5 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in St. Lucie County, Florida.
Verified from official government sources
A building permit is required to build a residential swimming pool anywhere in St. Lucie County. Plans are reviewed against the Florida Building Code Residential and the state Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (FS Ch. 515) before construction begins.
Florida's Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act sets St. Lucie County's pool-fence rule: a barrier must be at least 4 feet high on the outside, with no gaps a child could crawl under, squeeze through, or climb over.
FS 515.29(1)(a)-(b)
The barrier must be at least 4 feet high on the outside. The barrier may not have any gaps, openings, indentations, protrusions, or structural components that could allow a young child to crawl under, squeeze through, or climb over the barrier.
Under Florida Statute 515.27, every new residential pool in St. Lucie County must have at least one approved safety feature: an isolating barrier, an approved safety cover, exit alarms on home doors, self-closing/self-latching doors, or a certified pool alarm.
FS 515.27(1)(d)
All doors providing direct access from the home to the pool must be equipped with a self-closing, self-latching device with a release mechanism placed no lower than 54 inches above the floor.
In St. Lucie County an above-ground pool holding water over 24 inches deep is regulated exactly like an in-ground pool. Its own wall can serve as the barrier if it meets FS 515.29, and any ladder or steps must be lockable, securable, or removable.
FS 515.29(2)
Where the pool structure is used as the barrier or where the barrier is mounted on top of the pool structure, and the means of access is a ladder or steps, the ladder or steps must be capable of being secured, locked, or removed to prevent access.
Florida law folds hot tubs and nonportable spas into the definition of a swimming pool. In St. Lucie County a hot tub holding water over 24 inches deep must meet the same permit, barrier, and safety-feature requirements as a pool.
FS 515.25(1)
"Swimming pool" means any structure, located in a residential area, that is intended for swimming or recreational bathing and contains water over 24 inches deep, including, but not limited to, in-ground, aboveground, and on-ground swimming pools; hot tubs; and nonportable spas.
1 cities in St. Lucie County have their own swimming pools & spas rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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