Sonoma, CA Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

46, Fences, Hedges and Walls. That section does not set its own barrier height or gate specifications; it defers entirely to the city's adopted Building Code administered by the building official. 020(A)(4), the city council adopted by reference Appendix Chapter AX to the 2025 California Residential Code, titled the Swimming Pool Safety Act and required by California Health and Safety Code Sections 115920 through 115929, current through Ordinance 13-2025, adopted December 3, 2025. Compliance is checked as part of the building permit process for new pool and spa construction, so a pool cannot pass final inspection or receive a certificate of occupancy without the required barrier features in place.

100. Because the operative safety standard is state-mandated and merely adopted locally, a homeowner cannot rely on a neighboring city's or county's pool fence design; Sonoma's own adoption ordinance is what makes Appendix AX enforceable inside city limits.