Southaven, MS Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

The City of Southaven handles pool enclosures in Article VIII of the Buildings title, Sec. 4-127, in addition to the International Residential Code pool chapters that the same section adopts by reference. Subsection (c) adds two rules for temporary or portable pool systems, and the split turns on depth.

Under (c)(1), a pool system intended to be temporary or portable that does not exceed a depth of two feet, regardless of width or diameter, cannot be erected for more than six months without being disassembled and stored away out of sight of public view. Under (c)(2), a system that may be intended to be temporary or portable but exceeds a depth of two feet, again regardless of width or diameter, must be enclosed by a four-foot fence as provided for in this code. The section then says such pools can remain erected as if permanent, so a deep portable pool that is fenced is treated like a permanent installation and is not on the six-month clock.

Two practical points follow from the text. First, the trigger is depth, not diameter, so a large shallow pool escapes the fence requirement but not the six-month limit, while a small pool deeper than two feet needs the four-foot fence. Second, Sec. 4-27 lists fences among the structures that need a building permit from the building official, and Sec. 4-208 requires a $10,000 bond from fence and pool contractors before permits issue. Section 4-127 prints no gate-latch or self-closing hardware specification of its own; barrier detail beyond the four-foot fence comes through the adopted International Residential Code pool chapters and the 2024 Swimming Pool and Spa Code listed in Sec. 4-26(a)(8), which the design professional uses.