(a) 
The 2021 edition of the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code in its entirety, including all appendices, is hereby adopted as the official swimming pool and spa code of the city and is fully incorporated by reference as though copied into this article in its entirety. The material contained in such code shall not be included in the formal municipal codification of ordinances but shall be maintained as a public record in the office of the city secretary and will be available for public inspection and copying during regular business hours. These provisions are herein adopted together with the additions and amendments hereinafter adopted in this article.
(b) 
The regulations set out in this article apply to all public and private swimming pools, spas, and interactive water features and fountains, except as specifically otherwise stated in this article. Wherever in this article a reference is made to a statute, ordinance, rule, or regulation which has been amended or superseded, the reference shall be deemed to mean the amended or superseding provision to the extent that such is a reasonable application.
(Ordinance 2021-02 adopted 1/28/21; Ordinance 2023-08 adopted 7/27/2023)
In addition to the definitions contained in the above referenced swimming pool and spa code, the following definitions shall apply in this article:
Pool.
Any manmade permanently installed or nonportable structure, basin, chamber, or tank containing an artificial body of water that is used for swimming, diving, aquatic sports, or other aquatic activity and that is operated by an owner, lessee, operator, licensee or concessionaire, regardless of whether a fee is charged for use. The pool may be either publicly or privately owned. The term does not include a spa or a decorative fountain that is not used as a pool. References within the standard to various types of pools are defined by the following categories.
(1) 
Class A pool - competition pool.
Any pool used, with or without a fee used for accredited competitive aquatic events such as the United States Swimming, United States Diving, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHSA), events. A class A pool may also be used for recreation.
(2) 
Class B pool - public pool.
Any pool used for public recreation and open to the general public with or without a fee.
(3) 
Class C pool - semi-public pool.
Any pool operated for and in conjunction with lodging such as hotels, motels, apartments, condominiums, or mobile home parks.
(4) 
Class D1–D6 pool - aquatic recreational facilities.
Includes wave pools, surf pools, activity pools, vortex pools, and leisure rivers.
(5) 
Class E pool.
Used as physical or occupational therapy pools and maintained at about 86 degrees Fahrenheit used to nurse injured people back to health.
(6) 
Class F pool.
A wading pool or kiddie pool with a maximum water depth of 24 inches at any point.
(7) 
Residential pool.
A pool intended for use which is an accessory to a residential setting only and available only to that household and its guests. All other pools shall be considered public pools for purposes of the code.
Public interactive water feature and fountain (PIWF).
Any indoor or outdoor installation maintained for public recreation that includes water sprays, dancing water jets, waterfalls, dumping buckets, or shooting water cannons in various arrays for the purpose of wetting the persons playing in the spray streams. PIWFs:
(1) 
May be stand-alone PIWFs or may share a water supply, disinfection system, filtration system, circulation system, or other treatment system that allows water to co-mingle with a pool;
(2) 
May be publicly or privately owned;
(3) 
May be operated by an owner, lessee, operator, licensee, or concessionaire, regardless of whether a fee is charged for use;
(4) 
Includes, but are not limited to, interactive water features or fountains that are open exclusively to members of an organization and their guests, residents of a multi-unit apartment building or apartment complex, residential real estate development, or other multifamily residential area, schools, day care facilities, youth camp, or hotel or other public accommodations facility;
(5) 
Do not include interactive water features or fountains located on private property under the control of the property owner or the owner’s tenant serving a single-family residence or duplex and that are intended for use by not more than two resident families and their guests; and
(6) 
Are not fountains, installations, amusement rides, or other attractions, whether decorative or interactive, in which only incidental water contact occurs.
(Ordinance 2021-02 adopted 1/28/21)
(a) 
All swimming pools, public and private, shall be maintained completely within an enclosure of sufficient strength to prevent access to the pool. All public pool yard enclosures, as defined by Texas Health and Safety Code, chapter 757, shall comply with the standards for that enclosure as are required or permitted by that chapter of the health and safety code and, for private pools, appendix G, as adopted, of the International Residential Code, 2012 edition.
(b) 
The city may repair, replace, secure, or otherwise remedy an enclosure or fence that is damaged, deteriorated, substandard, dilapidated, or otherwise in a state that poses a hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare. The city may also require the owner of the property on which the swimming pool or enclosure or fence is situated, after notice as provided in this section, to repair, replace, secure, or otherwise remedy an enclosure or fence of a swimming pool that the city or an appropriate city official, agent, or employee determines violates the minimum standards adopted under this section.
(c) 
If the enclosure or fence is on unoccupied property or is on property occupied only by persons who do not have a right of possession of the property, the city shall give notice to the owner, in accordance with the procedures set out in this section, of the city’s action to repair, replace, secure, or otherwise remedy an enclosure or fence of a swimming pool.
(d) 
If the city incurs expenses under this section, the city may assess the expenses on the remedy and place a lien against the property on which the swimming pool or the enclosure or fence is situated. The lien is extinguished if the property owner or another person having an interest in the legal title to the property reimburses the city for the expenses. The lien arises and attaches to the property at the time the notice of the lien is recorded in the office of the county clerk. The notice must contain the name and address of the owner if that information can be determined with a reasonable effort, a legal description of the real property on which the swimming pool or enclosure or fence is situated, the amount of expenses incurred by the city, and the balance due. The lien is a privileged lien subordinate only to tax liens and all previously recorded bona fide mortgage liens attached to the real property to which the city’s lien attaches.
(e) 
A city official, agent, or employee, acting under the authority granted by this section, may enter any unoccupied premises at a reasonable time to inspect, investigate, or enforce the powers granted under this section. A city official, agent or employee acting under the authority of this section may enter any occupied premises at any time to inspect, investigate, or enforce the powers granted under this section. The city and its officials, agents, or employees shall be immune from liability for any acts or omissions not knowingly done that are associated with actions taken in an effort to eliminate the dangerous conditions posed by an enclosure or fence that is damaged, deteriorated, substandard, dilapidated, or otherwise in a state that poses a hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare, and for any previous or subsequent conditions on the property.
(a) 
Any owner, operator or person in control of a public swimming pool, spa or PIWF must make a written application for a permit on forms provided by the regulatory authority. The application must contain the name and address of each applicant, the location and type of the swimming pool, spa or PIWF, and the applicable fee. Renewals of permits are required on an annual basis and the same information is required for a renewal permit as for an initial permit.
(b) 
Prior to the issuance of an initial permit or the renewal of an existing permit, the regulatory authority shall inspect the public swimming pool, spa, or PIWF to determine compliance with state laws and rules. A public pool or PIWF that does not comply with state laws and rules may be denied a permit or the renewal of a permit. The establishment shall remain closed until the corrections are made to bring the establishment into compliance.
(Ordinance 2013-04 adopted 4/25/13)
Whenever a public swimming pool, spa or PIWF is constructed or remodeled, properly prepared plans and specifications for such construction, remodeling or conversion shall be submitted to the regulatory authority for review before work is begun. All plans submitted shall meet the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code and bear the stamp of the designing professional engineer. The plans and specifications shall indicate the proposed layout, equipment arrangement, mechanical plans and construction of materials for work areas, and the type and model of proposed fixed equipment and facilities. The approved plans and specifications must be followed in construction or remodeling.
(Ordinance 2021-02 adopted 1/28/21)
Public swimming pools, spas, of PIWFs shall be inspected a minimum of once during a calendar year or upon receipt of a complaint where additional inspections shall be performed as deemed necessary to protect against public health hazards or nuisances.
Permit and inspection fees in connection with this article shall be set forth in the master fee schedule of the city, codified as appendix A to this code.
(a) 
Notice of suspension.
The city may temporarily suspend the permit of a public pool, spa, or PIWF for noncompliance with state pool, spa, or PIWF standards, by issuing a written notice for suspension. When a permit is suspended, pool, spa, or PIWF operations shall immediately cease. The city will immediately post a closed sign and the pool, spa, or interactive water feature access gate shall be locked until any and all violations have been corrected.
(b) 
Reinstatement of permit after suspension.
Whenever a notice of suspension is issued by the city, the holder of the permit or the person in charge will be given an opportunity to correct the violation(s) prior to final revocation of the permit. The city may end the suspension any time if the reasons for suspension no longer exist.
(c) 
Revocation of permit.
The city may, after providing notice of pending revocation and an opportunity for a hearing, revoke a permit for serious or repeated violations of any of the requirements of these rules or for interference with the city in the performance of its duties. Prior to revocation, the city shall notify the holder of the permit or the person in charge, in writing, of the reason for which the permit is subject to revocation and that the permit shall be revoked at the end of the ten days following service of such notice. Unless a written request for a hearing is filed with the city by the holder of the permit within such ten-day period, the revocation of the permit becomes final.
(d) 
Service of notices.
A notice provided for in these rules is properly served when it is delivered to the holder of the permit or the person in charge of pool and/or spa operations, or when it is sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address listed on the permit application. A copy of the notice shall be filed in the records of the regulatory authority.
(e) 
Hearings.
The hearings provided for in these rules shall be conducted by the regulatory authority at a time and place designated by it. Based upon the recorded evidence of such hearings, the regulatory authority shall make a final finding, and shall sustain, modify or rescind any notice or order considered in the hearing. A written report of the hearing decision shall be furnished to the holder of the permit by the regulatory authority.
(f) 
Application after revocation.
Final revocation of a pool and/or spa and/or PIWF permit shall not prevent the holder of the revoked permit from making written application for a new permit to the regulatory authority.
(g) 
Closed pool, spa, or PIWF.
Prior to reopening, the owner or operator shall provide the application and fee required by this article if a pool, spa, or PIWF:
(1) 
Closes voluntarily at the request of the regulatory authority on more than two occasions in one calendar year; or
(2) 
Closes on court order on more than two occasions in one calendar year.
(a) 
Any person who violates a provision of this article and any person who is the holder of a permit or who otherwise operates a public swimming pool, spa, or PIWF that does not comply with the requirements of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to a fine not to exceed the maximum amount authorized by law for violation of a city ordinance, as set forth in section 1.01.009. Each day of such violation shall constitute a separate offense. Such penalty shall be cumulative and not exclusive of any other rights or remedies the city may have.
(b) 
The city, including the city’s police department, and the inspector of public swimming pools, spas, and PIWFs may seek to enjoin violations of this article.
(c) 
Nothing herein contained shall prevent the city or its duly authorized designees from taking other lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation of this article.
(d) 
It shall not be necessary for the complaint to allege or to prove that the act or omission was knowingly done or omitted.
(e) 
The authority granted by this section is in addition to that granted by any other law.
The city designates the city administrator or his/her designee as its regulatory [authority] for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the standards of this article.
(Ordinance 2013-04 adopted 4/25/13)