Kent County, MI Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing Requirements (2026)

Pool barrier rules for one- and two-family residential properties in Kent County come from the Michigan Residential Code, which is a state-promulgated code adopted by the Bureau of Construction Codes under the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act (1972 PA 230, MCL 125.1501 et seq.). Local municipalities — Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Wyoming, Walker, East Grand Rapids, Grandville, Cedar Springs, Lowell, Rockford, and the 21 Kent County townships — enforce the code through their own building departments and permit processes, but they cannot adopt rules less strict than the state code.

Under Appendix G, §AG105.2, an outdoor private swimming pool, including in-ground, above-ground, and on-ground pools, hot tubs, and spas, that contains water more than 24 inches deep must be completely surrounded by a barrier complying with the following: (1) the top of the barrier must be at least 48 inches above grade measured on the side facing away from the pool; (2) the maximum vertical clearance between grade and the bottom of the barrier must not exceed 2 inches on the away-from-pool side (4 inches if the grade is a solid surface such as concrete); (3) openings in the barrier must not allow passage of a 4-inch-diameter sphere; (4) where the barrier is composed of horizontal and vertical members with horizontal members less than 45 inches apart, openings between vertical members must not exceed 1¾ inches; (5) chain-link fence mesh must not exceed 1¼ inches (or 2¼ inches with slats); (6) decorative cutouts in a solid barrier must not exceed 1¾ inches.

Under §AG105.3, all access gates must comply with the barrier requirements above and must additionally be equipped with a self-closing and self-latching device. For pedestrian gates, gates must open outward (away from the pool), and the release mechanism for the latch must be located on the pool side of the gate and at least 54 inches above the ground if the latch is less than 54 inches from the bottom of the gate. Where a wall of the dwelling itself serves as part of the barrier (§AG105.2 exception), any doors with direct access to the pool must be equipped with an alarm meeting UL 2017 or be self-closing/self-latching. Hot tubs and spas with a lockable safety cover complying with ASTM F1346 are exempt from the perimeter-barrier requirement.

Permits are issued and inspected by the city or township building department. Kent County itself does not run a unified building-permit office for residential pools; instead the project owner must contact the building department of the specific municipality where the property is located. Many Kent County jurisdictions, including Grand Rapids and Kentwood, publish their own pool-installation handouts that simply reiterate the state Appendix G rules.