Wilmington, NC Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Section 6-18(a) sets the baseline rule: no person may construct or maintain a permanent outdoor swimming pool in the city with a water depth of 18 inches or greater at its deepest point unless the pool is completely surrounded by a fence or wall that is not less than 4 feet in height. Subsection (b) exempts commercial pools and pools operated by hotels that are under constant surveillance from the fencing requirement, recognizing that supervised commercial facilities present a different risk profile than an unsupervised residential backyard pool.

Subsection (c) makes the requirement retroactive: it applies to outdoor pools that already existed in the city on the ordinance's effective date as well as pools built afterward, but owners of pre-existing pools were not in violation until they had been notified in writing of the requirement and given a reasonable period, up to 90 days, to install a wall or fence and failed to do so. The ordinance dates to June 28, 1988 and has not been substantively amended since. It sits in Chapter 6, Article I among the city's miscellaneous public-safety provisions rather than in the zoning or building code, so it operates as a standalone nuisance-style safety mandate enforceable independent of any building permit review.