Rochester Hills, MI Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Section 138-10.107.A.2.b carves swimming pool enclosures out of the general applicability of the city's fence chapter, but only conditionally: the enclosure must be built as specified in the state construction code, and it must still meet the standards of Section 138-10.107.B.1 and Section 138-10.107.C.2 specifically. Section 138-10.107.B.1 requires that fences, including pool enclosures, be installed and maintained free from defects, safety hazards, and collapse, and be kept in good repair at all times. Section 138-10.107.C.2, the residential fence height rule, caps fences along side and rear lot lines at six feet, meaning a pool barrier built to the six-foot residential standard satisfies that cross-referenced height requirement.

Because the exemption in subsection A.2.b applies only to fences 'installed or replaced' after the ordinance's applicability clause, a pool enclosure erected as part of an approved site plan is separately exempt under Section 138-10.107.A.2.a. Rochester Hills relies on the state construction code, administered through the Building Department's permitting process, for the technical self-closing, self-latching gate and non-climbable barrier requirements that accompany residential pool construction permits citywide.