Puyallup, WA Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

040(9) sets the pool barrier standard for the city's RS zones. It applies to any swimming pool with a depth of 12 or more inches, a low threshold that reaches inflatable and above-ground pools as well as in-ground pools. The pool has to be surrounded by a protective fence, wall, enclosure, or natural barrier that is not less than six feet in height, with no opening in that barrier wider than four inches, and the barrier has to be equipped with a self-closing gate. The section treats hot tubs and other manmade water bodies as a separate but parallel case: rather than requiring the same six-foot fence, it allows a similar enclosure or, alternatively, requiring the water feature to be covered whenever it is not in use, so a hot tub with a locking, load-rated cover can satisfy the standard without a surrounding fence.

Because this standard sits inside the RS-zone performance standards chapter rather than the building code, it operates as a zoning requirement layered on top of any separate construction or permitting standard the city's building department applies to pool installation under Title 17 PMC. The four-inch maximum gap is measured for any opening in the barrier itself, so a gate, fence panel, or gap where a barrier meets a structure all have to meet that same clearance limit, not just the fence fabric between posts.