Smithtown, NY Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Town Code § 252-7 sets the core barrier rule: all pools shall be completely and continuously surrounded and enclosed by a permanent durable wall, barrier or fence in accordance with the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code requirements, folding the state's specific height, latch and self-closing-gate specifications into the local mandate rather than restating separate local dimensions. The rule has been amended repeatedly since first enacted, most recently in 2012, tracking updates to the state building code it incorporates. Section 252-8 extends the barrier requirement to the construction period itself: while a pool is being constructed, installed, enlarged or altered, it must be enclosed by a temporary enclosure meeting the same state fire prevention and building code standard, so a half-built pool cannot sit unfenced.

The fencing obligation is also baked into the permitting stage: § 252-5 requires the drawings and plans submitted for a pool permit to show the fence construction alongside the pool, water supply and drainage systems, and § 252-5C requires that the pool, appurtenances and fence actually be built in conformity with those approved plans, not just proposed on paper. Because the standard is incorporated by reference to the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code rather than spelled out with a local minimum height, a Smithtown pool owner must confirm current barrier specifications against the state code in effect at the time of construction.