Hemet treats above-ground pools the same as in-ground pools: any structure holding water over 18 inches deep is a 'pool.' A building permit is required at 24 inches deep or greater (or for pool electrical), and the Pool Safety Act's two-feature barrier rules apply to above-ground pools, spas, and portable spas.
The City of Hemet's pool definitions make no exemption for above-ground pools. Information Bulletin 121 and the Pool Safety Requirements handout both define a swimming pool as 'any structure intended for swimming or recreational bathing that contains water over 18 inches deep,' expressly including 'in-ground and above-ground structures' and 'hot tubs, spas, portable spas and non-portable wading pools.' Because of this, an above-ground pool that is 24 inches deep or greater requires a City of Hemet building permit, and any electrical added or altered to serve it also requires a permit (extension cords are not allowed). The California Pool Safety Act's requirement for at least two drowning-prevention safety features applies to above-ground pools just as it does to in-ground pools, so an above-ground pool typically must be paired with a qualifying barrier, cover, alarm, or self-latching access. Standard zoning setbacks for pools (5 feet from the property line, 3 feet from other structures) and the residential rear-yard rule (no closer than 5 feet to the rear property line) apply. Hemet does not publish a separate, more lenient standard for above-ground pools; the depth-based permit trigger and the statewide safety-feature mandate are the controlling rules.
An above-ground pool 24 inches or deeper installed without a permit, or without the required safety features, is subject to Code Compliance action and may have to be brought into compliance or removed.
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