Durham, NC Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Sec. 5.4.9 of the Durham Unified Development Ordinance applies to in-ground and above-ground swimming pools with a water depth over 24 inches and a surface area of at least 100 square feet. A small wading pool under either threshold falls outside these extra standards. The section opens with a commentary note that pools remain subject to any applicable public health and North Carolina building code requirements, so the UDO fence clause is one layer on top of those codes, not a replacement for them.

The fence mandate sits in paragraph B, which covers outdoor community pools, private club pools, and pools serving townhouses, detached rowhouses, multiplexes and apartments. Paragraph B.3 says all outdoor pools in that group shall be enclosed by a fence. Exterior walls of buildings can serve as part of the fence, so a courtyard pool ringed by apartment walls needs fencing only across the open gaps. Every point of ingress or egress needs a self-closing and self-latching gate. The fence has to be at least four feet tall, and its opacity, which the UDO defines as the share of the fence surface that is impenetrable to light when viewed straight on, cannot exceed 50%. A solid board privacy fence therefore fails, while picket, rail or mesh designs that let light through pass.

Paragraph A, the private pool rule for residential lots, sets location limits instead. The pool, its decking and its equipment cannot sit between the street and the principal structure unless they are located to the rear of the primary structure, and none of it can be closer than five feet to any property line. Paragraph A contains no fence sentence of its own, so the written fence duty in § 5.4.9 attaches to the paragraph B pool types.

Paragraph B also protects neighbors. Outdoor pools including decking, except roof-top pools, must sit at least 100 feet from any property line adjacent to a single-family residential district or use, and land across a public right-of-way does not count as adjacent. Where the pool is adjacent to off-site residences, playing music detectable off-site on a public address system is prohibited. Informational announcements are allowed, and the music ban does not apply when a special event permit has been issued.

Hotels and motels get a cross-reference. The Sec. 5.3 limited use standard for hotels, motels and extended stay residences says that if an outdoor recreation facility is a swimming pool, it shall meet the standards of paragraph 5.4.9 with regard to fencing.