Mount Prospect, IL Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Swimming pool barriers in the Village of Mount Prospect sit inside the fence ordinance, § 14.318. Subsection B.6 sets the pool fence height window: fences and gates at least four feet, but not greater than five feet, in height must completely surround a swimming pool. The subsection's wording excludes swimming pools having a raised deck at least four feet above grade.

The fence can go in one of two places. It can run along the perimeter of the pool walk areas, or along the perimeter of the lot as described in subsection B.5, the six foot fence rules for rear and interior side yards and exterior side yards.

Two other subsections treat pools specially. Subsection B.4 says no fence may enclose less than fifty percent of the maximum fenceable area of a residentially zoned property, but that limitation does not apply to fencing around swimming pools. Subsection B.7.c allows fences up to eight feet in height along the perimeter of the pool area for public swimming pools.

Everything else in § 14.318 still applies to a pool fence. The Community Development Department must issue a permit before a fence is constructed, erected or replaced. Fences are not permitted in floodway areas designated on FEMA's Flood Boundary and Floodway Map. No fence greater than three feet in height can sit within a sight triangle. Height is measured vertically from finished grade to the top of the fence, and support posts, including caps, can exceed the height limit by a maximum of eight inches. A maximum two inch separation between fence and finished grade is kept where existing drainage patterns would not be adversely impacted.

Section 14.318 prints no latch or self-closing specification for the gate. It speaks only of "fences and gates" in the four to five foot height range.