Redding requires every outdoor residential pool to be enclosed by a permanent barrier at least 60 inches (5 feet) tall, with a maximum 2-inch bottom clearance, openings that cannot pass a 4-inch sphere, and self-closing/self-latching gates that swing away from the pool with latch hardware at least 60 inches above ground. The rules come from California Health & Safety Code §115921-115929 (the Swimming Pool Safety Act), California Building Code Appendix AX, and local provisions at RMC §18.40.160 / §18.43.02(C), as compiled in the City's published Residential Swimming Pools and Spas Homeowners Guide.
Redding's pool barrier rules are the strictest combination of state and local law. The California Health & Safety Code §115921 et seq. (the Swimming Pool Safety Act) defines a 'swimming pool' as any body of water 18 inches or more in depth - so wading pools and inflatable pools count if they hold 18 inches. The City's Residential Swimming Pools and Spas Homeowners Guide compiles the operative requirements: (1) the top of the barrier must be at least 60 inches above grade, measured on the side facing away from the pool; (2) the maximum vertical clearance between grade and the bottom of the barrier is 2 inches (or up to 4 inches when the barrier is mounted on the top of an aboveground/on-ground pool structure); (3) openings in the barrier shall not pass a 4-inch sphere; (4) when the barrier has horizontal and vertical members spaced less than 45 inches apart, horizontals must be on the pool side and verticals spaced no more than 1.75 inches apart; (5) chain-link mesh maximum size is 2.25 inches squared (1.75 inches with slats); (6) pedestrian-access gates 4 feet wide or less must be self-closing, self-latching, swing away from the pool, accommodate a lock, and where the release mechanism is below 60 inches it must sit on the pool side at least 3 inches below the gate top with no opening greater than 1/2 inch within 18 inches of the release. Spas and hot tubs with locking covers complying with ASTM F1346 are exempt from the Pool Safety Act drowning-prevention feature requirements per Health & Safety Code §115925. Where a wall of a dwelling serves as part of the barrier, doors with direct pool access must have either a UL 2017 water-hazard entrance alarm, an ASTM F1346 safety cover, or a self-closing/self-latching device meeting H&S Code requirements.
Non-compliant barriers are enforced by the City Building Code Official under RMC Title 16. Penalties include stop-work orders, mandatory drain-down until compliance, administrative citations, and an order to bring the barrier into compliance before the pool is filled or plastered. Civil liability under the attractive-nuisance doctrine for a child drowning in an unsecured pool is independent and frequently runs into seven figures in California.
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