conspicuous sign shall be posted at poolside which states where the emergency phone and first-aid kit are located. If the phone and first-aid kit are located in an office or other enclosure, these items must be accessible at all times without the use of a key when the swimming pool is in use.
(17) 
The maximum water temperature of public swimming pools and spa pools shall be 100 degrees F.
(18) 
No person with sore or inflamed eyes, colds, nasal or ear discharges, boils or other acute or obvious skin or body infections or cuts shall enter the water of a swimming pool. All such persons shall be excluded from the pool by the pool permit holder. No person in or at a swimming pool shall commit or be permitted to commit any act or omission prejudicial to the life or health of any person using the pool. All such persons described in this subsection (16) shall be excluded by the swimming pool permit holder, or other persons leasing, maintaining or otherwise in control of the swimming pool.
(Ordinance 2021-20 adopted 9/27/21)
(a) 
Every outdoor swimming pool shall be completely surrounded by a fence or wall not less than four feet in height, which shall be so constructed as not to have openings, holes or gaps larger than four inches in any dimension except for doors and gates; and if a picket fence is erected or maintained the horizontal dimension between pickets shall not exceed four inches. A dwelling house or accessory building may be used as part of such enclosure.
(b) 
All gates or doors opening through such enclosure shall be equipped with a self-closing and self-latching device for keeping the gate or door securely closed at all times when not in actual use, except that the door of any dwelling which forms a part of the enclosure need not be so equipped.
(c) 
This requirement shall be applicable to new swimming pools hereafter constructed, other than indoor pools, and shall apply to such existing pools which have a minimum depth of 24 inches of water. No person in possession of land within the city, either as owner, purchaser, lessee, tenant or a licensee, upon which is situated a swimming pool having a minimum depth of 24 inches, shall fail to provide and maintain such fence or wall as herein provided.
(Ordinance 2021-20 adopted 9/27/21)
The following minimum means of egress shall be provided:
(1) 
Private residential swimming pool.
All private residential pools shall provide a minimum of two means of egress in the form of steps or ladders. At least one such means of egress shall be located on a side of the pool at both the deep end and shallow end of the pool.
(2) 
Exception.
Above-ground pools which do not exceed 48 inches in depth or 24 feet in any dimension shall provide a minimum of one ladder or set of steps out of the pool. Treads of steps or ladders shall be constructed of nonslip material and shall be at least three inches wide for the full length. Steps and ladders shall have a handrail on both sides.
(Ordinance 2021-20 adopted 9/27/21)
All direct connections between a swimming pool, including existing pools, and the city water supply and/or sewer systems shall be prohibited. There shall be at least six inches of clearance between the filler spigot and the high-water mark of the pool. The mechanical arrangement of the water supply system and drainage system shall be constructed in a manner approved by the building inspector and health department; provided, however, that in every case drainage connections shall be so constructed as to allow the water to be drained or pumped to a city underground storm sewer or sanitary sewer. Where a sanitary sewer system or underground storm sewer system is involved there shall be no direct connection between the drains and the sewers; all pool drains to the sewer should be broken by a manhole or junction box at the termination of the sewer line or a point where any sewage which may back up from the sewer will overflow to waste instead of being permitted to reach the pool.
(Ordinance 2021-20 adopted 9/27/21)
(a) 
All electrical installations provided for, installed and used in conjunction with private residential swimming pools, except existing pools, including overhead and underwater illumination systems, shall be in conformance with the city electrical code and/or the National Electrical Code as approved by the American Standards Association and the National Electrical Safety Code as approved by the American Standards Association.
(b) 
No current-carrying electrical conductors shall cross private residential swimming pools, except existing pools, either overhead or underground.
(c) 
All metal fences, enclosures, railings or other metal or electrical appurtenances of any kind near or adjacent to swimming pools, except existing pools, which might become electrically alive as a result of contact with broken overhead conductors or from any other cause shall be effectively grounded.
(Ordinance 2021-20 adopted 9/27/21)
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $500.00, and each and every day’s violation shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. In case the owner or occupant of any building under the provisions of this article shall be a corporation and shall violate any of the provisions of this article, the president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer of such corporation, or manager, agent or employee of such corporation, shall be also severally liable for the penalties herein provided for a violation of this article.
(Ordinance 2021-20 adopted 9/27/21)