Woodbury, MN Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

City Code Sec. 22-20(a) requires all private swimming pools to be completely surrounded by a fence or wall not less than four feet high, built with no openings, holes or gaps larger than four inches in either direction, except for doors and gates; a dwelling or accessory building can serve as part of the enclosure. An above-ground pool with a wall at least four feet high does not need a separate fence, but any slide, ladder or other access apparatus must either be removed when not in use or be equipped with a self-closing, self-latching, lockable gate or door at least four feet high that stays secured when the pool is unused.

Above-ground pools protected by a safety cover meeting ASTM F1346 are exempt from the section entirely. On R-1 and R-2 zoned lots, an in-ground pool set back more than 100 feet from all property lines may substitute an ASTM F1346-compliant, self-locking automatic pool cover for a fence, kept in good repair. Sec. 22-20(b) requires every gate or door through the enclosure to have a self-closing and self-latching device that keeps it securely closed at all times when the pool is not in use, plus hardware for a permanent locking device, except a dwelling's own door that forms part of the enclosure; gates must be secured whenever the pool is not in use.

Sec. 22-20(c) allows a temporary barrier such as snow fencing, approved by the building official, while a pool is filled before the required fence goes up, for a maximum of 30 days unless the code official approves more time. Sec. 22-20(d) requires any fence used to comply to also meet the general fence ordinance in chapter 6, article IV. Sec. 22-21 clarifies that pool covers alone, lockable or not, do not satisfy the safety barrier requirement unless they qualify under the automatic-cover exception in Sec. 22-20(a).