Palm Desert, CA Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Section 15.04.020 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code amends the California Building Code, 2025 Edition, adopted in Section 15.04.010, by adding Section 3109.2.1, Drowning prevention safety features. The enclosure under Health and Safety Code Section 115922(a)(1) shall be required, plus one of the other remaining six drowning prevention features specified in Section 115922(a)(2) through (7). The features themselves are defined in the state statute, which the city code incorporates by reference rather than restating.

Where a wall of a Group R, Division 3, occupancy, including an attached garage, serves as part of the enclosure, Section 115922(a)(4) or (5) shall be required as part of the enclosure. That rule applies to the common backyard layout where the house or garage wall forms one side of the pool area.

The code carves out one exception. Private pools and spas constructed within the walled, fenced or gated boundaries of a country club or similar fenced or walled and gated residential development project are not required to be enclosed by a barrier, provided the property complies with Health and Safety Code Section 115922(a). Palm Desert has many such golf communities, but the exception depends on the walled or gated boundary and on compliance with the statute.

A pool barrier cannot use the fence permit exemption. Sections 15.02.020 and 15.06.020 exempt fences and block walls not over 3 feet 6 inches high only when they are not associated with a swimming pool or spa safety barrier, so a barrier fence needs a permit. Siting is separate: under Section 25.40.060 the water perimeter of a pool sits no closer than 5 feet from any property line, reducible to 2 feet with appropriate engineering documentation, and pool equipment is housed in a building or behind a screen wall.