New Brunswick, NJ Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Section 15.28.020 sets the barrier rule for every pool that is an accessory use to a dwelling unit in the city. The fence or wall must be of substantial construction, not less than four feet high, with no openings larger than three inches except for gates. It has to prevent any person from reasonably gaining access to the pool beneath or over it. A dwelling or accessory building can serve as part of the enclosure. Every fence or wall gets one or more gates of the same height, fitted with a self-closing or self-latching device capable of keeping them securely closed, and gates must be padlocked when the pool is not in use.

Section 15.28.010 defines a pool broadly: any pool constructed or installed for swimming or wading by the owner, tenants or guests of any type of dwelling unit, including a portable pool that can be removed and stored and a wading pool capable of a minimum depth of twelve inches. Three exceptions follow. Wading pools need no fence if they are emptied and stored in a secure location when not in use. Above ground and decked pools whose top is forty-eight inches or more in height need no fence if steps, ladders and all other means of access are removed when the pool is not in use. And no separate fence is needed where the entire premises are surrounded by a fence that meets the section. Portable ladders and steps are removed and securely stored when not in use (§ 15.28.060), and a pool left with water in the non-swimming season needs a safety cover capable of supporting at least 150 pounds at every point (§ 15.28.090). Section 15.28.120 adopts the Swimming Pool Code of New Jersey-1970 in its entirety.

Permitting sits in § 15.04.120: an in-ground pool costs $125 in use group R-5 and $400 in all other use groups, an above-ground pool costs $200, the annual swimming pool, spa and hot tub inspection is $150, and bonding of inground pools is $100. In a flood hazard area, § 15.36.150 prohibits above-ground pools in floodways, and a pool enclosure whose openings do not meet the floodway fence rules needs a variance.