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

23(C) of the Zoning Ordinance spells out the fencing and access-control conditions attached to every private pool permit. A below-grade pool, meaning one whose exposed sides rise less than 4 feet above the surrounding ground, must be enclosed by a fence at least 5 feet tall of a type that effectively keeps children from entering the pool area. Wooden fences with vertical boards cannot have gaps wider than 4 inches, and horizontal-board fences cannot have gaps wider than 1 inch; for an in-ground pool, a mechanically controlled cover may substitute for the fence.

Every gate onto the property or pool area needs an automatic closing and latching device, and any mechanically controlled cover must be engaged whenever the pool is not in use. An above-grade pool, one with exposed sides 4 feet or higher, must instead have an automatic, retractable or removable ladder that is taken up or retracted when the pool is unattended, or it must meet the same fencing standard as a below-grade pool. If the only way to reach the pool is across a deck or porch, the ground-level access to that deck must also be fenced under the same standard unless the whole property is enclosed.

23(C)(6) makes a failure to maintain the fence, keep gates closed, retract the ladder, or engage a cover a Zoning Ordinance violation in its own right. These standards apply only to pools in Eyota, Marion, Oronoco and Quincy townships, the territory the county zones directly.