Permits, Pools and Safety

The Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) Podcast episode, “Permits, Pools, and Safety,” focuses on the permitting process for residential swimming pools and the importance of a pool barrier for safety. DPS Customer Support and Outreach (CSO) Division Chief Gail Lucas hosts the podcast. DPS Residential Manager David Burch joins her for a discussion about when a permit is needed for a residential swimming pool and what kind of barrier is required. Their conversation covers how the permitting process works from applying for a building and electrical permit, to the number of inspections needed, and the role of zoning when locating a swimming pool. 

For more information about the permitting process for residential pools, visit the DPS website.  Do you have an idea or question for a future DPS podcast episode?  Email dps.podcast@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Transcript

Gail Lucas 0:10

Welcome to the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services podcast. I'm Gail Lucas, your host. I'm also the Division Chief for the Customer Support and Outreach Division here at DPS. Joining us on the podcast today is David Birch. He is the DPS Residential Inspection Manager. Yes? Right. Thank you for joining us, Dave. He's going to talk to us about residential pool permits, pool safety, and the importance of pool barriers.

David Burch 0:39

Well, thanks for having me. This is a really important topic, especially this time of year. More and more we're we're having people install swimming pools, everything from full in-ground pools all the way to these, you know, little blow-up kitty pools.

Gail Lucas 0:57

Right.

David Burch 0:57

And um, hopefully today we can talk about some of those.

Gail Lucas 1:01

We know that there are an alarming number of water-related deaths and injuries that occur around the country every year. Um, and we know, particularly this time of year, people are starting to think about pools. They're opening up their personal pools, they're uh going to public pools. Um, so tell us what we need to know about pool safety. Do you need a permit for a pool from the in-ground pool to the blow-up pool? Um, and what do we need to know about pool barriers?

David Burch 1:34

So uh starting with the swimming pool permits, uh, any pool that is uh 24 inches deep or less is portable and has no circulating equipment, no swimming pool pump, okay, so to speak, does not need a re a permit. The caveat to that though is that it's the homeowner's responsibility that when that pool is unattended, that it be empty.

Gail Lucas 2:03

Okay.

David Burch 2:04

Uh if they're not emptying a pool, or if there's circulating equipment, then it must have a barrier and it must have a permit.

Gail Lucas 2:13

Okay.

David Burch 2:15

From that, every other pool needs a permit, whether it's an above-ground pool or an in-ground pool.

Gail Lucas 2:22

Let's back up and talk about barrier. What do you mean by a pool barrier? Is that always a fence? Is that something else? Does it need to be behind a locked gate? Let's talk about a pool barrier.

David Burch 2:34

So here in Montgomery County, a pool barrier is uh it's got a lot of design criteria, but essentially it's a 60-inch fence uh around a pool.

Gail Lucas 2:46

Okay.

David Burch 2:46

In the case of an in-ground pool, that can be accomplished either by a fence that surrounds just the pool or a fence that encompasses the pool in a whole yard type fence situation. The key there, though, is that it be a 60-inch tall fence. Any of the gates must open um in a particular direction and have a latch that is self-latching.

Gail Lucas 3:15

Okay.

David Burch 3:16

The fence can't be climbable.

Gail Lucas 3:17

Okay.

David Burch 3:18

So there's all kinds of design criteria that, of course, we'd be more than happy to help uh homeowners.

Gail Lucas 3:25

Must my pool also have a pool cover, or is the fence sufficient as a barrier?

David Burch 3:31

So some pools have covers, but that cover does not take the place of a barrier.

Gail Lucas 3:37

Okay.

David Burch 3:38

There is one exception to that. If the pool was installed, an in-ground pool was installed prior to July of 1990, then the cover can suffice as that pool barrier.

Gail Lucas 3:53

Okay. Does the cover have to be an automatic cover? It can be a manual cover.

David Burch 3:56

Must be an automatic cover.

Gail Lucas 3:58

Okay.

David Burch 3:59

Uh if it's if the pool is installed after that date, then it must have a fence.

Gail Lucas 4:06

Let's talk about the need for barriers. When does a pool need a barrier?

David Burch 4:12

So anytime a pool needs a permit, then it must have a barrier.

Gail Lucas 4:20

Okay.

David Burch 4:20

So let me um let me explain that a little bit. Okay. So as I mentioned, if a pool is less than 24 inches, has no circulating equipment, and is portable, it does not need a permit, and therefore does not need a barrier.

Gail Lucas 4:36

Okay.

David Burch 4:38

If it falls outside of that criteria, then it must have a barrier.

Gail Lucas 4:42

But in all circumstances, I need to be mindful of who's in that water or who's playing in that pool, even if it's a little kiddie pool or an in-ground pool, right?

David Burch 4:53

Exactly. And that's pretty much what this boils down to is we're we want to protect the toddlers, the children, even adults, uh from you know accidentally finding themselves inside the pool. And um, ironically, with uh some of our animal populations, we're also trying to keep the animals out of the pool. Right. We have uh quite a deer population, and um they occasionally find themselves in pools and can't get out.

Gail Lucas 5:24

Does a pool cover suffice as a barrier for my pool, or do I still need a fence?

David Burch 5:31

No. So pool barrier does not suffice unless that pool was built prior to July of 1990.

Gail Lucas 5:40

Okay.

David Burch 5:40

If the pool was built after that date, then it must have a fence. It must have a 60-inch barrier.

Gail Lucas 5:47

Okay. What permits do I need for my pool?

David Burch 5:52

So each pool that requires a permit is going to have a building permit and an electrical permit.

Gail Lucas 6:00

Okay.

David Burch 6:00

The electrical permit handles the electric side of it, the pool pumps, the lights, that type of thing. The building permit handles the structure of the pool and the inspections associated with that.

Gail Lucas 6:14

What construction documents are generally required? What kind of information does the customer have to provide DPS in order to get their pool permit?

David Burch 6:24

So anytime a permit is applied for, uh, we need a site plan showing how that pool is going to be oriented on the property, where it's going to be located to ensure that it meets the setback requirements. It's far enough away from your neighboring property lines and that type of thing. And then there's uh design paperwork that must be submitted from generally a pool company that will um show how the pool shell is being designed, where the skimmers are going to be, where the ladder cups are going to be, okay, and stairs, egress, ingress, that type of thing.

Gail Lucas 7:05

Is this something that a homeowner can pull? Can a can a homeowner pull the built the pool permit, or must it be a contractor?

David Burch 7:12

No, a homeowner can pull his own swimming pool permit.

Gail Lucas 7:15

Okay.

David Burch 7:15

And often do. The one piece that the homeowner can't do is the electrical permit.

Gail Lucas 7:23

Okay.

David Burch 7:24

The electrical permit requires an electrician.

Gail Lucas 7:27

Okay. And is that a licensed master electrician, right? Okay. What about hot tubs and spas? Are the rules the same for hot tubs and spas?

David Burch 7:37

So they're a little bit different for hot tubs and spas. Um, spas and hot tubs are allowed covers instead of a uh 60-inch barrier. A spa does not require a 60-inch barrier, but it requires a lockable cover.

Gail Lucas 7:53

Okay.

David Burch 7:54

Um the premise there is that you'll be able to close that cover, latch it, a child can't get in.

Gail Lucas 8:02

Okay.

David Burch 8:03

Um, there's some differences in the inspection process with spas. We look at um, we pretty much treat treat spas as a uh an appliance.

Gail Lucas 8:15

Okay.

David Burch 8:16

Because they're already have their pumps installed. Yes. It's a matter of hooking it up to an electric circuit.

Gail Lucas 8:23

Okay. How often do we get complaints from neighbors about pools?

David Burch 8:29

Uh quite often. Uh here in a couple of months when the weather gets a little warmer, right? Um, there's a lot of misunderstanding on what's required for uh the kitty pools.

Gail Lucas 8:41

Okay.

David Burch 8:42

And uh this is about the time of year that the neighbors start looking at, well, their fence isn't um in good repair. It needs to have the holes patched and that kind of thing. Uh so we start getting complaints about now and we investigate each one.

Gail Lucas 9:01

What about pool drains, grates, outlet configurations, pool cleaning fitters? Um, anything else we should note about pools or anything else that someone who's considering a pool needs to make sure that they take care of whether they include?

David Burch 9:18

So um there's actually kind of two areas for the swimming pool. One is the installation and the inspections that go with that, okay, that whole process, which is a fairly simple process. Um, and then the other part of that is the day-to-day maintenance of that pool.

Gail Lucas 9:36

Okay.

David Burch 9:36

When a swimming pool is installed, there are certain safety features built into that pool, such as uh uh drain covers that are um um a non-trap type of design where if uh a swimmer gets too close to the drain, it doesn't pull him to the bottom.

Gail Lucas 9:57

Okay.

David Burch 9:58

That kind of thing. Um, there are maybe suction inlets along the walls and they have covers on them.

Gail Lucas 10:06

Okay.

David Burch 10:07

Um, that's so that again, if a child is swimming past it, it doesn't hold him against the wall. Okay. Him or her. And those things need to be maintained on a on a daily basis. If they come off or they become dislodged, well, now we have a safety issue with the day day-to-day use of the pool.

Gail Lucas 10:27

Does DPS regulate or inspect things like pool slides or diving boards?

David Burch 10:34

Well, slides and diving boards we don't see too much anymore.

Gail Lucas 10:37

Okay.

David Burch 10:38

Um, mainly because of the depth required.

Gail Lucas 10:41

Okay.

David Burch 10:42

But um, but when when we're doing the installation, if they've decided to have a diving board, then yes, that diving board is inspected um to make sure that it's installed per the manufacturer's instruction, that any metal framing is bonded. Um one of the things that that we do during our inspection process, there's essentially three inspections for a typical in-ground pool.

Gail Lucas 11:10

Okay.

David Burch 11:11

Um, one is the initial inspection after they've dug the hole.

Gail Lucas 11:15

Right.

David Burch 11:16

They've put in the rebar. Um, we come out and inspect that rebar cage that's that's uh part of the pool shell to ensure that all that rebar is electrically bonded to each other and that the bonding comes out of that shell so that it can be tied into the grounding grid so that there's no potential for an electric shock inside the pool.

Gail Lucas 11:41

Right.

David Burch 11:42

The next inspection uh generally is a bonding inspection for the pool deck.

Gail Lucas 11:49

Okay.

David Burch 11:49

So if you've got concrete or pavers that you're putting around your pool, there's a grounding grid that goes around that that deck again to ensure that there's no electrical hazard.

Gail Lucas 12:02

Okay.

David Burch 12:03

At that time is when we're looking at the metal ladder cups that the ladder's gonna mount in, or the diving board frame, or any other metal. Um, any metal that's within five feet of a swimming pool water's edge must be bonded.

Gail Lucas 12:18

Okay.

David Burch 12:19

That's to ensure that again, there's no shock hazard.

Gail Lucas 12:22

Okay.

David Burch 12:23

And then our final inspection, we come back, we look at the operation of the pool, um, we look at the by this time the pool equipment is operating. Okay. We can see how the water is flowing, we look at the bonding of the motors itself, we look at the any outlets that might be close to the pool, and that's when we really start looking at that pool barrier to see, okay, is it compliant? Is it tall enough? Non-climbable.

Gail Lucas 12:54

So a final inspection of my pool, I have to fill my pool up. It has to have water in it. Okay. Yes.

David Burch 13:01

Um there are some exceptions to that. Okay. Um we generally don't want water in the pool until it's at that final stage. Okay. But there are a few types of pools that we allow water to be put in before it's at that stage. In certain areas, a uh fiberglass pool shell, for instance, if the water table is very high, it'll float out of the ground like a boat. Okay. So we we allow the contractor to go ahead and fill the pool with water to kind of anchor it in place.

Gail Lucas 13:34

Okay. What about above ground pools? What you talked about primarily has been rules that apply to in-ground pools. What about an above-ground pool?

David Burch 13:44

So your typical above-ground pool is four feet tall.

Gail Lucas 13:47

Okay.

David Burch 13:48

And um the code says that the barrier must be 60 inches.

Gail Lucas 13:54

Okay.

David Burch 13:55

So in this case, uh, they can mount a two-foot tall barrier around the above-ground pool on top of the pool edge. Okay. Right. Um, or they have to do the 60-inch barrier around the uh around the pool.

Gail Lucas 14:12

Do people typically mount this two-foot barrier on top of their pool or do they? Okay.

David Burch 14:17

It's very unusual. They usually do the six-foot or the five-foot pool or five-foot fence around the whole structure.

Gail Lucas 14:27

Okay.

David Burch 14:28

With the above-ground pools, there's a few differences in that we're not looking at a pool bonding uh shell, that type of thing. Sure. Generally, we're just doing a final inspection to make sure that it's operating properly and it's properly grounded.

Gail Lucas 14:43

And again, does my pool have to have water in it to have that final inspection? My above-ground pool have to have in it.

David Burch 14:48

It should for that final, yes. Because we want to see that that pump is working properly.

Gail Lucas 14:53

Okay. What else do folks need to know? What are some other things that maybe we haven't talked about or I haven't asked about that you want to make sure that people pay attention to with pools this summer?

David Burch 15:04

Well, um, I mean, the the biggest thing is just, you know, have in mind safety at all times.

Gail Lucas 15:12

Okay.

David Burch 15:13

Uh, there is a requirement that's quite often missed where if the house is part of that pool barrier, okay, and there are doors or windows that open on from that first floor directly into the pool area, okay, where a toddler may open a door and be able to get out, then there are is a requirement for alarms on those doors. Okay. The um other method to ensure that is that if there's an automatic pool barrier, uh I should say automatic pool cover, okay, in addition to the pool barrier that goes around, okay, then the alarms are not required.

Gail Lucas 15:55

Okay.

David Burch 15:55

So it's either an automatic pool cover or the alarms.

Gail Lucas 15:59

All right. What else? Is there anything else that folks need to think about with pools?

David Burch 16:05

Uh the biggest thing that we run into is their placement of their pool.

Gail Lucas 16:10

Oh, okay.

David Burch 16:10

Um, make sure that it's situated where they want it, obviously, but at the same time to understand that there are setback requirements from a z from our zoning department that determine, you know, it's got to be this many feet or so many feet off of the property line. And then it's um it's real important that as the pool construction process begins, that if they make any changes to their design, to their orientation of the pool, to the location of the pool or the pool equipment, that they come back in and see us and make sure that they're still going to comply with that with those setback requirements. We have had uh uh an occasion here or there where they changed the the orientation of the pool. That made it too close to a setback requirement. Okay. And that pool had to be removed and changed and moved.

Gail Lucas 17:09

Not a fun time to dig up my pool.

David Burch 17:13

We would much rather people come in, ask questions. They can call us directly. You know, we'd we'd rather handle it that way than um having somebody go through the expense of uprooting a pool.

Gail Lucas 17:27

Absolutely. Thank you very much, Dave, for joining us on the podcast today. And remember, we are here to help you, our customer, succeed. It's important to know when you need a permit and when you don't need a permit. We are available to you Monday through Friday, 7 30 a.m. to 4 o'clock p.m. at the DPS offices located at 2425 Reedy Drive on the seventh floor. You can also call our Customer Support Center by dialing 311 if you're in Montgomery County or 240-777-0311 if you're out of the county. Our office hours are Monday through Friday from 7.30 a.m. to 4 o'clock p.m. Got an idea or a question for an upcoming podcast? We want to hear from you. Email your ideas and questions to dps.podcast at MontgomeryCountymd.gov. And remember, you can go to the DPS website for all kinds of information and resources to help you with your project. Our website is MontgomeryCountymd.gov forward slash DPS. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it with your friends and your family and subscribe so that you always get our latest episode. Thank you for joining us today, and remember, DPS is your project partner.

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