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

Section 6-72 sits in Chapter 6, Article III (Swimming Pools) and covers three kinds of water hazards. Subsection (a) is the residential pool rule: fencing (or another restraint that equally restricts access) must be at least four feet high and must comply with the North Carolina Building Code's construction requirements, though the rule drops away entirely for a pool less than two feet deep at its deepest point. Subsection (b) separately covers constructed drainage-control and water-quality impoundments, which must meet the design and safety standards in the city's design manual, with developers required to landscape each impoundment appropriately.

Subsection (c) extends the same four-foot enclosure rule from subsection (a) to decorative landscape ponds, fish ponds, or fountains deeper than two feet. A related provision, § 6-71, targets abandoned or unused pools: any pool inoperative or unfiltered for three straight years can be reported by the city manager, and after a council hearing the owner gets 90 days to either fill and close it or bring it into compliance, including installing the required fencing; missing that deadline lets the city do the work and place the cost as a lien on the property. Together, §§ 6-71 and 6-72 give Mebane a fencing standard for active pools and a cleanup mechanism for pools left to decay.