Springfield, OR Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Springfield Municipal Code Section 5.200 applies to any person, firm, or corporation possessing land in the city, whether as owner, contract purchaser, lessee, tenant, or licensee, on which sits a swimming pool or other outdoor body of water more than 18 inches deep that is designed or used for swimming, dipping, or immersion. The owner must completely surround that pool with either a fence of woven wire, wood, or an equivalent material built to discourage children from climbing it, or a wall at least four feet high, measured above the ground, that cannot be crawled under and keeps openings no larger than four inches in any dimension, except at doors and gates.

Subsection (2) applies the same four-inch gap limit to picket fences specifically. Subsection (3) allows a dwelling or accessory building to serve as part of the required enclosure rather than a separate fence on every side. All fences, walls, and enclosures must be acceptable to the city's building inspector under subsection (4), giving Development and Public Works staff sign-off authority over the design before it satisfies the code. Subsection (5) requires every gate or door through the enclosure to have a self-closing, self-latching device mounted at least 40 inches above the ground, strong enough to keep the gate securely closed when not in use; the only exception is a dwelling's own door forming part of the enclosure, which does not need the hardware.

Decorative pools and fishponds 18 inches deep or more are covered separately under Section 5.204, which allows a wire screen able to hold 75 pounds as an alternative to a fence. Failing to comply with Section 5.200 is a civil infraction under the Springfield Municipal Code, punishable under SMC Sections 5.600 to 5.642 rather than the criminal violation track used elsewhere in Chapter 5.