Lakeville, MN Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

City Code § 11-21-5(G) governs "Swimming Pool Protection" for pools with a depth of twenty four inches or more and a surface area exceeding one hundred fifty square feet, which require zoning administrator approval under the administrative permit process in § 11-8-5. Subsection G3 sets the barrier standard itself: the pool must be enclosed by fencing or by the walls of a principal or accessory structure dense enough to be impenetrable, and that fence or wall must stand at least four feet tall. To prevent small children from squeezing underneath or through the fence, the code caps the gap at the bottom at four inches from the ground and caps any open space within the fence itself at four inches.

The fencing material must be noncorrosive and built so it cannot easily be climbed. Every opening or point of entry into the pool enclosure, meaning every gate or door, must be equipped with a self-closing and self-latching device mounted high enough to stay out of reach of small children. Above-ground pools get a narrower version of the rule: the fencing requirement under subsection G3 need only wrap the pool's means of access if the pool itself has four-foot-high vertical or outward-inclined side walls, since those walls already function as the barrier.

Before the pool can be filled with water, the approved physical barrier must be completely installed, inspected, and approved by the city building official. Subsection G4 separately requires pools and attached decks more than thirty inches above grade to sit back at least ten feet from all property lines and ten feet from the principal building, and bars them from front yards entirely.