The Inflatable Pool That Needs a Building Permit

Two definitions, and they do not agree

The District of North Vancouver's Construction Bylaw definition, reproduced in its own Master Requirement BLD 119, reads: pool means a structure or constructed depression used or intended to be used for swimming, bathing, wading or diving which is designed to contain water and has a depth exceeding 0.5 m.

Note what is absent. There is no surface area threshold and no distinction between in-ground and above-ground. A structure designed to hold water deeper than half a metre is a pool. A soft-sided pool sold as holding 0.76 m of water is over that line by a comfortable margin.

The City of North Vancouver sets the trigger differently, and the difference is the word both. Its published handout states that any pool having a surface area exceeding 14.0 square metres and a depth of more than 450 mm needs to be enclosed by a fence. The City even works the arithmetic for the reader: circular pools with diameters of over 4.4 metres exceed this surface area.

So a 4 metre round pool filled to 0.7 m is under the City's area threshold and outside its fencing requirement, while sitting comfortably over the District's depth definition. Same pool, same backyard furniture, different municipality, opposite answer.

The fence standards differ in ways that matter on site

The District requires a fence not less than 1200 mm high, constructed without footholds or grips on the outside that children may use to climb into the enclosed area, with a gate having a properly maintained self-closing and self-latching device on the pool side of the enclosed area, not less than 150 mm from the top of the gate and 1000 mm above grade.

The City requires at least 1070 mm high, having no opening greater than 100 mm, built so that no feature of the fence provides toeholds or openings which make it easy for a child to climb over the fence, equipped with a self-closing gate that has a spring lock on the inside, meaning the pool side, of the fence.

The 130 mm height difference is the part that costs money on a fence already standing. A 42 inch fence built to the City's minimum is short of the District's minimum, which is a problem for nobody until a property changes hands or a complaint arrives.

The City adds a sentence the District's document does not: the fence must be a complete enclosure of the pool, such that the house is not considered to be part of the fence. This rules out the common backyard arrangement where three sides are fenced and the fourth is the back wall of the house with a patio door in it. That door is exactly the route a child takes.

The District's latch specification is the more prescriptive of the two, fixing both a distance from the top of the gate and a height above grade. Hardware that satisfies one municipality is not automatically compliant in the other.

• Measure an existing fence before assuming it qualifies. The two minimums are 1070 mm and 1200 mm.
• In the City, the house wall cannot form part of the enclosure, so a patio door opening onto the pool area is not an acceptable side.
• Check the outside face of the fence for horizontal rails, which are the classic foothold both bylaws are written against.
• Confirm latch position, not just latch type. The District specifies both a distance from the gate top and a height above grade.

In the District, a pool is a building permit and an engineer

This is where a permanent pool stops resembling a landscaping project. The District's Building Regulation Bylaw requires that an owner of property obtain a building permit prior to construction of a pool. In addition to a building permit, the construction of a pool typically requires the owner to obtain environmental, electrical, gas and plumbing permits.

The application is not a sketch. BLD 119 asks for two copies of a site plan showing the size, setbacks and location of the pool relative to the dwelling, accessory buildings and property lines, the location and height of fencing, the location of electrical service and overhead wiring, sanitary and storm sewer connections, the water connection, the heater equipment or the building housing it, and any proposed accessory buildings. It also asks for professionally sealed structural plans or manufacturer's shop drawings.

Then the line that resets the budget: Letters of Assurance Schedule B for structural engineering design and field review are required to be submitted with the building permit application. Schedule B means a registered professional takes responsibility for the design and commits to field review, and Schedules CA and CB must be submitted to the building inspector before the final inspection is accepted. Spas and hot tubs are excluded from the Schedule B requirement.

On the sloped lots that make up much of the District, add one more: steep slopes, high water table, poor soil bearing or other unusual conditions may require that a geotechnical report and Letters of Assurance be submitted at application.

The environmental layer most people never see coming

The District attaches an environmental process to in-ground pools that has nothing to do with water safety. Most applications for an in-ground pool, not applicable to spas and hot tubs, must include a Soil Permit.

The Tree Bylaw is in scope as well. It regulates work near, and the removal of, significant trees, construction near streams, as well as work on or near steep slopes. A pool excavation inside the root zone of a protected tree is regulated work, and the tree does not have to come down for the bylaw to apply.

Development Permit Areas for Environment and Hazards can also apply, covering creek, slope, wildfire hazards and streamside protection, and these require the Natural DPA application form. On the North Shore, where creeks run through a great many residential lots, this is not an edge case.

A combined environmental and building security deposit is required prior to issuance, refundable subject to confirmation that permit conditions have been met and that no damage to the environment or municipal infrastructure has occurred. That is cash held until the end of the job.

Where the water goes, and why it is a plumbing question

Pool drainage on the North Shore follows a two-pipe logic that mirrors the rest of the drainage rules here, and getting it backwards is both a code failure and an environmental one.

The District is explicit. Swimming pool drain, spa and hot tub drains, pool utility room floor drain, and backwash lines must be installed to discharge per District standard to the sanitary sewer system. Deck drains discharge into the storm drainage system.

So the chemically treated water goes to sanitary, the rain that lands on the deck goes to storm. The City's handout reaches the same conclusion from the health side: when the pool is emptied the water must be siphoned to the sanitary sewer, not discharged to the ground or to the storm sewer, because pool water contains chemicals which should not enter fish bearing streams or gardens.

Two more District requirements belong on the drawing rather than in the field. The water supply to a swimming pool must be separated by an approved backflow preventer so pool water cannot contaminate the potable supply. And primary sanitary, storm and water supply services should not be located below a pool, which is a siting constraint that can move the whole pool on a tight lot.

Siting, setbacks, and the noise nobody budgets for

Zoning decides where the pool can sit, and it is not uniform. The District is divided into numerous residential and neighbourhood zones, each with a potentially different and unique set of requirements with respect to location and siting of a pool, and owners are advised to confirm setback and siting requirements early in the design process.

The City ties siting to pool height rather than to the pool's footprint. Under its Zoning Bylaw, pools exceeding 0.91 metres high require sufficient vision clearance from driveways, and pools exceeding 1.22 metres in height must be placed to the rear of the front face of the house. A tall above-ground pool cannot go in the front yard.

Then the equipment. The District's Noise Bylaw specifically designates noise or sound from mechanical equipment, including heat pumps, ventilation equipment, air conditioning systems, vents and pool or hot tub pumps as objectionable where it affects the peace, rest, enjoyment, comfort or convenience of individuals or the public.

A pool heat pump running through a summer evening, three metres from a neighbour's bedroom window, is the single most common source of complaint on a finished pool project. It is solved cheaply at the drawing stage by moving the equipment pad or enclosing it, and expensively afterwards.

The trade permits, and who is allowed to pull them

All pool installations require an electrical permit and all work must be inspected including any underground work. Only a licensed electrical contractor or a qualified resident homeowner may obtain an electrical permit, and the District adds a condition that catches a lot of North Shore houses: a homeowner can only do electrical work if there is no secondary suite.

Before the permit is issued, an electrical inspector carries out a site investigation whose purpose is to identify potential safety hazards including electrical outlets, light fixtures and overhead wires. Overhead service drops crossing a backyard are common on older streets and can decide where the pool goes.

Plumbing and gas permits are required for work associated with the construction of a pool, and only a licensed plumber or a qualified resident homeowner may obtain a plumbing permit. A plumbing inspector reviews the site to identify hazards including clearance to gas heating equipment and sewer locations.

There is also a pool fill charge included with the building permit fee to construct a pool, which does not apply to spas and hot tubs. It is a small line, and it surprises people because they have never seen a municipality charge for the water going in.

What to do before you buy

For a permanent pool, the sequence that avoids the expensive surprises is boring and it works. Confirm the zone and its siting rules, confirm whether an environmental development permit area touches the lot, get the structural engineer engaged early because Schedule B is required at application rather than later, and settle the equipment location on the drawing while moving it is free.

For a large soft-sided pool, the question is narrower and worth answering before the box is opened. Find the depth the manufacturer states and the surface area, then compare them against the thresholds for your municipality rather than against a general impression that temporary pools are unregulated.

For a hot tub, the District offers a genuine alternative to fencing: in lieu of a fence, a spa or hot tub may be covered with locking covers which would prevent unauthorized or unsupervised access to the water. Spas and hot tubs are also excluded from the Schedule B requirement, the Soil Permit requirement, and the pool fill charge, which is why a hot tub is a much lighter process than a pool.

And in every case, ask the question in writing and keep the answer. Pool rules sit across a building bylaw, a zoning bylaw, an environmental bylaw and a noise bylaw at once, and the person best placed to reconcile them for your address works at your municipality.