San Benito County, CA Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing Requirements (2026)

Two layers of San Benito County regulation require a pool barrier. First, the zoning code's general development standard, Section 25.07.013, states that 'Swimming pools/spas and other similar water features shall be fenced in compliance with the adopted Building Code.' Second, the building code, Section 21.01.076, is titled 'Enclosure required,' and Section 21.01.077 addresses enclosures for existing swimming pools. Because the county requires compliance with the adopted Building Code, the operative dimensional standard is the statewide Swimming Pool Safety Act (California Health and Safety Code Section 115922 et seq.) as carried into the California Residential Code. Under those state requirements an enclosure must be at least 60 inches high; any access gates must open away from the pool and be self-closing with a self-latching device placed no lower than 60 inches above the ground; the maximum vertical clearance from the ground to the bottom of the barrier is two inches; gaps may not pass a sphere four inches or larger in diameter; and the outside surface must be free of handholds or footholds a young child could climb. For new construction or remodels at private single-family homes, the owner must equip the pool with at least two of seven listed drowning-prevention safety features, one of which can be the compliant enclosure. San Benito County's own fence-height table (Table 25.07-J) caps ordinary residential fences at 4 feet in a front yard and 6 feet elsewhere, but pool barriers follow the Building Code's 60-inch minimum rather than those general yard limits.