Abington, PA Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Section 149-2, adopted November 13, 1958 under Ordinance No. 920, sets Abington Township's pool fencing standard. It covers the same range of structures as the permit section: any bathing place, swimming pool or artificial body of water, plus any excavation that can hold water more than two feet deep, whether built before or after the ordinance, once it sits within 300 feet of a property line. That pool must be entirely surrounded by a substantial wire mesh or solid fence at least four feet in height.

The fence cannot have any vertical interspace wider than two inches, and it cannot have a horizontal rail or component on the outside that could be used as a footstep for climbing over. The code then lists the acceptable materials and their minimum specifications: wood picket fencing must be at least three-fourths-inch stock; iron picket fencing must use at least a one-half-inch iron bar; chain link must use vertical chains of No. 9-gauge wire spaced no more than two inches apart; and any other woven or solid fence must have strength equivalent to one of those three and satisfy the Building Inspector.

Every gate built into the fence has to be secured with a lock that the Building Inspector finds satisfactory, closing off casual entry even when the fence itself meets height and mesh requirements. Because Section 149-1 requires an applicant to show the Building Inspector the planned method of fencing and latching before a permit issues, this fencing standard is enforced at the permit stage, not just after the pool is built, and it applies to any pool that predates the ordinance, since it covers pools "heretofore or hereafter installed."