Every residential pool in Hampshire County must be enclosed by a barrier. The state building code, 780 CMR, requires a barrier at least 48 inches high with self-closing, self-latching gates. Towns enforce it through the building inspector.
Pool barriers are governed statewide by 780 CMR, the Massachusetts building code, enforced by each town's building inspector rather than a county. Appendix G requires any pool holding water over 24 inches deep to be surrounded by a barrier whose top is at least 48 inches above the ground on the side facing away from the pool, with gaps too small to pass a four-inch sphere. Pedestrian gates must open outward, self-close, and self-latch. The rule applies uniformly in Northampton, Amherst, South Hadley, Belchertown, Ware, and Hadley; a permit and inspection come before the pool is filled.
A pool without a compliant 48-inch barrier fails inspection and the town building inspector can bar use of the pool. An uninspected or unpermitted pool draws a building-code enforcement order.
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