West Des Moines, IA Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Zoning Code section 9-14-11 states directly that swimming pool enclosures are subject to the height requirements of the fence chapter, adopted building codes, and Iowa Department of Public Health regulations, regardless of whether the pool has an operational powered safety cover. In most residential zoning districts other than Residential Estate, that fence chapter caps fence height at six feet in the side, street side and rear yards, so a standard pool barrier tops out at six feet unless the property qualifies for the Residential Estate district's eight-foot allowance on larger lots.

Layered on top of the zoning height rule, City Code section 8-2A-11 amends International Building Code Section 3109 (and the parallel IRC Section R327 for one- and two-family homes) to delete language from the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code that would have excused a pool with an ASTM F1346-compliant powered safety cover from complying with the barrier requirements in Sections 305.2 through 305.7, which cover barrier height, gate type, openings, setbacks and other design criteria. By striking that exemption, the City requires every pool, including one with a powered cover, to meet the full barrier and self-closing gate standard rather than substituting the cover for a fence.

Development Services' Building Division enforces the barrier standard through plan review and inspection, and pools must also meet the separate five-foot minimum setback from side and rear property lines set in Zoning Code section 9-14-10.