Skokie, IL Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Section 22-219(e) sits inside the Village's broader sanitary and equipment standards for private residential swimming pools in Article VIII of Chapter 22. It requires that all belowground pools, aboveground permanent pools, and aboveground portable pools be completely enclosed either by a 4-foot fence erected along the periphery of the pool walks or by a fence enclosing the entire yard area containing the pool, so long as that yard fence meets the same construction standards. Every opening or point of entry into the enclosure must be fitted with a gate, and both the fence and the gates must stand at least 4 feet above the grade walk level.

The Code specifies the fencing material in detail: a number 9 gauge woven wire mesh corrosion-resistant material, or another material and design the Village Manager or designee approves for safety, with all fence posts built of decay- or corrosion-resistant material. Every gate must carry a self-closing and self-latching device mounted at the top of the gate and positioned to be inaccessible to small children, a placement requirement aimed directly at keeping young children from opening a gate on their own. The same fencing requirement extends to any aboveground pool that lacks lift-up ladders or steps, provided it sits on a non-absorbent ground base of at least 6 square feet, closing off a common way people try to avoid installing a fence around a portable pool.

Wading pools of 2 feet or less in depth, or with a capacity of 500 gallons or less, are excluded from the fencing article altogether under the separate wading pool definition in Sec. 22-211.